The 90 second expert guide to better online marketing

Transcription

1 1 / 13 The 90 second expert guide to better online marketing In conjunction with

2 Introduction 2 / 13 Your new super-dooper website is finally live. Now you need an online marketing strategy to spread the word and attract those sales leads. But before you dive in, this e-book can give you some handy pointers to help you find the right approach. The following five workshops have been developed to give you short bursts of inspiration and information. Each article shouldn t take you more than a minute and a half to consume. Yet, by the end you should have a clearer idea of where you should concentrate your marketing efforts. Each workshop has been written by some of Australia s top technology journalists and business advisors, so you can feel safe following their advice. However, if this e-book merely whets your appetite for bigger feasts, visit Netregistry.com.au for a variety of free e-books and resources. And you can continue reading award winning online business advice in Nett magazine each month. Prepare yourself for Workshop One. Your 90 seconds starts now! At a glance Workshop 1: Staying relevant 3 Workshop 2: Secrets to a successful sale 5 Workshop 3: Getting started with marketing 7 Workshop 4: Increasing international sales 9 Workshop 5: Using customers to fix your business 10 Focus on your marketing with tools from Netregistry 22

3 Workshop 1: Staying relevant 3 / 13 Marketing that hits the right people at the right time in the right place and with the right message is essential for any business. Jonathan Crossfield provides tips for making your next campaign relevant. When creating a marketing strategy, your goal should be that every person who sees your message feels that it speaks directly to him or her. That means your message is about them, not you. Understanding how your products or services help customers will determine how you design a relevant marketing strategy. What goals are your customers meeting by buying your product? That s the real business you are in, and understanding this will go a long way to helping you design a more relevant online marketing strategy. Use descriptive keywords To appear visible to customers in search engines, it s crucial you choose the right keywords with search engine optimisation. The more specific and descriptive the keywords, the more qualified the customer, and the easier it will be to appear near the top of those searches. For example, rather than appearing against every search for the word jewellery, it might be wise to target terms such as gold pendant or platinum wedding bands. At a glance Design an online campaign around the benefits of what you sell. Segment lists and tailor your message to each group. Optimise visibility through descriptive keywords. Update and change your message over time with Google AdWords. Support keyword campaigns with relevant landing pages. Stay relevant over time As a business, you need to adapt to the ever-changing retail environment and needs of your customers. Search engine advertising, such as Google AdWords, allows you to do this, as these campaigns have the ability to be changed and updated as results change or consumer behaviour shifts. For example, you wouldn t continue running your AdWords campaign for woolly scarves in December. Instead, it s short work to update it with your latest line of T-shirts.

4 Workshop 1: Staying relevant 4 / 13 However, you need to ensure that when your customers click on your link they will be taken directly to the landing page that will best answer their query. Those landing pages may be unique to each ad, allowing the greatest amount of tailoring. The only people who will see the page are those who have willingly clicked on it because they are interested in the product and you only pay when they click. Tailor each message marketing is a great way to build customer relationships, but a one-message-for-all strategy doesn t recognise the varying needs of different customers. Consider segmenting your customer lists into different groups, according to the products they ve bought or the kinds of customers that they are. An that provides content aimed specifically at each segment is guaranteed a far higher response rate. How to choose the most relevant keywords Visit google.com/sktool Enter your website details and some associated keywords You will receive the best phrases related to your business and an estimate of how many people search for those phrases every month

5 Workshop 2: Secrets to a successful sale 5 / 13 A sale can be a powerful tool for an online retailer. If you get it right, the benefits are enormous. Rosemarie Milsom outlines how to stage a killer sale. A sale can help boost the coffers and build brand recognition, but the way it s carried out will impact how well customers receive your pitch. If you get it wrong, you not only lose the opportunity to get new customers, but also risk alienating your existing base. Get the timing right It s important your sale has a purpose. You don t want to appear as though you have a sale every other week. You might hold sales according to key times of the year, to clear stock or encourage loyalty from VIP customers. Whatever the reason, make sure your customers know what it is. You want customers to commit to a sale purchase, rather than take it for granted that the offer will always be available, so make sure your sale has an end date, and send a reminder to customers as that deadline approaches. You should also plan a sale in advance, using the time to get the idea and pricing right. You need to be clear about the timing, what you are offering and what it will cost. Basic housekeeping errors can chew up valuable time and resources when it gets busy, so make sure all the elements for implementing the sale technology back-end, trained staff, logistics are in place before you start. At a glance Establish the reason for a sale, and let your customers know what it is. Plan in advance, using the time to get the offer right. Set an end date for your sale, and remind customers as the deadline approaches. Develop an strategy for promoting to your database. Pay-per-click programs are good for general advertising, Google AdWords is better for more targeted leads. Social media can spread word of your sale for free. Promote to your database An strategy is essential for promoting your sale. Before you target customers, it s important to build your database and have a clear understanding of who your audience is. Then, take the time to refine your customer segments. That way, you can use to target groups of customers you know are interested in particular products. Your newsletter subscribers will be among your most focused customers, so make good promotional use of your regular direct -marketing channels.

6 Workshop 2: Secrets to a successful sale 6 / 13 Advertising Pay-per-click advertising programs such as banner ads on other websites - often target a general audience, which is good if you aren t sure which products your customers are interested in. These programs might not be the best choice if your site has a very specific target customer. Google AdWords is a different type of pay-per-click program that can deliver a more focused audience to your site via search engines. If you choose AdWords, know your budget and ask your friends what keywords they would search if they wanted to make an online purchase. Get social Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are a good way to spread the word about a sale, and to learn what customers are saying about your business. They are also a good way of getting feedback that will be useful for planning future sales.

7 Workshop 3: Getting started with marketing 7 / 13 Reaching customers online doesn t always have to involve a website. Jonathan Crossfield guides you through some key elements of marketing. is an effective, efficient and low-cost method of marketing campaigns targeted to your best customers. With the right approach, an marketing campaign can build brand loyalty, create repeat business and broadcast your message further than your website ever could. Target your best customers It s an established fact that 80% of revenue will come from 20% of your customer base. Yet, most businesses spend 80% of their efforts finding new customers that will most likely only produce 20% of their income. Genuine sales growth typically comes through maximising results from an established customer base, so focus on that precious 20%: your best customers. What results can you expect? marketing allows for the detailed analysis of very specific data about your campaign: how many s reached inboxes, how many were opened, and how many site clickthroughs you received. Tracking these can help to determine the return on investment and identify improvements. ISPs, protocols, security firewalls and filters mean not all s make it to their destination. A professional marketing service increases the chances of your s getting through to more people and generating more sales. At a glance Market to your best customers to maximise your results. Track the results of campaigns to determine the return on investment. Use an marketing service to help increase delivery rates, process unsubscribe requests and clean lists. Create individual customer experiences with focused timeline-based campaigns.

8 Workshop 3: Getting started with marketing 8 / 13 Increase open rates Recipients will open an if they believe there s something in it for them, so make the benefit of your offer clear in the subject line. It s important to understand the difference between express and inferred consent in marketing. Express consent is where the recipient has signed up to a specific newsletter or campaign. Inferred consent is when the recipient has provided their for another reason (an online transaction, for example), and has been informed of the possibility of receiving additional marketing material. Open rates are higher among recipients who have given express consent. Building an marketing list primarily with customers who have provided express consent will achieve higher open rates than a list obtained through inferred consent. Avoid being mistaken for spam A percentage of s in any marketing campaign will be mistaken as spam. A very simple way to make sure your gets through the filters is to choose a professional marketing service that tags campaigns with the relevant authentication data, thereby reducing the risk of s being blocked or sent to junk mail. How to handle unsubscribes The Spam Act requires all commercial s to include an efficient unsubscribe facility, and for all unsubscribe requests to be processed within five working days. A good professional marketing service should be capable of managing the unsubscribe process for you. Give better customer service marketing, such as regular newsletters and confirmations following product purchase, will improve the experience customers have with your business. s that focus on where customers are in the product or sales timeline will also allow you to deliver the individual and relevant experiences that help generate business growth.

9 Workshop 4: Increasing international sales 9 / 13 Setting up your website to cope with customers, wherever they live or whatever language they speak, is not as hard as you think. Here are five steps to success. Support all currencies Credit card payment can be made in any currency around the world, but customers want to see pricing in their local currency. It doesn t take much to add multi-currency functionality to your website, and the ability for customers to select their preferred currency will help increase international conversions. Provide accurate shipping rates up front Customers will often abandon a shopping cart when they discover that a previously undeclared shipping cost makes the total expense higher than expected. Avoid lost sales by providing accurate international shipping quotes in the front part of your site, or provide a link to shipping cost details from each product page. Ensure that shipping quotes are the best value options available. Only offering international courier services or other expensive forms of delivery will lose customers. At a glance Ensure your site is capable of taking payments in multiple currencies. Include accurate international shipping rates up front. Make customer service and support easy, wherever the person lives. Talk their language. Avoid parochialism. Ensure service and support Customers in different time zones around the world may not be able to fax or phone your help line with an enquiry, so use simple forms to make it easy to lodge an enquiry online, from anywhere, at any time. Also, automate an acknowledgement of their enquiry, and manage expectations by estimating a response time.

10 Workshop 4: Increasing international sales 10 / 13 Talk their language A multilingual website will give your international customers the opportunity to set their location and see your offer translated into their own language. Think global Ensure your marketing message is understood worldwide by avoiding too many local references. While it s OK to add an Aussie flavour to your brand (using g day or offering an Australia Day promotion, for example), going overboard may make it difficult for international customers to comprehend your offer.

11 Workshop 5: Using customers to fix your business 11 / 13 Customer feedback is invaluable for improving your business and its products and services. Here, Simon Rumble discusses several cost-effective survey tools and social networking techniques that can help you out. Sometimes you can miss sales from the simplest things. A mail-order condom business might take all the precautions required to ensure discretion orders posted in plain envelopes, billed as Fred Logistics rather than Fred s Freaky Frangers but fail to point this out to customers in the sales process. Some will work it out for themselves, trawling through the site where you ve hidden this information, but others will get cold feet and you ll lose sales. If you re lucky, a helpful customer who worked this out will tell you he really wanted you to explain your discreet packaging on your shopping cart page. However, you can t rely on this kind of luck. Make it easy for your customers to offer useful insights that will help you serve them by using survey tools and social media techiques. The right approach At a glance Use discounts and prizes to encourage feedback. Make use of free and costeffective survey tools. Place a feedback button on every page of your site, and act on what your customers suggest and recommend. Use social media to engage your customers. Respond to feedback in friendly, everyday language. The simplest way you can engage your customers is to fire out an asking them to complete a survey. However, avoid ing them out as a batch and send them individually instead, timed a couple of weeks after each order was made. One way of encouraging participation is to offer a prize or discount code as an incentive.

12 Workshop 5: Using customers to fix your business 12 / 13 Investigate survey options There are quite a few online survey services you can consider. Surveymonkey.com is one example. It s a free service which allows you to build your own survey and gives tips on how to increase your response rate. Meanwhile, the kampyle.com free trial service places a feedback icon on every page of your site to solicit comments from visitors. While most free survey services provide a low level of customisation, this should allow enough functionality and depth of information for most businesses to start with. Greater levels of customisation and information about the visitors using your feedback forms can be found in the paid services from online survey providers. Using social networks Facebook and Twitter are great ways to involve your customers in helping your business. Post updates regularly with direct questions. What s the worst thing about our site? may be a good starting point for you. Build a dialogue with customers, using friendly, everyday language, and be personal. Thank respondents by name for suggestions and don t be precious about criticism. Offer prizes for the best comments as an incentive for customers to get involved. Another idea is to follow your company s name in various search engines to track customer comments on social networks and respond to them in the same medium.

13 Focus your marketing with tools from Netregistry 13 / 13 The Traffic Accelerator (SEO) from $165 per month Australia s most popular SEO solution Get your business to the top of the search results Keyword strategies and link building AdManager (SEA) from $199 per month (plus setup fee) Attract visitors to your website from 15c each Only pay for the visits your website receives Advanced tools to help optimise your campaigns Netregistry.com.au has everything you need for every stage of your online business. With lower prices and easy services, your website can start paying for itself sooner. Call to let your ideas loose. Mailroom ( marketing) from $19 per month (plus setup fee) Fully featured marketing suite Customisable templates for every skill level Send up to 10,000 s per month