A GreatPlace To Advertise:
The internet has no ends to the places you can place a link to your site that may or may not generate any traffic. I believe that to be among the most over-used, under-utilized means of advertising that exists today.
For some reason there’s people who believe that we internet users spend our days going through comments on obscure blogs looking for a comment that reads “hey check out my site. It is The bomb, www.PROzaQ.com/thodfnnvfrjbktjhjyujyouktykdflklfkdvvnd.html” so we can shop for something that we didn’t know we needed.
I do believe that as internet advertisers we need to approach consumers throughout the buying cycle to offer relevant helpful advice and information while continuously leading them to our products & services.
The very best place I have placed links is through Yahoo Answers. Now, I would say that there are a dozen other sites similar to YA that are just as useful, if not that they’re smaller, and if you can invest the resources into being a participant on those sites, you should definitely do it.
Basically, I use YA as my customer service department. I believe the internet will evolve to emulate the benefits of retail stores. This includes having a customer service person you can ask questions to.
These questions can be related directly to the product (is it small, is it useful, does it smell, etc. etc.) or it can be related to the end use of the product (What’s the best…” I need XXX, Should I Buy AAA, BBB, or CCC? Etc, Etc.).
The main focus is developing a relationship with the shopper throughout the buying cycle. The buying cycle always starts with a problem or a desire arising. To approach this part of the buying cycle you would look for questions related to the problem the product solves or the benefit/end use of the product.
The next part of the buying cycle for most consumers is when they know what product they need in order to fulfill their need, and are now deciding on the important attributes of it. This is where you will educate them on the product’s features, and answer their questions on quality, cost ranges, and durability.
When they are fully informed about the products features they will want to compare the products that fit inside their internal cost range. Here you will show them the different products available to meet their need. You will show the positives and negatives of each, as well as offer your own opinions (if you have one) about which to buy.
The final part of the buying cycle is when the consumer knows the exact product they want, and are looking for the best deal. At this point there are a number of variables.
I always look at my contributions to the consumer throughout the buying cycle as “buying decision currency.” You see, I don’t believe people gauge the best deal solely on the price. I see it more as a sliding scale, like this:
Price = 20% - 70%
Trust = 20% - 50%
Guarantee = 10% - 40%
After Sale Support = 30% - 60%
Current Relationship = 60% - 95%
I have to offer a wide range of percentage because the importance each consumer places in these core areas varies greatly from person to person.
By using Yahoo Answers to answer consumer’s questions throughout the entire buying cycle I am winning their trust while properly educating them on your guarantee and after sale support.
And when they have reached the buying stage of the buying cycle, you have formed a current relationship while branding yourself as the expert to this consumer. This will generally put you closer to the 95% range in the Current Relationship category.
I can not stress enough how important it is to offer really good quality, relevant information. You must be thorough (willing to write 400-2,000 word answers) and offer links to your web pages only when appropriate.
I generally get 3-7 links into my responses, but I don’t believe one of them is inappropriately placed, and my high click through rates strongly agrees.
People are always asking me how to increase their business potential.
The answer to any successful online or offline business is Knowledge. The “how to” is all that makes the difference between coming second or first.
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