| QUESTION: | | | | sell more products, widen your range of |
| | | | clientele, and increase your revenue without |
| I recently launched a website for my sporting | | | | adding overhead. Don't sell your website |
| goods business. Do I need to do anything | | | | short. Make it work for you. |
| special to attract customers to my website? I | | | | |
| know nothing about search engines and | | | | If you are seeking a global audience, your |
| marketing as such. Please tell me where to | | | | marketing efforts will be quite different. |
| begin. -- Sean M. | | | | Attracting customers from around the world is |
| | | | a more difficult task than attracting |
| ANSWER: | | | | customers from around the block. Fortunately, |
| | | | the task is not impossible. The Internet has |
| Sean, that is a question that has been asked | | | | leveled the playing field in many ways. Now |
| by every business person who has ever | | | | every business, no matter how large or small, |
| launched a website. If I build it, will they | | | | has the ability to do business |
| come? Of course they will -- if you've built | | | | internationally. |
| a website that appeals to dead baseball | | | | |
| players. | | | | In the most basic sense, an online marketing |
| | | | campaign to attract global customers should |
| For those of you who didn't get the "Field of | | | | include the following efforts. |
| Dreams" reference, let me put it this way: | | | | |
| No, Sean, if you build it they will not come, | | | | Register With Search Engines |
| at least not without some effort on your | | | | |
| part. | | | | There's not enough room in this newspaper for |
| | | | a thorough discussion of search engines and |
| Assuming that a website will automatically | | | | their effectiveness (or lack thereof) in |
| attract customers is the single biggest | | | | driving traffic to a website. Suffice it to |
| mistake that many business owners make. It is | | | | say that 95% of search engine traffic comes |
| this mistake that eventually leads them to | | | | from Google and Yahoo, so start there. It's |
| dismiss their website as a failure and | | | | also important to realize that just |
| abandon their online sales efforts. | | | | registering with search engines does not |
| | | | guarantee you traffic, but it certainly can't |
| I can't tell you how many times I've heard a | | | | hurt. |
| client say, "Well, I threw up a website, but | | | | |
| nobody ever came to it and I didn't sell a | | | | Unfortunately, the free search engine lunch |
| single thing from it! Dang thing was a waste | | | | ran out a couple of years ago when search |
| of time, if you ask me ..." | | | | engines figured out that people would |
| | | | actually pay for listings and higher |
| Forgive me, but "threw up" is the operative | | | | placement. Since that time the only way to |
| term there. These short-sighted entrepreneurs | | | | guarantee a high (or at least higher than |
| (God love them) mistakenly think that all | | | | others) ranking is to pay for it. The two |
| they have to do is throw up a website and | | | | most popular pay-for-placement programs are |
| that their business will automatically double | | | | Yahoo's "Yahoo Express" and Google's |
| overnight. And when nothing happens they | | | | "Adwords." Visit their respective websites |
| blame it on the infallibility of the | | | | for details on these programs. Be prepared to |
| Internet, on El Nino, on the Bosa Nova, on | | | | spend several hundred dollars at a minimum to |
| their customers... everything but their own | | | | get your site listed. |
| lack of marketing efforts. | | | | |
| | | | Exchange Links With Similar Sites |
| If you build it, will they come? That, Sean, | | | | |
| depends totally on you. | | | | One free - and potentially effective - way to |
| | | | drive customers to your website is through |
| When it comes to attracting customers, | | | | link exchanges with sites of similar |
| opening an online business (or an online | | | | interest. Locate sites that make a good match |
| branch of an existing business) is no | | | | to your own and contact the owner to ask if |
| different from opening a traditional brick | | | | they will link to your site in exchange for |
| and mortar shop. Without a little fanfare and | | | | you linking to theirs. If you sell golf balls |
| a well-devised marketing plan, chances are | | | | on your website, set up a link exchange with |
| your website will become just another spot of | | | | another website that sells golf clubs. You |
| roadkill on the Information Superhighway. | | | | post a link to them and they post a link to |
| | | | you. It's called digital back scratching, and |
| The first step in devising your marketing | | | | if done properly, can work well to drive |
| plan is to ask yourself this question: Who is | | | | traffic your way. |
| my customer? Who is it that I want to attract | | | | |
| to my website? Believe it or not, this is a | | | | Go To Where The Customers Are |
| question many entrepreneurs fail to ask. The | | | | |
| identity of your customer is incredibly | | | | If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, then |
| important because if you don't know who your | | | | Mohammed must go to the mountain. One little |
| customer is, how can you expect to market to | | | | known way to attract customers to your |
| them? | | | | website is to market your products on a |
| | | | mega-site like eBay. There are thousands and |
| The next question concerns the locality of | | | | thousands of people on eBay at any given time |
| your customer. Do you want to attract a local | | | | and each one is potentially your customer, so |
| or global clientele to your website? If the | | | | it's a great place to drum up business. Your |
| answer is local, then you will gear your | | | | goal is not to make a living selling on eBay, |
| marketing efforts toward customers in your | | | | but to use eBay as a marketing tool to drive |
| own backyard, which means incorporating your | | | | traffic back to your website. Go to where the |
| website launch with your offline marketing | | | | customers are, then bring them back home with |
| efforts. | | | | you. |
| | | | |
| If the website is the online branch of a | | | | Let's use our golf ball example. Post a few |
| brick and mortar business, include the | | | | auctions on eBay selling your golf balls at a |
| website URL in all your print materials and | | | | ridiculously low price so your auction |
| advertising campaigns. Consider running ads | | | | attracts plenty of attention. When customers |
| in the local paper, on radio or TV announcing | | | | make a purchase, add them to your client list |
| the launch of your site. Use direct mail or | | | | and send them an email inviting them to visit |
| in-store posters to announce the site launch | | | | your website for more great products. eBay |
| to your existing customer base. In short, | | | | also lets you create your own "About Me" page |
| keep doing what you're doing to attract | | | | that you can use to advertise your business. |
| customers to your physical store, just add | | | | |
| your website address to the mix. | | | | We have just scratched the surface, but |
| | | | hopefully this is enough to get you started. |
| Just remember, it's important to consider | | | | I wish I could tell you that attracting |
| your website a branch of your brick and | | | | customers to your website is easy, but the |
| mortar business because that's exactly what | | | | truth is, it's anything but. It takes hard |
| it is. A good business website will help you | | | | work, creativity and above all, perseverance. |