Posts Tagged ‘Business Marketing’

Starting an Online Business, Niche Marketing

January 15th, 2010



When selling a product, a lot of people make the mistake of developing their product first, and then trying to find a market for it. Of course, the process should be reversed.

Find a market first that spends money, then find out what they want and give it to them.

It is certainly easier said than done, but there are a lot of places online where you can do your market research for free. They’ve done most of the work for you already. You just need to know where to go and what to do to connect all the dots.

Let me show you the process I go through when I’m trying to brainstorm for ideas.

For starters, I’m always aware of trends and current events in the real world. I read several newspapers each day, many magazines, both general and niche-specific, I watch the news, I listen to the radio. Occasionally something that I hear or read will stick with me. I may record my thoughts on my portable voice recorder; jot down some notes, whatever happens to be convenient for me. Sometimes I’ll call my office voice mail and leave myself a message.

But at some point I’ll have several broad ideas to research. I want to look deeper. And I want to make sure there is a good market for them before I even think about creating a product.

There are definitely ways to find the PERFECT niche market to go into to earn the money you deserve. You can start a business on a hobby of yours ( example selling soccer collectible cards, or action figurines ), but it’s still best to find out about the prospect of the niche you’re going in, right?

By: Ngui Seng Wee

How Can I Market My Online Business?

January 7th, 2010



Marketing an online business can be accomplished in a variety of ways. A single correct combination that works for all businesses simply does not exist. Each business, market and product is unique and while there may be some crossover, something unique will be required in order to attract the specific market you are looking to visit your site and utilise the services on offer.

Whether you are selling a product or attempting to market a service one thing that is quickly becoming necessary in the world of internet marketing is the use of videos. Video marketing allows you to describe products, show quality, workmanship and how to use the products in a way that is engaging to the customer. Many people are still hesitant to purchase products online because they cannot test or gauge the product online the same way they can in the store. Videos bridge the gap and help to give customers a peace of mind.

Email marketing is often used as a way to market businesses. It is inexpensive and you can reach a large number of customers quickly with promotions and deals that can encourage them to act. For example, you can include promotions designed to have current customers refer new customers, have customers who have visited but not purchased anything, visit again or simply offer a discount to encourage paying customers to return.

Social networking has also become one of the fastest and easiest ways to market your online business. Social networks allow you to reach hundreds or even thousands of potential customers within minutes. This is because not only are you building a list of your own potential customers but also you have the opportunity to access their friend’s lists and so forth. This creates the perfect environment for viral marketing and for internet marketing.

A single marketing method such as video or email is not going to be enough to market your online business successfully. A combination of these factors needs to be employed in order to ensure your marketing campaign achieves the very best results for your company. Plus you may want to look into some of the newest platforms available to your; for example mobile technology is now providing new ways for businesses to market via phones, PDAs and SMS.

Marketing your online business starts with research. This research should include the market, the competition, and marketing techniques. Consider various combinations and above all do not be afraid to experiment with marketing techniques and combinations. Keep a record of all the combination and the results. These results should include not just the combination as a whole but each individual marketing technique used.

Finally, combine the best resulting techniques from each combination, for each of the target markets, if there are more than one that you have. You will find that this is an excellent way to market your online business and discover what is going to work best for your product or service.

Not all companies are the same. It is important to match your marketing technique and strategies with your market in order to ensure the success of your online business.

By: Derek Rogers