The 4 C's of Social Networks and Word of Mouth marketing is my initial attempt at sharing my findings from a project I've kept under the radar for a reason.

It was started in 1995 online, and 1993 offline. It is now growing into a social network that allows people
to Connect, Communicate, Control, and Choose.

It's just like the beginning of the Internet, because it is the beginning.

Sell your web site short, and go long on audio, video, podcasting, blogs...and contact.

The 5th C is the most important; you have to initiate contact from your visitors.

More coming soon....

The Three Power Principles of Direct Response Targetcasting merge direct response marketing with the blog, a step-by-step process of meeting, talking with, defining, customizing, and closing business deals.

Each customer is a valuable resource who, with guidance, can tell you exactly what they want.

They create the target for their own interest so that businesses can "push" products and services to them.

But how it's delivered is far less important than what is delivered, and who owns the list.

The secret is something we've known all along; the customers are always right, because they're paying for results.

The power of a headline, a mailing list, and a step-by-step sales process backed by email were the principles on which the Internet was growing.

But now, everything points away from the computer-centered aura of the Internet.

And push media won't make you a dime in the next two years.

My secret isn't new; it's something borrowed for hundreds of years.

It's more personal than software and more permanent than cable.

It's the individual's right to buy what he/she wants, when he/she wants.

Why not follow the formula instead of creating mediocrity?

Step One: action.

Do you want them to act now or later?

Let me give you a little hint, they want to act later. They don’t know you.

They don't know who you are, unless you’ve been endorsed.

If somebody has endorsed your product or service to their email list; if somebody has said, “I love this product,” who has trust, and extends that, you’re gold.

You can do a “Buy now.”

Many marketers push their message so hard at the customer, trying to bully their way through that left-brain critic and manipulate them to take action through various subconscious trigger words.

This kind of marketing is short term and can result in initial sales, but rarely if ever in repeat sales because there is nothing left but that empty feeling of being tricked or just simply forgetting the action taken.

The key to persuasion is to talk with, not at, your customers and newcomers.

Many people set up a web site like an interrogation about the company. It’s not even about the customer.

Web sites spit out all this venomous data about themselves, and the customer has no idea where they can get answers to their questions.

One of the secrets of persuasion is to treat your marketing like an interview of the customer, get to know your customer.

The usual direct marketing jargon focuses on features and benefits and of course, the fact that headlines rule.

Recently my own approach to copywriting has been invigorated with the importance of persuasion techniques.

Persuasion techniques are word-of-mouth marketing, but more importantly this approach targets an emotional response from your target customer instead of tricking them with words.

This is the way to get them to pass your word on and more importantly, it is a way to move beyond the usual hype you see in most ad copy.

Viral marketing is a weird Internet term for referral, or relationship, marketing…getting people to pass the word on to others.

Invite your customers to send your special offer to three people who would really be interested in it, and be sure to instruct them to do this only to people they know would be interested. Don’t turn this into unsolicited,
spam email, but instead use the human nature of wanting to share good news with friends to your advantage.

When they see your product, invite them to pass the word on, and to recommend it. You will be amazed at the
results. The reason they call it viral marketing is because spreading the word about a good product is an excellent way to spread the news.

It is easy to assume that a product is in high demand. But there are ways to find out.

• Read magazines and industry reports on what products are the most popular. Trends are spotted months in advance; for example, most retailers plan for Christmas in July.

• You have to think ahead, instead of reacting to the moment. This is called proactive marketing, as opposed to reactive marketing. If you try to react to the market, it will pass you by. Anticipating what will be in high
demand is not that hard; just plan 2-3 months ahead to make sure you can select the right products.

• Be sure that you read catalogs and start understanding the seasonal buying behavior of people. This way you can change the products you offer. Think of it this way; do you want to be the guy selling Christmas trees in July, or
selling bikinis and sunscreen? Keep your focus on the ultimate prize and don’t get lulled by the ability to offer everything to everyone all the time.

Specific products, sold to specific markets, targeted to specific seasons lead to the most sales.

• Brand names from familiar companies are essential to developing trust, credibility, and sales. Creating a new brand without using recognized brand names is an unnecessary effort. If you merge the power of
recognition with your own product line, you can generate more revenue by first offering the brand name product, and up selling them to your product.

Or if you are simply offering other’s products through your own store, then be sure to introduce them to brand names they recognize and trust.

• Web designers call these entry, or doorway, pages. This tested, proven process gives your customer focus. If they do not like the product you are offering, or if they need some time to think, invite them to leave you a
message. If they do like it, they will buy immediately.

Offer one product at first contact and give your customer focus. Like the example of the tie at Men’s Wearhouse, you should consider how your customer enters your store. Select specific products to test, and give them just one purchase decision on your Web Page.

"Wake Up Call: Change or Die"

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Follow these Vital Principles of Online Retailing:

1. Give them products they like from people they know. The first principle of online retailing is to keep your customer comfortable.

Most online customers are trying to understand the vast power of the Internet, and how you can offer so many products. They are looking for names that they recognize from the real world, names that they can trust
and companies that won’t be gone tomorrow.

• In any new medium, what is “new” is most threatening. As Mark Twain once wrote, “it’s not the progress I mind, it’s the change I hate.” Getting people to use the Internet to buy products is a new behavior, a change. If
you offer customers products from companies they do not recognize, it will undermine sales. A friend of mine calls this the “Know Ya, Love Ya, TrustYa” mentality!

• If you are offering your own products, without a recognized brand name, then first introduce your customers to related products from recognized brand names. Consider this like your tie from the Men’s Wearhouse
example above; you are giving them something familiar, and then following up with your own suit, your own product. The initial brand name creates comfort, and your product is then packaged with the brand name.

Be sure to check back in a few days for additional vital principles for online retailing!

They design the whole customer experience around that home page. It is crowded with products, and since everyone has to go there, the Web Page may be slow to open because of traffic. They are making the mistakes of
retail, and ignoring the consequences.

Customers come to your store for a variety of reasons; they come based on the season, based on a life event like a birthday, or even just to browse. Each one of these people want a specific entry point, a specific Web Page
with a specific product, to introduce them to everything you offer. You have a choice; do what the majority of people are doing (which fails), or create an entry point and process for your customers to get comfortable, and
to buy.

You can be different. Now that you know the real secret of retail, next entry let’s apply what you have learned to your online storefront.

For example, take the experience upon entering an apparel store. Usually you have about 5-10 feet of open space after entering the door, like a walkway to the store, immediately available before you start seeing products. For years retailers tried to pack products into this entry point, figuring that people would want to buy most upon entering.

Now you have an open entry point with one specific product line. Here’s
why:

1. Retailers discovered that customers entering the door were in need of relaxation. Coming from a busy highway or parking lot, rushing around with friends and family, the customer simply needed some time to orient
themselves. The open path is a place to greet the customer, not overwhelm them.

2. Customers who did stop and look were disturbed by other customers brushing up against them, talking, and speeding by. It was like shopping in a busy tunnel; all the noise and commotion irritated people.

3. Retailers discovered that placing one product line at the end of this entry path helped introduce the customer to the buying process with a suggestive lead item. For example, I go to Men’s Wearhouse to buy a suit. Upon
entering the door I have my open entry point, and at the end are a selection of ties. Ties are the lead product for the entire suit; if I see a tie I like, the salesman can then guide me to the suit that fits that tie. Or if they offer a
pair of shoes, we can then proceed to tailor the entire suit to those shoes. The entry point gives the customer a place to start the buying process, introduced by small, low price products (i.e., lead items) which they like.

4. The entrance to your storefront is a critical place to create comfort and give people specific products to buy. Ties, and shoes, lead to the suit. The small decision leads to the bigger buy, by gradually working the consumer into
the right state of mind. It is a passage to the sales process.

How to Make Them Buy Now, Part 3 coming up next post!

"After the Affiliate Summit 2006 With Declan Dunn"

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