Internet marketing for beginners is somewhat of an oxymoron. This is because while in theory the concepts behind these small business marketing ideas might be quite simple, executing effective strategies can be extremely difficult. This can even be tough for those who are quite experienced in the world of Internet marketing. With this in mind, this article will attempt to explain the concept of Internet marketing for beginners and will outline some basic strategies which can help a business owner to launch his own Internet marketing campaign. We will cover concepts such as creating a website, placing banner ads, sending out e-newsletters, orchestrating an email marketing campaign and optimizing your website for search engines.

One of the most basic steps for starting an Internet marketing campaign is to create a website. If you don’t have a website or have a poorly designed website you should consider creating or re-designing a website to adequately market your products. If you do not have experience in web design, there are a number of software packages which make it simple for those with no design experience to create a functional website. However, hiring a web designer is worthwhile because he can work to create a website which is attractive, functional and suitable to your products and series. He can also help you include more advanced features on your website.

Banner ads are another popular option for advertising your small business on the Internet. Banner ads are advertisements which typically appear along the top of a website but it may also include smaller ads in other locations. Banner ads typically include graphics and text which entice Internet users to click on the advertisement. Once a user clicks on the ad, they are directed to your website. This type of advertising can be very effective when care is taken to place the advertisements on high traffic websites which attract an audience who may have an interest in your products.

Sending out e-newsletters can also be a part of an effective Internet marketing strategy. E-newsletters are essentially emails which may contain a variety of information including informative articles, useful quizzes, relevant advertising or any other information which is deemed worthwhile for the recipients of the e-newsletter. The importance of these newsletters is that they can be used as marketing tools which are not viewed by the recipients as an advertisement. One way to do this is to incorporate links or other soft sale approaches into the copy of the e-newsletters. However, care should be taken to keep these references minimal so the e-newsletter is not viewed as spam.

Email marketing campaigns can be another successful aspect of an Internet marketing campaign. Email marketing essentially involves sending out emails to a group of individuals who may be interested in your products and services. Care should be taken in sending out these emails to avoid sending emails which are unsolicited and will be viewed as spam. One way to do this is to only send out the emails to users who have requested inclusion on an email mailing list. Another way to do this is to provide value in the emails as opposed to just including advertisements. This can be done by offering relevant advice in your emails and other useful information which may be of interest to the recipients of the email.

Finally, optimizing your website for search engines is a critical aspect of an Internet marketing campaign. Search engines rank websites according to quality and relevance for particular search terms. Many Internet users appreciate the effort by search engines and use these search engines to find the best websites on a particular subject. This means the Internet users are likely to only visit websites which rank well with search engines. Therefore if your website is not high ranking, you are not likely to generate a great deal of traffic from Internet users who use search engines to find relevant websites. Top ranking websites are likely to obtain the most traffic from search engines and all websites falling on the first page of the search engine results will likely enjoy some degree of success in improving their traffic.

A company projects its brand in many ways: its logo, Web site, advertising, office and even employee attire. Yet with such an emphasis on developing an appropriate small business marketing strategy, it is surprising that one of the most active customer touch points is often ignored.
The phone call still reigns as the primary mode of interaction between small businesses and their customers. If there is a problem, most entrepreneurs will pick up the phone to quickly fix the problem rather than use a channel, like e-mail, that requires them to wait for a response. As a result, your company’s voice brand is an important aspect of maintaining the image you want to convey.

Everyone has experienced the call. You pick up the phone to call a business and immediately wish you hadn’t. Whether being met with an inept staff member, a shockingly foul-mouthed representative or someone who provided grossly inaccurate information, odds are you’ve experienced an ignored voice brand.

What Is a Voice Brand?

Simply put, your company’s voice brand is the image it provides through the spoken word. Marcus Graham, author of Voice Branding in America, provides a more in-depth account of establishing an optimal small business marketing message:

“It’s the unique combination of voice talent, words, call flow and spirit that greets and guides callers. The voice brand is largely experienced over the telephone today, but that’s changing. With the telephone, computer and television morphing into similar multi-function devices due to digital convergence, a company’s voice brand is being heard on Web sites, multimedia CD ROMs, kiosks, cards, point of purchase devices and who knows what else.”

Crafting Your Company’s Voice Brand

With the evolution of how businesses engage their customers and prospects, we have also seen an increase in the number of small business marketing channels companies need to manage. Fifty years ago, the letter may have been the most common and most cost-effective form of direct communication with customers, whereas today the Web site is the default source for general company information. Now more than ever, businesses need to ensure they are using the same voice brand across all channels.

The first step is to determine the small business marketing message you wish to convey. To effectively do so, a company needs to examine not only its current brand, but the brands of its customers and prospective customers.

When examining these brands, review a number of attributes: are your company and your customers extremely professional or casual, highly educated or plainspoken, in a “white-collar” or “blue-collar” industry? Once you’ve identified some of these attributes, you can better identify the small business marketing message that will achieve success.

Inventory all of your voice communications touch points with an understanding of the brand your company will create. A touch point consists of any channel through which a customer could interact with your company, such as your receptionist, interactive voice response (IVR) system, tech support line, advertising response line, voicemail and online voice assets. Consider what you want your customer to experience and accomplish at each of these touch points. With a plan in place, you can design or redesign your small business marketing messaging and call flows to create a positive customer interaction.

For example, the medical field frequently uses call forwarding and redirecting services so patients can speak with someone 24/7. If handled correctly, the system may ask if it’s an emergency, give you the option to immediately speak with a healthcare expert or provide information about where to receive immediate care. During business hours, a person would provide this information, but during non-business hours, physicians still need a professional solution that provides the necessary information.

Choose a Persona

How you speak with your customers is just as important as what you say. Oftentimes, automated phone systems sound mechanical, distant and even unprofessional. Think of your voice persona the same way you think of your staff when they are speaking to your customers.

Is your company represented by a man or woman, someone young or old? Do they have an accent? What is their attitude? A consistent persona, that reflects your company’s personality and culture, will help establish the voice brand your customers will associate with your business.

Regardless of the persona your company takes, consider hiring professional voice talent to record the messages your customers will encounter. There are many companies that work exclusively with small businesses to create a voice brand; consider using one to help you.

Bring Your Small Business Marketing Message Together

Executing your vision for a voice brand will take planning and consideration of available tools. Most small business phone or PBX systems include basic IVR functionality that lets you customize voice prompts. Take advantage of this capability to ensure your small business marketing message is used throughout all automated responses your customer can have with your phone system.

For example, a Virtual Receptionist application is a great tool to effectively convey your voice brand. Virtual Receptionist offers easy and powerful management of inbound calling for your business and uses text-to-voice functionality that allows companies to create a customized script to answer and direct calls. With an intuitive interface, small businesses can create and update their phone menus on the fly to change how callers interact with the system during and after business hours.

Your small business marketing strategies send a message every time your phone rings; your Web site is hit and your employees speak. It is important that all these messages point to a consistent small business marketing message that embodies your organization. Taking the time to create the brand, using it across all channels and leveraging readily available voice solutions will ensure your small business isn’t creating an experience your customer would rather forget.

There are two schools of thought in small business marketing. One of the marketing strategies is to have lots of clients at a lower price point. The other is to have fewer clients at a higher price point.

My preference is to design my business to have both that work together synergistically. If you have lots of clients at a lower price point you have a “tribe” of people who already know, like and trust you and are likely to want more of what you offer.

This means you can then offer private, intensive specialty coaching or consulting “Platinum Days” at a much higher fee.

My success coaching clients are surprised by how many of their clients are willing to pay top dollar to spend a day or two with them in a private, intensive retreat-type setting.

Clients love the concentrated focus that’s all on them, and often achieve significant breakthroughs they could only achieve if they were to work with you over a longer period of time.

Here are four quick coaching tips to make your “Platinum Day” income stream successful for you and your clients:

Success Coaching Tip #1: Hold your “Platinum Day” in a special setting.These days, resorts are all the rage. You can arrange for a guest suite or a meeting room in which to host your Platinum Day for a reasonable rate compared to what you’re charging your client.

Success Coaching Tip #2: Plan at least one “experiential” activity.People learn and work best when they are engaging all of their senses—eyes, ears, body, taste, smell and intuition. Even if you’re working on topics as “serious” as strategic planning or implementation of marketing plans, be sure to include some type of physical outing. It could be a nature walk, a golf lesson, or drumming. The point is to make the activity something unusual that creates a memorable experience and forces your clients to stretch out of their comfort zones.

Success Coaching Tip #3: Include loads of pampering touches.My Platinum Day marketing plans include limo service to and from the airport and yummy catered lunches. I also include a guest stay at a beautiful bed-and-breakfast where I know my clients will be treated like royalty. You could include a massage, facial or other form of spa treatment for the women small business clients attending your Platinum Day.

Success Coaching Tip #4: Focus on how the day with you will move your client forward by leaps, not little steps.Platinum Days are designed to create breakthroughs. The marketing strategy here is to emphasize the value of having intensive time exclusively with you to work ON what they want, instead of IN what they want.

What are the results of the Platinum Day marketing strategies? I typically receive anywhere from $10,000 – $20,000 per private Platinum Day retreat and spend between one to three days with my clients. One of my clients created her own Platinum Day, charging $2,000 and successfully marketed it to a modest-sized list of start-up women small business owners.

Another success coaching client created her first Platinum retreat for her executive clients to pursue a more enlightened form of leadership and comfortably charged $5,000 for a two-day experience.

Whether you’re newer in your business or have been growing for awhile, adding a Platinum Day to your list of services is a simple, easy and a highly profitable way to add significant money to your monthly income!