It is a sobering reality – 97% of online businesses fail within one year of their start up. If you are considering starting a new business online (or have already begun building one), then this statistic may give you pause.
Fortunately, you can easily arm yourself with information that will practically immunize you from failure and put you miles ahead of any would-be competitors.
As it turns out, a vast majority of failing businesses make the same mistakes. Avoding them can easily put you miles ahead of your competition.. |
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The most common approach for new business start-ups on the Internet is to copy other websites that offer similar products or services. These people are, in essence, emulating failure – after all, 97% of businesses online are destined to fail or already failing.
It is a classic case of the blind following the blind – like a column of lemmings dutifully marching behind their leader as he tumbles down a cliff.
Here you will discover the two most common mistakes that failed Internet businesses make, and how to steer clear of them. Doing so will automatically tip the odds greatly in your favor.
Deadly Mistake #1: Being All Things to All People
A common delusion that many online companies harbor is that everyone needs their product. As a result, they create a generic sales message that broadly appeals to everyone under the sun… or more specifically, to no one in particular.
The easiest way to successfully market a product or service on the Internet is to bypass the competition altogether. The best, and most profitable, way to accomplish this goal is to focus all of your sales efforts on highly specific target groups with a tailored marketing message.
For example, if you offer lingerie online, consider focusing on marketing your product to plus-size females who want to feel more sexy. Few people on the Internet market to this group specifically, and you can be sure that your website will immediately interest any women in this category.
Targeting your marketing and your sales message not only saves you time and allows you to ignore your competition… your prospective customers will see your product as one that is tailored specifically for them. Rather than seeing you as a salesperson pushing a product, their first reaction will be “That’s for me.”
Broad, generic, “all-things-to-all-people” marketing has never worked, and will never work – especially online. Specifically targeted marketing works wonders, and practically guarantees your success online. Combined with the next tip, you can give yourself an astronomical advantage over anyone who dares to compete with you online…
Deadly Mistake #2: Great Advertising, Lousy Website
Although this may sound strange coming from a marketing professional, it turns out that too many online businesses place far too much focus on advertising.
It is all too common to find a business with a truly awful website spending thousands upon thousands of dollars to attract customers. In fact, no matter how much that business spends to bring in new buyers, they will never get far – how could they, if their website cannot close sales? And so, even more advertising dollars are wasted.
Spending a fortune to attract customers to a poor website is similar to baiting a broken mousetrap with a $1,000 chunk of cheese. You may attract a horde of rats to your trap… who will then have a fabulous feast at your expense. Unfortunately, your prospects of catching any of them are slim at best.
As a retail store owner, you probably wouldn’t invest thousands of dollars in advertising to attract customers to a store that is filthy and staffed by clueless sales people.
So why do so many website owners make the same mistake with their online businesses? The answer is simple: most of these businesses have no clue as to what makes a website good at selling, so they simply copy other websites, cross their fingers, and hope for the best.
Unfortunately, hope has never been much of a winning sales strategy. And so the result is always the same.
To avoid this mistake, all you have to do is make certain your website is focused, persuasive, and – above all – simple. On the Internet, simple sells. Elaborate graphics and a dizzying array of options and buttons rarely lead to a sale. A highly focused, tightened and clean design, on the other hand, keeps buyers’ attention and interest locked on what matters: your offer.
Therefore you will enjoy the best results if you hire a copywriter, marketing professional, or a skilled salesman to design your website. Above all, try to avoid hiring a graphic designer to create your site. Your website is not an art project; it is one of your most important sales tools.
If people who actually know how to sell end up designing your website, you will automatically place yourself in the top 3% of businesses on the Internet.
The fact that almost no one follows these two simple guidelines is actually to your advantage… so long as the majority continues to churn out generic marketing and copying each other’s websites, you will easily be able to swoop in an ensure your own success. Dejected and broke, your competitors will scratch their heads and wonder how you did it.
Daniel Lorente is the author of How To Prosper in the Coming Recession and The Unfair Advantage Guide to Attracting All The Customers You Can Handle. President of the Aphelion Marketing Institute, he gives seminars and publishes Internet Sales Review magazine for professionals across the world. Daniel Lorente also speaks at conferences and trains executives on becoming more persuasive.
Daniel can be reached at 1-800-440-8057, or by e-mail at daniel@aphelionmarketing.com.
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