Internet Marketing Specialists

With web marketing, it’s easy to get caught up in the “latest thing” to generate traffic or increase conversion.  Most of these tactics are destined to fail and disappoint unless you lack a firm strategic foundation. This marketing strategy that doesn’t cost anything more to implement, but can have a massive influence on the way website visitors looka at you and your business.Plus it multiplies the effect of every marketing method you use. I’m talking about your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). You have heard it’s importance- what I’m going to tell you is HOW to formulate an effective USP and use it to attract and keep more clients, especially online. That’s what we’ll cover below:

Your Unique Selling Proposition is that distinct, appealing idea that sets you apart from every other “me too” competitor.Your USP gives people a reason to give their business to YOU and not your competitor. Online, it means opting in, enquiring or buying on YOUR site, rather than clicking on to the next.

Without any thinking can you clearly say the unique advantages you offer your clients? If you struggle with this, you’re certainly not alone. Very few business owners are able to state their USP.

Read on to discover how to formulate a powerful USP to increase the conversion power of your website and shorten your sales cycle.

Examples of USP Concepts
USP concepts can be grouped into 10 broad categories: Price Quality Service Speed Selection Convenience Guarantee Customisation Originality Specialisation.
Please note that these broad concepts are very much a starting point only. Simply claiming, “We give great service” won’t convince website visitors to click deeper into your website, enquire or give you their business. You also need to flesh out your USP with specifics to really drive home HOW you deliver on your promise.

Then you lay on the PROOF that what you say is true (we’ll go into more detail on how to do this in future editions).

When you follow this process, you’ll find more qualified prospects self-selecting into your sales process.
We’ll look at two distinct strategies to help you find or articulate your USP in just a moment. You need to specify what you’re aiming to achieve.

The Qualities of a Successful USP
Successful USP’s encapsulate an important need. Important for the customer. They’re tightly worded and promise something special that your competition doesn’t. Here are a few well-known examples:
Speed e.g. FedEx: When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight
Quality/Selection  e.g. Woolworth’s: The Fresh Food People

Unsuccessful Approaches To Avoid
An unsuccessful USP is one that isn’t really “unique” at all, usually because it’s not specific enough. How often have you seen boilerplate marketing slogans such as:
“Good Quality and Low Prices”,
“Affordable Quality Since 1984”,
“Service With A Smile”,
“Excellence In Quality And Service”.
These are empty words that hold no persuasive power with savvy website visitors. To really make your USP come alive, you need to be specific.

How To Create A Compelling USP
Here are two effective strategies for finding your USP and successfully incorporating it into your business or professional practice.

USP Formulation Strategy #1: Crystallise and communicate your unique strengths
Ask yourself these four key questions:
1. What do you offer that your competitors don’t?
2. Is this important to your customers?
3. How easy is it for competitors to copy?
4. Can it be communicated easily?

Taglines vs Slogans vs USPs
A “tagline” is NOT the same as a USP. Your tagline is normally not long enough to communicate your entire USP. However, the best taglines are a succinct contraction or summation of the full USP. They get across the key selling idea in 1 or 2 seconds. Your USP is NOT a “slogan” either, and it doesn’t have to be a short phrase or sentence. In many cases, your USP statement can be an entire paragraph. The important thing is to encapsulate what makes you unique, different and desirable to your client while eliminating excess verbiage.

USP Formulation Strategy #2: Identify a gap in the market and fill it
Another successful approach for formulating your USP is to analyse your industry for “performance gaps” that you can fill.
Ask yourself: What do people dislike about our industry? What are our competitors’ weaknesses? What specific needs are being unmet in the market?

You need each individual prospect left in no doubt as to why it makes much more sense for them to work with you onstead of a competitor.

Expertise in a specific niche can be a very powerful USP, especially on the Internet. NARROWING your focus often allows you to define and dominate your playing field, instead of waging battles for territory in a commoditised, undifferentiated market.

How We Approach the “Performance Gap” Issue
Marketing consultants sometimes have a reputation for providing a bunch of recommendations, then bailing out before the strategies are implemented or any dollar returns have been realised.
Then there’s the typical web design company, which may be skilled at putting images and code on the web, but are very often unable to turn your website into a lead generation machine that generates profit for your business.

HM Gilmore and Associates  is different because we are experts at creating and implementing website traffic and conversion strategies that are effective, accountable and profitable. Our USP is based around delivering profitable results.
Final Thoughts On USPs
A good USP is mission critical to your ability to draw visitors deeper into your website and construct a compelling case to convert shy prospects into lifelong clients.
You’re probably already offering your clients many unique benefits, but until you communicate these benefits in the form of a compelling USP, you won’t enjoy the results you could and should be getting.

Or maybe you already have a USP, but it hasn’t been incorporated deeply enough into all you marketing communications and operations. Rework or refine your USP and build an online customer acquisition system around it to generate more profitable marketing results.

The goldrush is happening right now in the marketing world. The new frontier is Facebook. Claims are being staked, and some are striking it lucky, but there are lots of miners out there shovelling dirt.  You have been told that facebook is a must for business, but where and how do you start?

With 500+ million people where over a ¼ of a billion people are active daily we are told is a land of opportunity. Surely the Google killer has a place for each of you?

A flood of sales awaits if you follow the rules, use the right methods and a execute a plan of attack. You could extract plenty of gold when you know the right strategies. A warning though: it won’t take 5 minutes of planning to receive market domination. Don’t worry that it will take weeks either.

In this article I invite you to consider putting a strategy into action that will bring you new fans, leads, and business. Whether you have a physical store or you sell online, putting the following methods into action will give you the opportunity to tap into 100′s of millions of conversations.

What is your unique selling point?

Before diving on to Facebook, grab your notebook and write down the answers to these questions. How is your business different? What holds it apart from your competition? What would compel someone to connect with what you are offering? Whether you call this a unique selling point or a marketing message, having a unique feature that separates your business from the millionsin the marketplace is crucial.

Tap into conversations

Be prepared to change your traditional message that you use on your sales letters.  Facebook is about conversation. Even the messages on your other marketing pieces won’t work directly when applied to Facebook. When people connect with your business they are letting you know that they want to talk with your business.

You need more than simple sales or new product releases, understand what makes people talk about your business. What will make someone want to stop and suggest your business to their “friends”? Answer these questions effectively, and you will be able to tap into conversations. Tap into the right conversations and you will generate business.

Now Flood Your Facebook Presence with Traffic

Beginners tell me they feel like they are limited to how many friends they have in their personal network. Some don’t even start because they feel trapped by having just a few friends! Most people focus on one source of traffic which leads to frustration and disappointment. I encourage my clients to utilise at least four methods of bringing new prospects directly to you.

1. Facebook Advertising You can target prospects by geography, demographics, and even by what they are already fans of. It has limitless opportunities. The amount of people that you can bring directly to you is only limited by your spend. Facebook Ads are one of the most direct and immediate methods of bringing traffic on a daily basis. As people browse through Facebook you get the opportunity to grab their attention with a tiny ad! Put the right ads in place and watch your business grow.

2. Direct Fan Invites There are a number of companies that offer the service of targeting specific groups of people. They take your desired target market and invite them to your fan page. With the right service and the right “fan” criteria you can bring a few thousand people to your business in just a couple of weeks. Be careful on the service you choose as you don’t want to get banned from Facebook.

3. Cross-Marketing If you already have a powerful online presence, leverage the power of your existing website or blog to get more people to join you on Facebook. With free tools, like Social Plugins, you can tap into the traffic that is already on your website. If you don’t have a website or blog yet, now if the time for action.

4. Email Marketing Email is alive and kicking! Invite your existing customers to join you in the conversation that is occurring on Facebook. With a few targeted emails you can quickly jump to a few thousand raving fans that already know you and will keep the conversation going.

Within facebook, there are at least a dozen different methods of bringing traffic to you. Each method of traffic gives you an opportunity to reach a different type of customer. Simply action a minimum of four to keep your business growing and eliminate your competition.

Transform that Traffic into Leads and Profit

Traffic that doesn’t convert into leads and sales is a waste of money. Some traffic can be quite expensive. Wasting that investment will hurt your bottom line quickly. In order to maximize your traffic, I invite you to consider two stages of conversion. Get these two elements correct and you will have powerful ways to grab the interest of your prospects:

1. Get Prospects to Click “Like” This is your  first goal. For the uninitiated, people on Facebook click “like” for comments, articles, or fan pages. With less than 10 seconds to grab a prospects attention, your fan page needs to quickly pique interest. When you have their attention you can compel them to move their mouse and click that tiny little “like” button.

Grabbing their attention quickly requires rich graphics, possibly incorporating video, and ensuring that your marketing message is obvious. When your fan page is graphically rich, extends the brand of your existing business and compels the prospect to take action you will get people to quickly click “like”. Once they are a fan, they receive a newsfeed from you, and their “friends” can see it too. What a marketing opportunity!

2. Building Your Email List After you get people to click “like” consider offering prospects an opportunity to optin to your email list. You can offer them your email newsletter, a special report, or create something entirely new. Just give them an opportunity to give you their name and email, and keep building your database.

When you have their attention in their email and the newsfeed, you will be developing you relationship with them by maximizing each traffic source.

By differentiating your business, bringing a flood of traffic, and converting that traffic into “fans” you will have a Facebook marketing strategy that will have you yelling “Eureka!”