Many businesses, whether online or offline don't know what their customers are worth.

Knowing the value of your customers is crucial in the marketing process.

If you don't know what your customers are worth, how can you know what you need to spend to gain a new customer?

The truth is that it costs money to gain a new customer.  It is important to know what you are paying to gain a new customer and what the lifetime value of your customer is worth.

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Randy Ruggles and Jonathan Hook of The Marketers Mind are starting a consulting program for small businesses.

In our program:

A. We work with small to medium sized business to help them increase gross revenues by 20% or more in 90 days without additional advertising - GUARANTEED

There are three basic ways to grow a business:

1. Get more customers

2. Get current customers to buy more

3. Get current customers to buy more often

Most consultants and especially sales reps for various media only focus on #1 - getting your message out to increase the traffic in your business.  We focus especially on #2 and #3 - gaining sales and loyalty from your existing customers.

B. We don't just tell you what to do and leave you thrashing around or add more to your existing "to do" list.  We actually implement the system for you.

C. We will put easy, repeatable systems in place so that you don't need us forever.  Once we set things up, you will be able to carry on without having to pay us on an ongoing basis.

Of course, the most important aspects of our USP are that we create results FAST, without ADVERTISING - GUARANTEED.

We look forward to growing your business.  Contact us at jhook @ themarketersmind.com

Well, if it does, you are probably doing it wrong!

The whole point of advertising is to generate income or increase sales.  Advertising is not something you do:

a) When you have a chance to get around to it

b) Once you are successful  enough to "afford" it

c) When you have extra money

Advertising should be a part of a complete marketing campaign and should not really be done on it's own without being part of a bigger picture.

The idea is design a whole marketing campaign that works together.  Advertising becomes a part of this and you should be able to track your advertising.  A well designed campaign will have mechanisms built in that allow you to monitor your advertising every step of the way.

Advertising is an investment and you should know what the return is.  Advertising should produce a positive return on your cost.

If you are losing money by advertising, then stop doing it!  Get some help to create a marketing strategy and implement it to make money.

Everyone makes mistakes!  Even the "big guys".

It is part of what we do, we are people, we are not perfect.

The thing that sets the professionals apart is the way a mistake is handled.

There are a few different ways to handle a mistake.

One option that some people try is to pass the blame.  "It isn't my fault", "someone else messed up".  All this does is make you look helpless.  You are supposed to know what you are doing, you are supposed to be the expert.  But you are at the mercy of whoever made the mistake.  Not good.

Some people just try to hide and see if the thing blows over.  Very easy to do on the internet where things can be a bit impersonal.  Certainly does not make you very professional and won't gain you more trust from your clients.

Honesty is the best policy.  You heard it from your mother first - and it is still true in business.

I recently made a mistake on one of my websites - www.3dayfiresale.com. On this site, I offer for sale tools that marketers can use at great prices that can't be beat anywhere.  Once I send out the emails letting people know what is on sale, the sooner you buy, the cheaper it is.  The price goes up on it's own over time.

The mistake I made was very foolish but very serious.  I didn't double-check my download links.  Turns out I didn't have available all of the files I was selling.  So I sent out my email and people started to purchase - but they couldn't download the files.  Big problem.  What did I do?  Well, I didn't run away and hope people would leave me alone.  I didn't try to pass the buck.  I sent out an email to everyone and let them know there were some problems and we were working to resolve them.  To make a long story short, I was able to recover the main item I was selling but I was not able to provide the bonus that I had offered.  So I emailed everyone the main product.  Made it as easy as possible.  I didn't tell them to log in and download the product, I emailed it straight to them.  I also let everyone know that the bonus was not available and then I gave my customers 2 options.  Everyone had already received the actual product and now they could either receive a FULL refund, OR, they could chose a replacement product and have any one product that we offer on our www.3dayfiresale.com website. Now this was especially attractive since I had run this particular sale at a great discount and was now offering any other product as a replacement.  The result?  Well about 25% of the sales that day got refunded.  No problem.  About 30% of the clients chose another product to replace it.  That was great, I still made the sale.  The rest of the people were just happy they got the main product and didn't ask for either option.  Even better!  Sale made, mistake admitted and happy client.

One thing you don't want to do is over-compensate.  You see it online, someone makes an error and offers back the whole farm.  All this does is make you look like some cheesy salesman that can't be trusted or like you have some ulterior motive behind you.

All you need to do is be transparent, don't hide, admit your error and fix it.  People will trust you more knowing that they are sure to get value for their dollar and that they aren't getting ripped off.

That is the best way to handle your mistakes - and keep your client's trust.

Every entrepreneur who is looking for a new business idea has heard the advice: "find a need and fill it." I'm here to tell you to forget it. That advice could doom your business to fail even before you start.

Think about your last trip to the mall.

Be honest now. How many of those shiny, new packages you brought home contained something you really needed? I mean for your basic survival?

More than likely the items you bought filled a "want," not a need.

Consider the Mercedes buyer. Does he buy a Mercedes because he needs its great gas mileage? Or does he "want" the impression of status it conveys for his image? Does he need the car's safe handling for his family? Or does he "want" the younger, sexier feeling driving a Mercedes provides?

The fact is, people make purchases based on emotional reasons. Then, they use logic to justify their desires.

Many a product that satisfied a need has failed because it was impossible to get people excited about it.

When you're looking for your next business venture choose one that fills a "want." People will always pay more for a "want" than a "need." And your odds for success will multiply.

Tags: niche marketing, internet marketing tips, affiliate marketing, internet marketing, article marketing

I coined the term "P.O.W.E.R. Marketing" to describe five steps you must take when crafting any ad or sales letter.

P.O.W.E.R. is an acronym for: Provoke a Problem, Offer a Solution, Win Trust, Evoke Emotion, and Remove Risk.

Many small business owners forget some of these steps when they create their marketing materials. But the most successful sales letters contain ALL of these elements.

Let's look at each step of the P.O.W.E.R. Marketing System:

1/ PROVOKE A PROBLEM:

Your ad should begin by stoking the fire under a problem your prospect

identifies closely with. This is often done in the headline, the sub-head

and the first few paragraphs of the body copy.

An example might be the famous mail-order ad that asks, "Do You Make

These Mistakes In English?" The goal is to stop your reader in his tracks

and make him want to read more.

2/ OFFER A SOLUTION:

If you write your ad correctly, the solution to your prospect's problem

should be YOUR product or service. But many ad writers remember the

"solution" but forget the "offer" part.

You need a solid offer so your prospect knows what he's getting. Your

offer should include your product, the price (which may include a

discount with an expiry date), payment terms and even bonuses.

Bonuses are especially effective if offered for a limited time only.

Spend a lot of time creating your offer. Make it irresistible. Your offer will

make or break your campaign. And it's the most essential part of the

P.O.W.E.R. Marketing System.

3/ WIN TRUST:

When your prospect reads your ad or sales letter, he is often doubting

what you say. He knows you are trying to sell him something. He's been

burned before by other, unscrupulous marketers. Why should he believe

YOU are any different?

So remember to present your credentials. State your years and level of

experience. Quote the results of tests performed on your product. Show

photos of your product in action. All will enhance your credibility.

But the best way to win your prospects' trust is through the use of

testimonials. You've read statements from customers that began, "I was

skeptical at first. But then I tried XYZ brand." Your prospect will believe

a testimonial over YOU because he perceives that the customer is

someone like him.

As soon as you can, start collecting testimonials from satisfied

customers. Most are happy to oblige. (And while you're at it, ask for

referrals too.)

4/ EVOKE EMOTION:

People buy things based on emotion not logic. They may realize buying

your product would be a smart move. But you must get them excited to

get them to take that step.

To get your prospect excited, speak in terms of benefits, not features. A

feature is a specific characteristic of your product. A benefit is what your

customer will get from that feature.

An example? The lighted keypad on a cell phone is a feature. The

benefit? No more fumbling in the dark to answer a call or dial a number.

When describing your product, make sure you always translate each

feature into its corresponding benefit to the consumer.

5/ REMOVE RISK:

To really explode your sales, you need to remove all risk from your

prospect. To do this, develop a strong guarantee and promote it heavily.

It's not good enough to simply state "Guaranteed" at the end of your

offer. In fact, the more specific you make your guarantee, the more

powerful and effective it becomes.

Here's the guarantee I use for my "How To Start Your Own Home-Based

Coupon Book Business" manual:

"Try my manual for 60 days FREE.

If you're not completely convinced

that this business is the one you've

been waiting for - send it back

for a FULL REFUND. NO QUESTIONS ASKED."

For my "Coupon Book Business Builder's Tool Kit," I offer a ONE-FULL-

YEAR Unconditional Guarantee.

Some marketers even offer double or triple your money back.

Don't be afraid to make a strong guarantee. Sure a few dishonest

people will take advantage of you. But your increase in sales will far

out-weigh your losses.

Remember to use these five steps in all your marketing messages. Employ the P.O.W.E.R. Marketing System and watch your sales sky-rocket.

Tags: internet marketing, affiliate marketing, article marketing, internet marketing tips, Jonathan Hook