Business Alone

Many will say that the wealth of resources we have in the United States has allowed this country to step to the forefront of new product development.

They speak of the financial, educational, and natural resources found in the U.S. in abundance as the reason for our world leadership.

When you think about the young age of this country (230 years) compared to other geographically large countries throughout the world, it's quite amazing that the U.S. has taken such a leadership role.

According to a recently released study, over 50 percent of U.S. annual GDP growth (gross domestic product) can be attributed to increases in our innovation.

The U.S. economy is changing dramatically.

It's quite apparent that geography and physical boundaries are becoming less and less critical in company strategic decisions and plans.

Large industrial companies are moving overseas where cheap labor and sometimes relaxed standards or lower taxes allow them to produce more using less.

New companies are springing up in the U.S. to take their places - but these firms are different. They're knowledge-based and their growth is driven by intellectual capital.

Often these knowledge firms gather around one another in clusters in order to feed off each other and create a community were they rub shoulders on a daily basis.

If you have a business based in the U.S. and you pride yourself on having the lowest prices in town (or in your industry), are you ready to be severely challenged?

One of the most evident changes that the U.S. economy has undergone in the past 15 years or so is the flight of industrial and manufacturing companies away from the U.S. Why?

Well there are a lot of reasons, but the basis of this exodus is the fact that labor in the U.S. is increasingly expensive and hard to find.

Years ago there were some business characteristics that, if exploited, propelled a small business into the limelight and fueled its growth for years into the future.

What were some of these characteristics?

If your business had the undisputed lowest price in town, you were often rewarded with lots of sales and the revenue to expand your operation.

Some businesses grew quickly because they had access to unique manufacturing processes - those that allowed them to produce products faster and at a lower cost than the competition.

One of the true challenges facing every Internet business is the process of turning prospects into paying customers.

Lots of people can be directed to a web site by various means and incentives - but getting those prospects to spend money with your business is a whole different proposition.

How do you optimize your conversion rate - turning lookers into buyers - that certain percentage of surfers that will actually give you a credit card number and deposit their money into your bank account?

We'll save the details and numbered lists of tactics and strategies for another day.

What I wanted to get across as your sole "take away" (bit of wisdom you can use in your business) from this discussion is:

Regardless of the size of your marketing budget, there are some business principles that should guide what you do, when you do it, and how you bring together the various elements of your business marketing.

The tendency for many new small businesses is simply to strike out and begin spreading the word about your product or service in a random hodge-podge manner, jumping from this to that depending upon where you think you'll get the most bang for your effort.

Your marketing "plan" has no real thinking behind it . . . you just figure the best you can do is to spread the word as quickly as you can to as many sources as you can and hope for the best.

Now that game plan certainly beats doing no marketing at all, but it lacks the leveraging power of a unified and comprehensive approach that ties all your different marketing efforts together and cements your brand in the minds of your customers.

In the previous installment, we discussed some basic business principles that should guide your Internet marketing campaign.

They will help you to know what you should do, when you do it, and how you bring together these various elements or activities to accomplish some solid and powerful small business marketing.

The first two "Rs" were recognition and recount. Here's the third . . .

Of course the Internet small business has many formats to choose from when advertising its products and services.

I believe using a variety of methods is generally preferable to always relying upon one format. Your customers may tire from the same looking message received repeatedly.

One of the most effective selling formats is the personal letter from you (the small business owner) to the customer. It's a proven strategy that often works better than any other because it's:

(1) personal - most of us are much more likely to buy a product that is personally recommended than one we have no human tie to;

(2) intimate - we feel that a personal letter is not something that would be shared with lots of other people, hence we view it as tailored to our own needs or geared to our own circumstance (even though that may not be the case since the same "personal" letter might be sent to thousands of prospects);

What I am about to say may strike a chord of discontent among many of you . . . but that's okay.

It will bring to light a strategy that many of the Internet's most successful and profitable business persons have adopted on the road to increased business and nice incomes.

I will ask the question again, "Who gives out points for creativity and innovation?"

Most entrepreneurs and new small business owners feel that in order to be successful at Internet business, they must create or invent the next unique and valuable product - something different from all others in the same niche market. I beg to differ.

Now I am certainly not opposed to being creative or innovative, all of the other things being equal, it's a real blessing to have these personal characteristics manifest in your business. . . but . . .

Most often though, success is found in other ways. Here are some examples: