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How To Turn Those Casual Visitors Into Regular Customers:
Make Your Web Site The Online Resource
For Your Target Market!
Traffic.
And lots of it. It's the dream of every netrepreneur.
You lie in bed at night, staring at the ceiling, dreaming
up new ways to lure your target market to your web site.
Why? The answer is obvious: traffic equals sales. If nobody
comes, nobody buys. It's a simple formula for success,
right? Well, maybe not…
The
problem is that your first time customer… even your first
time visitor… is always of the highest cost to you. You've
had to spend your hard earned advertising dollars to get
them there. It's the repeat customers and visitors that are really worth the big money. If they're coming
back to check out your site, your products, your services,
or your information again, you have clearly developed
a relationship with them. You have established credibility
and trust. Once you've done this, the chance that these
repeat visitors will buy from you increases exponentially!
So
perhaps the question you really should be asking yourself
is how you can turn those one time buyers and casual
visitors into regular customers!
There
are a number of ways that you can go about this. Backend
products and newsletters are two of the key techniques,
but I've discussed both extensively in my "Insider Secrets"
Course. (Click
here to learn more about these
critical marketing strategies.)
Instead,
today I would like to take a moment to discuss the value
of turning your web site into a vertical portal…
making your web site the online resource for your
niche market.
Now
I'm sure at this point many of you are feeling pretty
confused. Vertical Portal? What's that?
Let
me start by first explaining what a portal site is. A
portal site is basically an entry page onto the Web. Yahoo! and Excite, for example, are both portal sites.
They are designed to attract a large, general audience
by offering a broad range of information including weather,
stocks, news, and horoscopes, as well as services such
as shopping, free e-mail, and entertainment updates. Referred
to as "horizontal" portals, these sites are designed to
draw repeat visitors from all walks of life.
On
the other hand, "Vertical" portals, also referred to as
"Niche" portals, are developed with a very specific market
in mind. A vertical portal focuses on a small portion
of the general audience, striving to meet their needs
for information, products, and services by becoming the online resource for that segment.
So
what does this mean for you? Well, imagine this for a
moment…
Let's
say that your web site is devoted to selling mountain
bike adventure tours in Utah to middle-aged couples. Since
you took your business online, you have devoted a considerable
amount of time and effort to developing an effective marketing
strategy and you have enjoyed an increase in clientele.
Unfortunately, you're still not achieving the kind of
sales that you had expected. After taking some time to
survey your visitors and clientele, you conclude that
the biggest hurdle you need to cross is the trust issue.
Couples are leery to travel across the country -- or across
the world -- to partake in an activity that is potentially
dangerous with a guide whom they've never met before.
How
can you establish your expertise and prove your credibility?
Simple! Turn your web site into a vertical portal…
Become the online resource for travelers interested
in mountain biking in Utah! Provide maps of the area and
biking trails… include articles about the local terrain,
safety issues, biking techniques and gear… list links
to accommodations that cater to mountain bikers… provide
links to bike dealers… and much more! Visitors to your
site will easily recognize you as an industry expert,
and will be far less apprehensive about purchasing your
tour package.
You
see, vertical portals are organized around a product
type, an industry, or a topic area. They give you
an advantage over a simple commerce site because they
focus on providing quality information instead of just
selling a product. I've said it before and I'll say it
again… People come online in search of information,
not to buy something! This is an important point that
cannot be stressed enough.
Let
me give you another example…
Instead
of operating mountain bike tours in Utah, let's say that
you have developed a site devoted to selling marine supplies
to avid yachters. From compasses to rain gear to sails
to inboard/outboard motors, you name it, your site sells
it! Unfortunately, while your competitive prices and range
of products appeal to the average yachter, there is nothing
that really differentiates you from similar sites out
there.
So
how can you crush your competition? By turning your
site into a vertical portal…
Become the online resource for yachters! Turn your site
into a "sticky" community -- make visitors want to come
back again and again -- by providing links to regatta
schedules, a directory of yacht clubs, links to yachting
magazines, weather information, maps and charts, travel
information, news, an online forum or chat room, reviews
of equipment… and the list goes on!
By
providing your visitors with compelling information that speaks directly to their interests and needs, you
develop a site to which people will return again and again.
Be it to check out your review of a particular motor,
or to fill out an entry form for a local regatta, visitors
will return to your site and develop a relationship with
you. You will have established your industry expertise! So who do you think they will go to the next time
they need to purchase marine supplies? You, of course!
Turning
your simple commerce site into a vertical portal is an exceptionally powerful marketing strategy. You
not only create a sticky community to which visitors are
drawn again and again, you also develop a powerful relationship
with these people… a bond of trust that can easily
translate into an explosion of sales!
Of
course, there are a few pointers that you should keep
in mind when making this transition…
Your
timing must be impeccable. In other words, do
it now! Next week, next month, next year… it may be
too late! Get in and establish your dominance before
your competitors beat you to the punch. You can easily
capture your share of the market (and then some!)
by taking the initiative and becoming the industry
leader.
Don't
just talk the talk… walk the walk! If you want
to be taken seriously -- and trusted -- as an industry
expert, then you need to be an industry expert!
This means that you need to know your industry inside
out. You need to read everything you can get your
hands on… you need to communicate with other leaders
in your industry… and you must be prepared to continue
this learning process as long as you are maintaining
your site.
Reduce
costs by removing the middleman. People appreciate
good value, and removing the middleman is a great
way to provide your customers with competitive prices
that keep them coming back for more. But this doesn't
just apply to your products and services, this applies
to all products and services promoted by your site.
Keep
them coming back for more. Ensure that your site
contains quality, compelling content that caters to
the needs of your community. It is really important
that you never lose site of this because a site that
is unfocused is doomed to fail! Communicate with your
customers and visitors through questionnaires, online
forums and chat rooms. Add features, products, services,
and information that directly correspond with their
expressed interests.
Diversify
your income. Vertical portals have fantastic income
potential… if done correctly. Once you've captured
the attention of your target market, you're in the
perfect position to begin diversifying your streams
of income by developing other products and services
that focus on their needs and interests. Affiliate
programs are also a fantastic and EASY way to diversify…
just be sure that you remain focused on your market.
Remember: General portal sites such as Yahoo! are not capable of
keeping up with every topic. Take advantage of this key weakness by bringing your targeted community together
with the specific products, services, and information
they need. By turning your site into the resource
for your industry, you'll not only be establishing your
expertise, you'll be developing relationships that will
keep people coming back for more… more information, and
more importantly, more product!
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR: Corey Rudl is the owner of four highly
successful online businesses that attract more than 1.8
million visitors per month and generate over $6.6 million
each year. He is also the author of the #1 best-selling
Internet Marketing course online.
To
Find Out How To Market Your Business
Online CLICK
HERE
