How to Market by the Golden Rule Online

Golden Rule Marketing is simple: take the Golden Rule and apply it to how you promote your business. Market unto others as you would have them market unto you.

To apply this concept to your business, first take a step back and think about what you like and don't like in advertising, public relations, promotions, and sales tactics. Do you like getting cold calls? Do you enjoy reading form letters? How about having to search page after page for an actual price? Do you enjoy feeling pressured to purchase?

Compare those experiences with getting more than you expect from a company. Isn't it nice to visit a website and find clear descriptions and straight forward pricing? Getting a personal and quick response to a question you've submitted via a contact form makes you want to go back again. Free samples, helpful services, accessible information, and relevant resources make you remember and revisit websites.

Once you identify what you like and don't like, you have a clearer picture of how your clients will respond to the same experiences. If you withdraw from screaming graphics and unrelenting product offers, they probably will, too. If you remember helpful information and a link to exactly what you were looking for, don't you think they will too?

Your next move is to apply all those rhetorical questions to the actual operation of your business online. Here are the steps to take:

1) Focus your website on what you offer for free.
Standard websites offering services or products for sale will focus on the services and products and have a few freebies here and there. They may promote the free sample or service, but chances are there isn't more than one. I propose flipping that balance: focus your website on what you give freely. Do you have information? Articles? Resources? News? A blog that is relevant for your customers? A great newsletter? A free service?
Rework your website so that people are offered free services and samples and help on every page, at every click. Sure, you can still promote you products. But try putting that promotion at a much lower level of priority. Focus on providing all the free value you can. Your clients will spend more time on your site; they'll keep digging around to see what treasure will be unearthed next. And the longer they spend, the more value they get, the more they like you. You are creating a strong positive association. When they finally get around to viewing your products, they've already established a relationship via the free services and helps you've provided.

2) Network to help others.
Be an information maven. When you visit related blogs and sites, offer helpful comments without strings attached, without a little byline at the end of your comment. Yes, by all means, go ahead and put a link if there's a place for that. If you're helpful, people will want to know where to find you again.
The same goes for social networking sites. Share things you've learned. Find a forum where people are asking questions about your area of expertise and answer those questions. Be available. Be helpful.

3) Give a mini away.
Find a way to downsize or sample-size your product or service and offer it freely. Are you a life coach or consultant? Offer free "5-minute consulting" via visitors submitting a question and getting a personal response from you. If you sell a product, find a way to make it something that customers can sample. Customers want to know what they are purchasing before they purchase, especially if they are first-time visitors.
Why do you smell the cantelope before you pick one out? It's the same reason. You want to know that you're getting something good, something that meets your needs, something that is worth your money. The options online are almost unlimited; if you don't offer a way to experience what you sell before customers purchase, they are much less likely to purchase. Additionally, even if that customer doesn' t end up purchasing, they have still had a good experience with your site and can provide word-of-mouth recommendations.

4) Help other people in similar businesses.
As you network to help others who might be potential clients, network to help others who share your expertise. You will learn, they will learn, and you will be building a stronger collective online presence for this area. The pond is awfully big, and a few fish growing along with you is a good thing.
So just as you help potential clients, look for ways to help your peers. Make suggestions that might increase their business, when that is appropriate. Share your experiences. Tip them off to great resources you've found.

5) Be considerate in your web aesthetics and ease of use.
There's a lot of text and graphics and colors and sounds, videos, podcasts, streaming everything. Be sure your visitors can find what they are looking for without being blasted. Simplify a little bit. Stick with a color scheme that isn't jarring. Create a design that reflects you, your personality, and your business, but consider also how it appeals to your clients. Tone yourself down a bit, if you need to, or pump yourself up a bit if you tend to live on black-and-white side of things.
Make it easy for people to find important information. Tell them about yourself. Make your contact information obvious. Put up a picture, if that is appropriate. Point them to reviews of your product or service. Share your credentials, your experience, your history.

You and your customers have a lot in common. If you tap into that common ground, you'll be building relationships from their first entry onto your website. Remember, focus on what you can give, not what you can give. Reciprocity has a way of making it all worthwhile.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Annie Mueller writes about reciprocity in business, home, and life at www.SisterWisdom.com.

Print This Article Comment on Article Email to Friends Ezine Ready

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated