Chaitanya’s article, A Beginner’s Guide to Landing Page Optimization, recently got published in AMEX Open Forum, and we at p2w2 are pretty excited about it 🙂 The aim of the article, as the title suggests, is to help the reader
gain a better understanding of Landing Pages. Chaitanya has written this article, based on his own research, as well as the experience derived from creating p2w2’s landing pages.
As Chaitanya puts it in his article, a website’s home page is notnecessarily your website’s landing page. So it is indeed necessary to devote some time and effort towards creating a winning landing page. Here’s a brief outline of what the article covers.
1. Effective usage of pictures on your landing page
2. Importance of having a Call-To-Action or Sign Up button
3. Relative importance of factors that drive customer conversion(based on a webcast from searchmarketingnow.com)
4. Significance of user surveys and testing
Do read the article, and let us know if it benefits you! 🙂
who is ranked by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful salesman. He sold 13,001 cars at a Chevrolet dealership between 1963 and 1978. Here’s a link to Joe Girard’s website.
Girard has written an immensely popular best-seller, “How to Sell Anything to Anybody”. The book is an interesting collection of Girard’s ‘selling secrets’ – the ones that transformed him from a rookie to the most successful salesman ever. I have prepared a presentation covering the broad topics outlined by the book. Check it out.
Now that you have decided that Internet Marketing is the way to go for your small business -how to go about it? Rand Fish has written a great post on analyzing which Internet Marketing Channel is best for your business. He has neatly described all the macro level Marketing channels that are available and the primary variables that should be considered in the selection process. He has then divided all the marketing channels in three tiers and compared the ROI, Effort and Cost. He finally creates his own formula for which channel to used based on the variables – Company Goals, Marketing Budget and the Strengths of your
Read on to find out our take on the pitfalls of small businesses due to management mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. No Viable Market
You have this great idea for service or product which you think will change the industry, but have you stopped to think if there are customers willing to pay for it? Build it and they will come school of thought has only let to demise of many small business owners.
Answer this question before plunge into any new business – Why should a customer buy from you and not from a corporate giant or others who have been the business for years? Is it because you offer much needed personalized service or customized solutions or even shorter turnaround time or after sales service. What is it?
Check out this podcast by Steve Blank, a professor in Stanford. He mentions that about 90% of the start ups die because they can’t find the market. So he says, go find out if there’s someone who wants your product or service. Do know what your value proposition is?
As Peter McLean writes in his article Small Business Plan – What is your Value Proposition? – Value proposition is only discovered through depth of thought and rigorous analysis of the market place, competition and existing practices. It involves listening to what the customers are saying and understanding their needs.
Make sure your business offers something that customers would value.
2. Poor Capital Structure and Cash Flow Crunch
It is fairly common for business owners to take up too much debt or underestimate capital required to reach cash flow breakeven, causing many promising ventures to shut down prematurely. You need to be conservative with your financial projections and be sure to have adequate funds (or personal savings) to cover all the sunk costs, till your business becomes cash flow positive. Small business cash flow crisis –Pyschology and not economics is to blame, by Chaitanya Sagar, CEO of www.p2w2.com, tells you how to stay out of cash crunch.
3. Lack of Marketing Expertise
Your customers won’t buy from you if they don’t know you are around. You need to market yourself. And do not make the mistake of treating marketing as an unnecessary expense!
Find effective ways to market yourself through advertising, direct marketing, trade shows and exhibitions. Set up your website and market yourself through internet media such as blogs, forums, email groups and even search engine marketing.
The results are never instant and you need to find the optimum mix that works for your industry. Hire a consultant if you do not have the expertise.
4. Poor Management
Poor management ranks high on what not to do list of business owner. If you lack current and relevant in formation in finance, purchase, selling, production, hiring and managing employees, get help!
When you reach a critical level (about 1 million to 5 million dollars), be sure to put proper management structure in place that will make the work flow
and information flow optimal without your business loosing its dynamism. Also this is the time when you hire suitable managers.
5. Out of touch with customers
Most small businesses are able to have a personal relationship with customers. This is one advantage that huge corporations do not have. You need to focus on good quality products and services and aim on high customer satisfaction levels.
Use customer feedback as free business advice! Ask you customers for feedback and suggestions, evaluate them and incorporate into your business. This mechanism would help you gauge changes in customer tastes, preferences, price sensitivity. Also they are the best source of information of your competitor activities.
Life as a small business owner can be exciting and rewarding, if everything goes as per the plan. You have the advantage of being forewarned about the pitfalls of being in a small business. So go for it!
About the Author: Shaila Rao is a guest contributor at p2w2.com which helps small businesses outsource services like writing, software, graphic design, virtual assistance, business consulting and research. Shaila blogs at p2w2 blog (RSS).
Jason fried of 37signals talks about how they sell more by out teaching the competition. He allays fears that if you put your ‘secrets’ out, your competition will copy them. Somehow, that’s counter intuitive but true.
competition and building an audience is a nice strategy and strikes a chord with me. Our blog is a testimonial to that. Such ‘be-a-nice-person’ strategy can work in this time and age because, on the Internet, you can reach out to your audience inexpensively.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this video and I think small businesses have a lot to learn from it. Check it out!
