For any business to be successful whether on or offline it has to be marketing effectively. You are going to need more than a great looking site with fabulous products or services to obtain success. You will need to run an effective marketing campaign and for this you will need a marketing plan.

To obtain online success you will have to be involved in planning from day 1 and you will have to work seriously if you intend to earn a decent living.

You will need an action plan and this should start with targeting your market. Doing business without knowing who your customers are will prevent you from reaching your objectives. EG:Increased sales, Market share, and Brand awareness.

Learn who your customers are and find out their real needs then you can offer tailored products and services and real solutions that will work for them.

Your first step is to find and sell to your targeted market. Customers buy for three reasons

• To satisfy basic needs.
• To solve problems
• To make themselves feel good

Know your product or services strengths and weaknesses. Don't overestimate and disappoint your customers with a lower quality product than expected. To decide which of the customers needs or wants your product or service will satisfy you need to obtain the following information to get acquainted with your customer.

Demographic information

• Age and gender
• Ethnic Origin
• Family status
• Income
• Location
• Education level
• Occupation

Psychographics information

• Lifestyles, hobbies, interest and opinions
• Personal behavior
• Buying style

One of the ways to find the answers to these questions is to conduct a survey. You could place a simple Multi Choose survey onto your website and offer a free gift to anyone filling it out. It's a way of gathering information. Analyze your findings and find out what is like or dislike about your product or service. Make adjustments if necessary

Once you have define your market group you must decide how much information you want your customer to know about your product or service in order to convince them to do business with you. If you give out to much information they may switch off and not pay attention to the message. Once you have your message stick with it and keep it focused.

KNOW YOUR COMPETITION

Make a list of your competitors and take note of their strengths and weaknesses. Are they successful, if so study what them are doing and which of their ads work and what promotions they offer? Can you improve on their product or offer a better incentive for customers to purchase from you

• KEY YOUR ADS
• Ensure all your ads are key (A key lets you know where the customer saw your ad) so you can track which ads are successful. Run with the successful ads and delete any, which are not working.
• Record all of your results

BUILD YOUR RELATIONSHIP

Remember once you have your customers to build a relationship with them. You want them to return and buy again. Keep in contact with them.

All the best Sue