If you have been online for any amount of time you may be having a period of time when people just don’t seem to buy. In fact, they aren’t even taking the bait. They aren’t even taking your free offers and subscribing to your squeezepages.
While I do believe that in almost any business you will have slow times you may be suffering from any one of these scenarios…
#1 Your Market Isn’t Profitable
Many times businesses fail because they market they enter into just isn’t profitable. This can happen for a number of reasons, but generally comes down to how much money is circulating in the market, how big that market is, how much of their capital is actually spent on that area of business, how much of their capital is expendable income, and how easy it is to reach that market.
If either of these situations are in effect, you will definitely see lackluster sales. Many in the internet marketing crowd are seeing this same thing happen. It’s not because the market isn’t there, it’s because it isn’t profitable (at least…not without joint venture relationships).
#2 The Economy Is Down
These days gas prices are still on the rise and show no signs of stopping nor does anyone seem to know how to stop it. Everyone has their opinion. Now, this isn’t going to turn into one of those political discussions by any means, but the point is, in a recession people tend to cut back.
They spend less on what they want (unless it is a very strong desire) and make sure to meet their basic nessesities.
You can no longer sell people something that has their interest, you have to capture much more than that. Your market must have a “must have” desire. They should be able to easily say “I need that widget like it was my last breath”.
Many times this can only be taken advantage of if you are targeting people’s problems and meeting them there all the way. Leveling with them and harping on the problem until they can’t take it anymore. Only then do you offer a solution.
This may sound counterintuitive, but far too often businesses are focusing on their solutions (self focused marketing message) rather than the market’s hardest problems (market focused).
Focusing on the problems of the market is key to making the sale. When the economy is in a downturn this way of thinking and operating your business is essential. It should control what is put inside every communication you have with your prospective customer.
#3 Nobody Has A Burning Desire for What You Have
If you have ever heard the phrase “I could sell ice to eskimos” think again.
The truth is, even the greatest copywriter/salesman in the world couldn’t do such a thing. If your market doesn’t have a burning desire for what you have, you won’t see anything move.
When you have a headache you take an aspirin. These days, you don’t just take an aspirin, you take Bayer. If you have a splitting headache you take Excedrin.
Even the pharmaceutical companies have it right. In fact, they have there core fundamentals in place so well that every commercial they put on television 95% why you shouldn’t take the drug and all the problems it can cause you, yet because they target markets with a burning desire they still make a fortune.
You see, people tend not to care about anything else when they have a splitting headache than to get rid of the headache. If someone is suffering from erectile disfunction they don’t care about the cancer it can cause or the heart-attack it has an 16% chance of causing, they know their marriage is in danger, they want to please their mate now.
They need that pill. They need that solution but only because they have a burning desire stemming from a very serious problem.
#4 You Are Not Marketing Your Business Effectively
Ouch.
God forbid you have everything else right but get this fundamental key to success wrong. Marketing.
I’ve heard it said, “Nothing moves without a sale”.
So many products, companies, and small businesses online and off that have superb customer service, all of the above is in place just perfect like a newly finished jig saw puzzle.
Still no sales. Why? It hurts to even say. It is even scary at times, but marketing is the most important job a company has.
How many great restarants start up with the absolute greatest tasting food but shut down three months into business? About 95%. How many retail stores get great locations, are even located in the business of the city, but shut down and walk away with piles of debt to show for their efforts within two years? About 95%.
The statistics are sad, but I’ve seen it happen first hand. The best pizza joint in town where I live (Midland Michigan) shut it’s doors because it couldn’t stay in business.
Truth is it was in the wrong business. It was in the pizza business. It should have been in the business of marketing it’s pizza business. Can you believe it?
Not one promotion, not one ad, not one flyer, not one phone call. No coupons showed up at my mail box. They just opened their doors and said “Come on in!” They might as well as said “We have ovens, cash registers, and friendly people”.
It would have gotten them the same results. After studying and collecting dozens of folders worth of marketing messages from the real world, that is exactly what most restarants are telling their prospective clients. The clients then hear, “We have nothing great to offer you. We just want you to walk in and give us money because that’s why we opened our doors to you in the first place. Deal?”
It goes the same way for your business. If I may so eloquently end with a wonderful quote uttered by P.T. Barnum…
“Without marketing something terrible happens. Nothing!”
