Myth 1: People buy a product at the cheapest price they can find.

That is not true – if it was then companies like Rolex and would not exist – Timex would have put them out of business a long time ago.  Despite the ease of research that the internet affords – buyers are generally lazy and don’t undertake full research.  Even on eBay where it is far easier to check the relative prices of a product – people often buy a product at a higher price than they could.  So what causes people to buy?  These are called buying triggers – the most common are:

•    Confidence in the seller
•    A high perceived value
•    Recommendations
•    Ease of purchase

Blasting Myth 1:
Establish your credentials – for example we have over 20 years of business consultancy experience – so we know what works and what does not work in a business.

Find ways of enhancing the perceived value of your product or service by adding extras or clearly demonstrating the value of it’s purchase.

Ensure that you include some actual recommendations within your sales letter.
Make it easy to purchase and receive your product by not introducing any barriers to purchase such as extra forms, obscure or complex payment methods.

Myth 2: Offering your customers numerous different options will boost your sales

When confronted with several options, most customers have difficulty making a decision. They often react by procrastinating – and going to a seller who offers a clearer product.  Now by this we don’t say add extras or up sells, just clearly state what is included in the product and don’t offer options that not only confuse but making your selling and processing more difficult.

The human mind works better when offered the two options “buy”, “don’t buy”.

Blasting Myth 2:
Only offer one product – or product package per page.  You can have a clear (and short) menu on each page to encourage multiple purchases.
If you have more than one option for a product or service – then give them different names and present them each separately.  For example you can call them “silver service”, “gold service”, “opal service” etc.  This is what we did with our various marketing services and it works quite well.

You should always aim at a small, easily understood product or service range.  You should be able to explain each of your products in one or two sentences.  If you can’t do this – how do you expect your potential buyers to understand what they are buying?

Myth 3: Everybody Needs My Product or Service

Unfortunately, most people don’t believe that they do need a particular service of product.  Obviously with items such as Ipods – your teenager will try and tell you they really, really, really need one, but this is peer pressure that has been built up with millions of dollars.  Much of this was spent on research into what there market wanted – and they got it right!

If you believe this myth then you also believe that you can succeed without doing much marketing or selling.  Unfortunately, despite what some marketers tell you – it does not happen that way.  Undoubtedly there some very successful marketers around, but they will all admit that a great deal of market research, testing and reviewing of their offerings – happened before they became successful.

Building a successful business is hard work – most of it devoted to finding potential customers and then matching them with your products and services.  Even if most people can use your product or service, you still need a marketing strategy to reach them and a persuasive sales message to close sales – because you can bet your last dollar – that where there a lots of potential customers – there are just as many sellers.

Blasting Myth 3:
•    Do your homework – find out where your potential customers are, what particular needs and desires they have and what they are seeking to solve these.
•    Look for a narrowly defined niche market where your product or service will solve a unique need of the customers.
•    Design your product or service to meet these needs.
•    Test, Change, Test, Refine, Test and obtain customer feedback.

Unless you are one of the millionaire marketers around – you will find many myths that you follow and potentially lose money on.  Hopefully the ones above have helped you.

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Lee Lister, writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites including her own www.BizGuru.us and www.clikks.com where she sells her informational products. With over 20 year’s management and business consultancy experience with businesses large and small as well as being a serial entrepreneur, she now helps others set up, develop and market their businesses.

These undervalued marketing opportunities are not the end-all be-all but are great supplemental channels, that compliment strong online marketing campaigns.

Buyers Guides
Many print magazines offer free listings in buyers guides. Buyers guides typically have a long shelf life and are viewed as a product resource, meaning it is one of the first places consumers look when wanting to purchase an item. Often magazines will include product reviews or sponsored placement in a buyers guide. Typically the standard listing is free, but optionally vendors can increase their exposure by adding listings in additional categories for a nominal fee. Regardless the free listings are a great value and worth pursuing.

Product Reviews
The impartial overview from a credible source can spark product interest. A third party independent review of your product or service is seen as a vote of confidence. Invite publishers or even bloggers to review your product or service.

When requesting a review, it is proper net etiquette to always provide the reviewer an evaluation product free of charge. After the review, be sure to thank the reviewer and if appropriate, link to the completed review.

Forums/Volunteering in Communities
Offering your time and expertise will establish expertise and knowledge in a specific industry. Participants who participate in forums have a genuine interest and are a great target audience. Posting helpful information rather than blatant product advertisements will enhance an image.

Article Syndication
Writing quality informative and educational articles will also establish expertise. Articles also educate users about related product or service. Generally educated users require less technical help and are an easier sale because they understand how the people or service will help them.

RSS Feeds
Provide content in an RSS feed. While RSS is becoming very popular there are still a number of industries and sectors where very little content is available via RSS feeds. Placing quality content in an RSS feed and being “early to market” will help your company shine.

When small businesses compete with big businesses there are a number of areas in which they can compete effectively. As more businesses turn to the web as an advertising model, it is important that marketers and businesses define themselves by giving themselves every opportunity to be found. Utilizing undervalued marketing opportunities will separate online successes from failures.