subject: Tips To Counter Common Marketing Myths That Stop Business Success [print this page] Many business operators suffer from 3 common marketing myths that cause loss of sales. Here are few practical marketing tips to counter each myth and grow your sales. Any good Marketing consultant will advise you on this.
Myth 1: Consumers buy a product or service at the cheapest price they can find.
Many will agree this is not true - if it was true companies like Apple, Rolex, Ed Hardy would not exist. Even on eBay where it is easy to check the relative prices of a product - people often buy a product at a higher price. So what causes people to buy? These are called buying triggers - the most common are:
Confidence in the seller
A high perceived value of the product or service
Recommendations, external or internal
Ease of purchase
Here are the tips for blasting Myth 1:
Establish your credentials use them to your advantage, statements such as we have over 20 years of business consultancy experience - so we know what works and what does not work in a business. Go a long way in creating a positive first impression.
Enhance the perceived value of your product or service by putting value adds or extras or clearly demonstrating the value of its purchase.
Including actual recommendations within your sales letter is another great method
Make it easy to purchase and receive your product or services by eliminating any unnecessary barriers to purchase namely extra forms, complex payment methods.
Myth 2: Offering your customers numerous different options will boost your sales
The human mind works better when offered the two options "buy", "don't buy".
Most customers will face difficulty making a decision when confronted with several options. Some will react by procrastinating and ultimately going to a competitor who is offering a clearer product or Service range. You dont necessarily need to add extras or up sell, just clearly state what is included in your offering and don't offer options that not only confuse but making your selling and processing more difficult.
How to counter Myth 2:
Only offer one product - or service 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 separately. For example you can call them as "silver service", "gold service", "opal service" etc. Trust me, 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.
Myth 3: Everybody Needs My Product or Service
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 lots of potential customers there are just as many sellers.
How to counter 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.
