subject: Internet Marketing Tips - How Well Do You Know Your Market? [print this page] Everybody thinks they know their market as well as after doing some testing that is if they bother carrying out testing at all. They discover that they actually don't know their market at all. And yes, this applies to me as well. Just when I thought I knew my marketbam. I'm hit with a dose of reality that came as quite a surprise to me. I'm going to share a true story and then give you some internet marketing tips on capitalizing on YOUR market in order to understand their wants and needs.
In one market I cater to, I offered a product line where I sold 100 units of that item. This was a limited release for each product in the line. And while sales were good, only a few of the products actually sold out. So I thought, "What if I limit the next release to 50 and raise the price a little?" Well, I figured that with the increased scarcity, the product would sell out for good. When sales started, it appears price is more an issue than number of units sold.
So what did I learn from this little experiment? I learnt that I might as well sell 100 units, even though I'd personally jump at the 50 unit deal myself, and ultimately make more money anyway. This experiment showed me how I misunderstood the market and that's how you find out things like this. You have to use the trial and error test. You have to find where the sweet spot is. These are my tips. The first step, you need to gather as much data about your market as you can in regard to price, conversion, sales e.t.c. Then, when you make a change, note the change in the stats. Ask yourself these questions; Did sales go up or down? Did you get more or fewer complaints than usual? Was there no real change at all? You have to keep a track record of your progress as this will enable know where you're going and your performance generally.
Another thing you want to do is mix things up. Be unpredictable as this will enable you to be on top of your game. If your market knows what's coming, they're likely to say to themselves, "I can wait on this because I know that in X number of weeks, this thing will still be selling at this price." If you mix things up and pull some surprises on them, they can't sit back and relax because they will be wondering what is going to happen next?"
Sales is a game and make no mistake about it. That's why you see big retail stores coming up with sales attractions out of nowhere in addition to the usual days you'd expect, like Thanksgiving. If they were predictable, people would know just when to go and not go.
Keep your market guessing but understand what is important to them, whether its price, quantity being sold or whatever. I hope you find this internet marketing tips entertaining.
To YOUR Success,
John Benjamin
Internet Marketing Tips - How Well Do You Know Your Market?
