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For your
site to be successful, your store or site needs a product that customers
want to buy.
Developing The Product
Like any other business ventures, there are two ways
to match your product with visitors that have a need for such a
product:
Both methods have advantages and
disadvantages. Successful companies such as Sony, IBM, Proctor and
Gamble use both strategies. They start out with one method and
almost stimulatingly follow up to either search for a target market
or make sure that the offer satisfies needs. Hence, they offer a
superior product to a well known market.
When you create a product first and then find a target
market, a company can better take advantage of individual skills of the people
who create the product. This strategy is often used in
high-tech products where some break-through innovations lead to
extremely successful companies.
This strategy is very risky from a
financial perspective since their is no guarantee that a sufficient
large enough target market will be found before funding runs out. Many
products and companies have failed because these markets could not
be found.
Financial risks are low when a product is developed based on
expressed needs since there is a market that
is willing and able to pay. However, some needs are impossible to
fill because the technology is not available. Hence, this strategy is most often used
with low-tech products. Many companies
successfully use this strategy to improve current products.
Web Promotion Strategies
Web promotion strategies address both product
development strategies. The goal of web promotion efforts within a
Product First, Market Next Strategy is to find
target markets. The goal within a Market First, Product Next
Strategy is to determine
product needs. In both cases, web promotion strategies need to create
product and brand awareness and lead to product sales.
Overall, web promotion strategies include several
approaches to guarantee that your company has a product that
customers want to buy.
Finding target markets is most concerned with search
engine optimization. Each visitor gained through a search engine
represents a targeted prospect. Each visit has the value of an
initial sales presentation.
The Internet can help you learn about customer needs.
Surveys, email and other methods can be used to gather information
about customer needs. One key method to get insight is to evaluate
how visitors get to your site, the keywords they use, where they are
coming from, the pages they visit, etc.
Search engine optimization techniques create product
and brand awareness. Information, support, and the overall quality
of a site help building a competitive edge for the product and
brand.
Get Help
Give us a call
or send us an email
so we can help you promote your business in cyberspace.
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