As an ultimate source of information, the Internet is very helpful, providing you with myriads of pages. However, such unexampled abundance may lead you astray, as, to find a really informative and reputable source, one should be an advanced user. If you are running an online business and looking for effective marketing strategies, you must know several tens of sites publishing useful tips, but are you sure they will work for you?

The problem is that, along with sound advice and expert recommendations, the Web generates myths, and even experienced marketers can be misled from time to time.

So, let’s have a look at the most popular ‘rules of thumb’ that look habitual and sensible but are potentially dangerous for Internet marketers. Which marketing myths should be dispelled?

Marketing myth #1 – Building a good website is 99% of success.

Supposing you aspire to promote your product online and have just launched a nice website, all bells and whistles included. That’s great, isn’t it? And what if I tell you there are thousands of pretty charming sites whose owners barely make both ends meet? The reason is that those webmasters neglected a simple Internet business formula: the only thing that matters is what lays behind your website. Do you have a unique selling proposition? Can you be proud of your customer support? Is your product effective for solving customer’s problems, or it just can serve for bringing you some quick cash? Define your target market and what benefits you can offer them BEFORE starting a website.

Marketing myth #2 – Catchy content is the key to sales.

Publishing good content can be very effective once coupled with other strategies. A killer copy informs people about your product, attracts potential buyers and sometimes (in less than 2% of cases, according to the stats) helps generate sales, but what it can’t do is build your credibility. Things like reputation and credibility among customers are unlikely to shoot up – it usually takes months and years to establish yourself as a trustworthy pro. After all, content isn’t everything: you should use other strategies as well, trying to earn a reputation in your niche community and to provide customers with quality service.

Marketing myth #3 – Offer your customers all kinds of options: the more, the better.

The brutal truth is that too many options are likely to confuse your prospects. Many people have difficulties with making decisions and would rather leave your site without buying anything. Remember: too many options spoil the deal.

However, this tip has nothing to do with the payment processing methods: here you should offer as many options as possible, starting from credit cards and postal money orders and ending by such online services as Paypal.

Marketing myth #4 – Lower prices attract more buyers.

Try to understand: whatever cheap your product or service is, one can always find cheaper. The market is lousy with sellers who earn peanuts but are extremely proud of their ‘competitive’ rates. Their product’s quality may leave much to be desired, but who cares if it’s cheap? And now ask yourself: do you really need customers who ignore your product’s characteristics but are completely obsessed with its price? If you are a serious businessman, you don’t need cheap success.
To attract prospects, you can seek some low-cost techniques like offering optional services or seasonal discounts.

Marketing myth #5 – It will take a long time before your marketing strategy starts bringing profit.

Actually, if you chose the right marketing approach, it won’t. Unlike big companies, small businesses can’t afford long and costly campaigns. In other words, you can’t wait months or years until your ultimately effective strategy starts making profit; you need the result at once, within few days. So, be more purposeful and choose strategies that work quickly.

Marketing myth #6 – The more traffic a site gets, the higher the income is.

In fact, traffic means what it means – website visitors, and there is a strict difference between visiting a shop and making a purchase. To put it bluntly, to ensure a regular income, you should concentrate on your conversion rate. Consider website analyzing strategies, such as heat map, visitor location or bounce rate tracking.

Marketing myth #7 – Freebies and gifts are the strongest referral incentives.

In reality customers are unlikely to recommend your site to their friends just because you promised them some modest gift in reward. The reason why people refer is that they want to look helpful and important. Make sure that dealing with your company is a pleasant experience. The only way to get more referrals is to enhance your services.

Marketing myth #8 – To succeed, you have to read much about giants in your niche and to use their experience.

Having enough knowledge is critical for launching a successful project, but you shouldn’t limit your activity by second-hand rules. That’s like chess: you won’t win the game just by imitating your competitor’s moves. So, if you want your business to thrive – learn to innovate and be independent in your opinions.

Marketing myth #9 – Concentrate on your sales rather than on your prospects.

If you don’t know who your target customers are, how can you build an effective marketing strategy? The thing is that, to convert, you should know your prospects inside out: what is their location? their budget? their lifestyle? etc.

Marketing myth #10 – Apply all marketing strategies one by one, and then you’ll be able to compare the results and to find the best one.

You can do it much easier with the help of special analyzing tools like ConversionStats. As soon as you have chosen a strategy and started applying it to your website, you should track the results. How many new visitors does it generate? How many of them are ready to make a purchase? Can it increase your conversion rate? Also make sure that your input doesn’t exceed the output. Consider how much time, money and workforce you spend and compare it with your revenue: is your marketing strategy effective?

All in all, whatever strategy you choose, it should be tested many times before you can say it isn’t a myth and really works.

Tags: , catchy content, lower prices, marketing myths, marketing strategy, more traffic, niche

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 8:35 pm and is filed under Website Analytics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.