PPC Internet Marketing Campaigns - Features, Benefits and Unique Selling Points

Internet marketing and the advent of techniques like search engine optimization and web analytics have taken much of what is traditionally taught in marketing and communications courses, and turned it on its head.The technologies are completely different, an entire new set of contacts and protocols has to be made and learnt, and very different aspects of your products become important.However, there are some things in marketing that haven't changed for years, and the rise of internet marketing hasn't altered that.If you are trying to execute a successful PPC campaign, you need to go back to the basics of marketing, even more so than with other web marketing strategies.One of the most important things to do is to re-examine your product through new eyes, and determine its features, benefits, and unique selling points.

The features and benefits of your product are very different things to the technical specifications, or even the physical nature of the product, in most instances.Identifying what a product actually does for a consumer, to make their life better, is critical in writing PPC ads, where you have 160 characters at most to explain an entire company.

You'll need intimate knowledge of the product you are promoting, and also to have identified your target market for the internet marketing, which we've written on previously.For example, if you sell lawn care products, and you've identified that your target market is men, aged between 30 and 40, and 60 and 70, with average to high household income and in certain geographical areas conducive to growing grass, the next step is to put yourself in your customer's shoes.What will be the most important features of the product to them?Will they care about how much it costs, how quickly it works, how hardy it is, or the image the product is selling?As always, whether you are building an offline or a web marketing strategy, if you don't know what your customers want, ask them.Market research is a valuable thing.

When thinking about benefits for your product in an internet marketing strategy, you need to understand what the product does for the customer, not simply what it 'does'.Your lawn care products might save them time on gardening, may help them get better results for the time they put in, or might help them create a pleasant outdoor lifestyle.This is quite different from giving them a high nitrogen content or long effectiveness period.

Another important thing to determine if you are building a PPC campaign as part of your web marketing strategy is your unique selling point.This is another marketing classic that is just as relevant when trying to increase search engine rankings or build traffic as it is when trying to get people to physically visit a store.To determine this, you will need to understand your competition as well as your own offering, and know what sets you apart.Your internet consultancy service will be able to use new tools like Webtrends and other website analytics to determine who your 'online' competition is - very different to offline competition.Analyze their sites, ask them for more information, and then determine what it is that sets you apart - and then exploit this to its full potential in your PPC campaign.

About the Author

InetAsia Solutions is a new breed of internet marketing consultancy.

InetAsia is the official WebTrends distributor for South East Asia, Hong Kong and Southern China.Services include web analytics, search engine optimization, website design and internet marketing services.Check out our website to find out more about search engine optimization and much more.

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The Basics Of Business Card Marketing

One of the most frequent requests I have heard throughout my career is "May I have your card?" Whether it's a sales call or business-to-business (B2B) networking, the practice of swapping business cards is the most common way to make an introduction.So why do so many merchant level salespeople (MLSs) arrive at meetings and trade shows without them?

I'm always surprised when, during the "get to know you" part of a committee meeting, someone in the room announces they have "forgotten their cards." Or when someone visits our booth at a trade show and is unable to leave a card because they don't have any with them.In sales, forgetting your business cards is like forgetting your pants.

The most effective way I've found to remember people I've met is to retain their business cards.During our conversations, I often take quick notes on the back of the cards that I can refer to later, such as jotting down a reminder about something from our meeting, an action item I have agreed to or something they have committed to me.

Once back at my desk, I review the stack of cards.I write thank you notes, delegate action items, pass along leads and the myriad of follow up details that occur after a business trip.Without the cards, I'm left only with an attendee roster and pads of paper.

Your cards should include your name, phone number, fax number, e-mail and street addresses and company logo.This information should be produced in a color and font that are easy to read.I recently received a business card that had been printed with pale lavender five-point type in order to fit all of the information the proprietor wanted on the card.A lot of information was there, but I couldn't read it-even with my bifocals on!

Make sure you proofread your business cards before they are printed.You may think that the instructions you gave the person at Kinko's were clear, but did they set your information correctly?Here's an easy trick to use when proofreading to ensure what is to be printed is correct: Read each line backwards, from left to right and from bottom to top.This will force you to look at each word and number, instead of only skimming the information that you are so familiar with.

Also, have your cards printed on a paper stock that someone can actually write on.If your cards are plastic or a dark color they will be less useful to those who receive them, especially if they, like you, take notes on cards.While business cards that look and feel like credit or gift cards may be a novelty, they will most likely be tossed rather than kept as useful reminders for further action.

Check your sales agreement for instructions regarding logo placement on your business cards.Card associations and many banks and vendors have specific rules regarding the use of their logos.Additionally, be sure to include any logos (that you are entitled to use) that might lend further credibility to your business, such as from a trade association, chamber of commerce or Better Business Bureau.

If you conduct business in languages in addition to English, you might consider having your contact information printed on the back of your business card in these other languages.Or, you might add a line to your business card such as, "Se habla espa_ol."

Keep a supply of business cards in your wallet, briefcase, car, computer bag and desk, and invest in a simple business cardholder to protect the cards and keep them looking crisp and clean.

Most importantly, give your business cards away.

Many sales managers monitor their sales staffs' activities based on the number of business cards each rep collects during the day.You can easily rate the effectiveness of your daily routine by counting the cards your collect.You'll have a better idea of how many leads you're generating if you give a card each time you receive one.

Your business cards are one of the most productive pieces of collateral you will generate.Consider them the seeds of your business, and scatter them widely.

About the Author

Kishor Nayak is a Business Consultant working with International clients.

Did you find this information useful?You can learn a lot more about how

business cards can help your business.

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How Door To Door Marketing Can Help Businesses Weather The Economic Storm

Marketing is the most important way that a company creates brand awareness.The process involves many different disciplines and can involve thousands of people for just one product.

Marketing has to fall in line with society but can also have an effect on it as well.Whether it's the flashing lights of New York's Times Square or less hi-tech door to door marketing, it is influenced by, and can influence, external factors.

Politics, fashion, entertainment and technology have all crossed paths with marketing at some point, often with considerable consequences.

Although marketing has had to adapt and react to changes in the world it is essentially the same process that it has always been.It is the way in which a message is communicated to a wider audience.

Whether that is a literal message as in the case of a political manifesto or whether it is an idea attached to selling a product, as in one product being better than its competitors, there are basic principles that remain true.

The process of advertising, distributing and selling a product will ultimately determine whether a business succeeds or fails.

Despite the economic downturn marketing is thriving.In many ways it is essential to a business surviving in difficult economic times and emerging from a recession equipped to move on.

With this in mind it is easy to understand why the marketing industry, from internet advertising to door to door marketing, is the fastest growing employment sector.

Marketing plays an important roll in difficult times as it send a positive message out about products and services.If it is done well it can be the difference between a company staying in business or being shut down.

The positive effect of marketing has a knock on effect that is felt in the economy and can be seen in lower unemployment figures.

Of course even marketing has to take into account an economic downturn, it wouldn't be fulfilling its purpose if it chose to ignore something so important.It does this by striking a cost effective balance in any campaign.

The marketing industry has to take on board the fact that people are reluctant to spend vast amounts of money in the hope that they will see results.People also want to be able to measure those results against any outgoings more than they would if the economy wasn't so fragile.Something that ticks all these boxes is door to door marketing.

Door to door marketing is a very cost effective way of getting a message across to a lot of people in a short space of time.It is also one of the best ways of targeting a specific campaign with the aim of getting results back quickly and measuring how successful a campaign has been.

These inherent factors mean that it is an attractive proposition for smaller businesses and well as larger companies.Restaurants, gardeners, cleaners and hairdressers are all types of business that often choose door to door marketing.

It's not just smaller businesses that can benefit from this form of marketing though.There are lots of marketing companies that can offer local and national options.

Many places are able to offer the services of dedicated distribution teams who can focus on one specific area or cover several different places in a short space of time, this is usually achieved with several teams at once.

The biggest criticism of this approach in the past has been the amount of waste created.But these campaigns are now absorbing new technology and often the aim is to get you onto an email or mobile phone list.Once you are on that there is no need to send out more physical marketing.

About the Author

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the marketing industry.

Find out more about door to door marketing and the marketing industry.

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