Formula #3 – Formula for Generating Repeat Business Online

Sticky Website + Right People + Conversion Catcher + Online Payment Tool + Customer Keeping = REPEAT BUSINESS

Customer keeping, also known as post sale marketing, is the process of following up with previous customers and using the right messages and incentives to encourage them to purchase again. Customer keeping tactics can also be used to keep a customer engaged with your brand by providing additional information or seeking feedback on your products and services.

Note: for a more detailed explanation of the other ingredients in this formula, see: Formula #1 and Formula #2.

Some examples of online customer-keeping tactics:

• A feature that allows a customer to Tweet or send a Facebook update to their network just after they make a purchase.
• Sending a recent customer an e-coupon for a percentage off a future purchase of the same or different product within a limited time.
• Inviting previous customers to preview and purchase new products before they are available to the general public.
• Initiating a repeat purchase program, e.g., buy 4 get the 5th free.
• Hosting a contest where previous customers win points towards a free product for different actions like: posting a picture of them using the product, or referring a new lead or customer.
• Emailing a regular series of tips and tricks for using your product or service.

photo: chemistry bottles with liquid inside by zhouxuan12345678, on Flickr

Either way, there’s a simple formula for generating revenue online that holds true:

Formula #2 – Formula for Generating Revenue Online

Sticky Website + Right People + Conversion Catcher + Online Payment Tool = REVENUE

The first three ingredients  in this formula were covered in my earlier post, “A Simple Formula for Generating Leads Online”. (I suppose it’s also worth mentioning that this formula assumes you have a quality product, service, or cause that people actually want to fork over their money for.) In order to go from just generating leads to generating revenue online, it’s essential that you have some method for collecting payments from customers or donors.

For Independent Professionals

Two of the most widely recognized and most trusted online payment tools for independent professionals and microbusinesses are:

Paypal and Google Checkout

Both are fairly easy for independent professionals to set up and maintain on their own and are relatively low-cost. At the time of this post, the average fee charged for using these online payment tools was about 2-3% of the total transaction amount, plus a nominal per transaction fee of about 30 cents.

For Selling Digital Goods

E-Junkie

When selling digital goods like ebooks and software downloads, E-Junkie is an ideal tool. It integrates with both Paypal and Google Checkout and manages the delivery of digital products to the customer.

For Larger Companies

The following online payment tools are more suitable for medium-sized companies or non-profits:

2Checkout

Authorize.net

Click and Pledge
photo: Magic potion by candlelight by Matt Bernius, on Flickr

In my post, ‘Not-So-Common Online Marketing Terms‘,  I mention 3 simple formulas for effective online marketing. These formulas describe the essential ingredients used by successful online marketers to generate leads and revenue.

Formula #1 – Formula for Generating Leads Online

Sticky Website + Right People + Conversion Catcher = LEADS

Sticky Website

If you want to generate leads, you  first have to attract people’s attention and then direct them somewhere where they can give you their information. A sticky website does both of these things. By optimizing your website for the right keywords, making it attractive and easily navigable, and by providing content that addresses the needs and wants of your right people (aka, your target audience), you’ ll have the essentials needed for a sticky website. Of course, a sticky website that exists for the purpose of generating leads doesn’t have to be a full-scale behemoth of a website. Lead generating websites can be as few as 1 -3 pages long. In fact, the more concise, the better for lead generation. You don’t want your potential leads  to get distracted by a bunch of unnecessary information or bells and whistles. You want them to provide you with a way to contact them so you can move them closer to a purchase or other desired action.

Your Right People

Some websites may get a lot of traffic, but get very few leads. The right people – that is, people who are interested in what you have to say or the products and services you offer – are essential to generating quality leads online. The clearer your definition of who your right people are, the more effectively you can tailor your sticky website and your conversion catcher to attract those types of people.

Conversion Catcher

A conversion catcher is something that actually collects the lead’s information (like name, email address, phone number, interests). I recommend using a form that can be easily generated at Wufoo.com or a form that that can be embedded into your website and links directly to your email marketing or list management software (like MailChimp or Constant Contact). Since most people are wary of handing over their contact information for no good reason, a common practice is to entice your website visitors to give you their information by providing something free that solves a problem or answers a question that your right people are likely to have. For instance, if you’re an accountant who wants to generate leads from small business owners, you might entice people to provide their contact info by sending them a free guide titled, “10 Most Overlooked Tax Deductions for Small Business Owners” when they do so on your site.

photo: Potions Class by Sarah Cady, on Flickr

Here are some of the more common not-so-common terms you’re likely to hear me use.

Sticky Website - (noun.) 

A sticky website is one that attracts a significant number of ‘the right people’. A sticky website ranks well in search engine results for its chosen keywords. A sticky website keeps visitors engaged on the site. A sticky website delivers consistent or increasing numbers of conversions. The stickiness of a website can be gauged using standard website measures. A website’s stickiness can be improved by employing techniques of search engine optimization and content optimization. A sticky website is an essential ingredient in the formula for generating leads online and the formula for generating revenue online.

The Right People – (noun.)

The right people are also known as your target audience. The right people are those who are interested in and benefit from what you have to say and what you have to offer them. The right people identify themselves by subscribing to your content, sharing your content, and/or becoming a donor or customer. The right people include both people who are not yet your customers and people who are previous customers. Also referred to as, ‘your right people’.

Killer Content – (noun.)
Killer content is content (i.e., text, video, images, etc.) that makes your right people look toward the heavens and exclaim, “Where have you been all my life?” Killer content is intended to inform and engage your right people. It is also intended to build loyalty and establish confidence and trust with your right people. Killer content consistently expresses and reinforces your particular brand message, as well as your communication style and tone. Killer content is a critical component of a sticky website.

Conversion Catcher – (noun.)
In website marketing terms, a conversion is when a website visitor performs a certain action or transation on that website. That action could be signing up for a newsletter, making a donation, or purchasing a product. Conversion catchers are website elements that are used to solicit conversions from website visitors. Conversion catchers generally include a functional component like a sign up form or a purchase button, plus a ‘carrot’ like a free newsletter or ebook that either motivates website visitors to convert or rewards them for their conversion.

Customer Keeping – (verb.)
Customer keeping is the process of wooing a customer after they’ve completed a conversion. Customer keeping involves understanding the needs and preferences of your subscribers and customers, then providing relevant follow-up communications to them based on those needs and preferences. Customer keeping is often compared to beekeeping, since it involves a certain amount of  ’care and feeding’ of your customers and subscribers. Customer keeping is an essential component in the formula for generating repeat revenue online.
 
photo: Quizas sea por que no me entiendes… by Siitaps, on Flickr
 

Organizations publish tons of content on a daily basis – company emails, blog posts, social media updates, online press releases, digital ads, Youtube videos. Often there are different individuals and different departments that are responsible for producing and approving all of these disparate pieces of content. Over time, the sheer volume of content and the number of people involved in producing that content can become one huge, disorganized mess.

That’s where content management comes in. So, what is content management, exactly?

Content Management is a Process

Actually, content management is more like a collection of interdependent processes. The content management process is a standard method for creating, editing, categorizing, and distributing online content. There is no one prescribed way to perform content management. The only important thing is that the content management process be standard and repeated in the same way each time.

Content Management is Tool-Based

Many people equate content management with content management software and systems. I couldn’t disagree more. Tools enable and support the content management process, but tools are no substitute for process. If you have a content management tool and no content management process, chances are the same disorganized mess will exist. That said, content management tools are an important part of a good content management process. They can even make defining the content management process easier, since software features will determine what is and isn’t possible. Content management systems like WordPress, Joomla, and LightCMS make the process of creating, organizing, and publishing online content infinitely less time-consuming and more efficient than managing content without adequate tools.

Content Management is Goal-Driven

As with any business process, there should be some goal or intent for content management. Is it to reduce the cost and time of content production? Is it to drive more online revenue through a better website design? By establishing goals for content management, it becomes easier to see the value of the content management process instead of perceiving it as just a collection of tasks and activities.
 

photo:Organised Confusion by Akbar Sim
 

Still, a lot of confusion seems to exist around what exactly email marketing is and how it should be used, so this article will provide descriptions and examples of email marketing from multiple authoritative sources.

What is Email Marketing – Methods

The folks at Email Marketing Reports help provide some initial clarity on the topic by highlighting the 3 most common methods of email marketing:

• Sending direct promotional emails to try and acquire new customers or persuade existing customers to buy again (“direct email”)
• Sending emails designed to encourage customer loyalty and enhance the customer relationship (“retention email”)
• Placing your marketing messages or advertisements in emails sent by other people (“advertising in others’ email”)

“Essentially, you need an email address owner’s permission before you can send them a commercial email. If you don’t have this permission, then the recipients of your mail may well regard your message as spam; unsolicited commercial (bulk) email.”

What is Email Marketing – Tips for Success

D.E. Web Works – an email marketing agency – offers marketers these simple tips for email marketing success:

Avoid Spam Filters

All email services include automatic tools that will prevent messages that look like spam (or electronic junk mail) from even entering users’ inboxes. When developing and sending email marketing campaigns to your audiences, it is essential to avoid email headlines and content that trigger spam filters and may keep your message out of your customers’ eyesight.

Target an Audience

As with any marketing activity, email marketing results are more effective when messages are focused toward a specific audience. If you are using email marketing to promote your business or product, it makes sense to target people who have already expressed some sort of interest in your message or what you have to offer. This is where email signup and subscription forms become essential.

Track and Monitor Progress

Email marketing software tools like AdWeber, Constant Contact, and MailChimp offer pretty detailed stats on how many of your recipients opened your email marketing messages, how many clicked on links, and how many shared the message with others in their network. All valuable information that can help you continually refine your email marketing efforts.

Form a Relationship

The most successful email marketing efforts create a sense of anticipation from recipients. If your email marketing campaigns include quality content that meet your audience’s needs, your audience will come to look forward to receiving emails from you.

photo:email by Sean MacEntee, on Flickr