Posted in Internet Marketing Strategy	March 7, 2007

Any one of these Internet marketing mistakes can doom your online sales

By Peter A. Schaible, Editor-at-Large, Mequoda Group LLC

There are plenty of ways to fail at Internet marketing, but six of the most common mistakes are these:

1. Wrong product—If no one is looking for the product you sell, your Internet marketing strategy is fatally flawed and you won't make many sales.

If you're an information marketer, chances are good that someone will be interested enough to buy your book, report or online newsletter. I'm all for carving out a narrow niche, but be sure there is sufficient demand for your highly specialized topic expertise.

Is there really a starving crowd for still another book on weight loss or "how I survived cancer" or "the most popular baby names"?

2. Hidden website—When people turn to the Internet and search Google for a solution to their question or problem, do they discover your product? Does your Internet marketing strategy include search engine optimization?

Does Google lead searchers to your website and a sales letter landing page with appropriate architecture for converting mere browsers into buyers?

When potential buyers can't find your product, it's like winking at a pretty girl in the dark. You know what you're doing, but nobody else does.

3. Unattractive website—The aesthetics of your website determine whether casual visitors will stay and read your Internet marketing message, or click away.

Who buys unattractive products from a shoddy looking online store or website?

Careful attention to graphic design, colors, typefaces, spelling and photography are imperative to successful Internet marketing.

4. No reasons to buy—Have any users of Windows XP found a compelling reason to upgrade to Vista? Not many, I'll bet.

If your Internet marketing strategy for a new product isn't any better than Microsoft's, you can forget about new orders.

What are compelling reasons to buy?

Does your product stand out from the competition? Do you offer something extra?

Does your website look attractive and professional?

Is your website ranked high by the search engines?

Why should a potential customer buy from your website vs. all the others?

Insufficient answers to these questions equals insufficient sales.

5. Difficult to use website—Does your Internet marketing strategy include a simple, intuitive online shopping experience?

Fact: Most customers abandon an online shopping cart before completing the order.

Do you require customers to open an online account, chose a username and password, and provide other unnecessary information before allowing them to buy? Why?

Every business has a vice president in charge of sales prevention. He's the guy who always manages to put obstacles in the way of closing the sale. Fire him!

6. Inappropriate price—If your Internet marketing strategy doesn't include price testing, you'll either charge too much, or leave money on the table.

Asking too low a price causes customers to be suspicious and contributes to low perceived value.

Charging too high a price is ... oh heck, you get the idea.

Fill in your own pithy comment or cliché.

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