' WEBSITE101: READING LIST
Reaching Great Minds Online
November 5, 2001 Issue #116
Mike Valentine, Editor, learn@website101.com
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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==> Sponsor Ad: Oracle Small Business Suite
==> Feature Article: Email Don't Get No Respect!
==> Guest Article: Business From Your 'Natural Market'
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FEATURE ARTICLE
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Email Don't Get No Respect! (Apologies to Rodney Dangerfield)
by Mike Banks Valentine
Is there any doubt that ecommerce and a presence on the web
has become de rigueur for every business, large or small?
I submit that there is no longer any doubt that clients and
customers expect that every legitimate business must have,
at the very least, a "business-card" web site listing contact
information, business location and a simple "about us" page,
along with a contact email link or web form.
I don't think anyone can argue any longer that only certain
types of businesses belong on the web. Only two years ago,
it was still being actively debated whether that were true.
No longer can the burger joint be without a menu and operating
hours posted online. No longer does any corporation believe
it needn't have an intranet for suppliers and employees.
No longer can even the self-employed claim they can't benefit
from a place to post their resume. Even families have sites to
keep the relatives and friends informed and stay in touch.
Now many will claim that their web presence does little toward
helping them to profit in their business. That is an entirely
different issue and I'll go even further and call profit
irrelevant to having a web site. Just as profit is unrelated
to whether that business has a phone, fax machine, computer,
desks, chairs and indoor plumbing. Those are expected, no,
required, to a business in order to operate AS a business.
So too is the web presence, a domain name, email address and
an employee (even if that's you) to handle and respond to email,
answer the phone, empty the trash and clean the bathroom. Your
business is expected to have a web presence, period. End of
discussion.
Now to responsibilities related to that web presence. I've been
discussing building a site for an attorney friend for two years.
She hates email and doesn't want to be responsible for answering
it or dealing with anyone electronically. Her legal secretary
uses the web daily to research and communicate with clients but
knows not to discuss that with the attorney and has told me in
confidence that her boss despises email and will have nothing to
do with the web. I may as well give it up.
I'm going to suggest that this kind of phobia will need to come
to an end for all those who expect to get on in the wired world.
Get over it, get a web site and answer your email! Grow up!
You needn't carry a web-enabled personal digital assistant cell
phone (yet) to maintain your appointment calendar and can still
scribble notes on scraps of paper if you like. You needn't do
your business banking online or own a Blackberry wireless but
get a web site and answer your email!
I'm unwilling to leave it there. Now let us address those who
have web sites and ignore them by allowing old outdated stuff
to remain online when it takes only seconds to change it. How
about those, such as my favorite newspaper, who post email
addresses at the end of every story written by staff reporters
to enable readers to contact them and then routinely ignore,
and let go unanswered, reader email comments. Not so much as
an autoresponder suggesting they can't respond to all emails!
Shall we consider things such as corporations soliciting email
applications from job seekers - Then not responding to let those
potential employees know the resume, application and cover
letter were received? Shall they expect to hear back from that
HR department by email or snail mail? Fagetaboutit. Not gonna
happen.
There seems to be a universal disdain and/or fear of emailed
communication. I wrote last week of a lack of response from my
senator and congressman to email queries to their offices about
bills being considered related to privacy and cc'd the president
on the note. I'll allow small credit for those autoresponder
generated messages sent within seconds back to my emailbox. But
this week I saw a story in the San Francisco Chronicle that
suggested "Lawmakers Lament Lack of Letters From Constituents".
The reporter, Washington correspondent Carl Nolte, even wrote,
"Feinstein, for one, has encouraged constituents to send email,
since her regular mail has been cut off." Sheesh! This after I
got back my note from her last week stating, "Currently IÕve
received approximately 30,000 letters and emails which, because
of the closure of the Senate office buildings, my staff and I
have been unable to open and process." Today the autoresponder
failed to return that same (or any) response.
What does that mean? I emailed a response to that reporter and
don't expect an answer. They just don't respond (or autorespond).
Feinsteings office has gone back to the normal position of
ignoring email. It is time to take a serious look at whether
we will accept email as legitimate and deserving of responses,
or if it will remain entirely the realm of spammers, scammers
and hoax-spreading-urban-myth-generating-pass-this-on-silly
blathering goofiness. We should just disable the "Forward"
function of email and rid ourselves of those annoyances.
I suggest that either email deserves legitimacy, respect and
ANSWERS, or that we abandon it entirely.
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Mike Valentine does Search Engine Placement for the Small
Business http://website101.com/Search_Engine_Positioning
WebSite101 "Reading List" Weekly Netrepreneur Tip Sheet
Weekly Ezine emphasizing small business on the Internet
http://website101.com/arch/
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Guest Article
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HOW MUCH BUSINESS ARE YOU GETTING
FROM YOUR 'NATURAL MARKET'?
Copyright 2001 By Bob Leduc
I have a friend who is one of the top sales producers with a
large life insurance company. Tony was born in Italy and
grew up near Naples. He moved to the US about 15 years ago.
He was immediately hired by his present company because he
had prior experience selling insurance to US military
personnel in Italy.
Tony soon discovered that a large number of Italian
restaurant owners in the US city where he now lived were
from a small village outside of Naples. Not only did they
speak Italian, they spoke his dialect. It wasn't long before
Tony was getting most of his business from these Italian
restaurant owners. Nobody else can duplicate the 'natural'
relationship he has with them. It's the primary reason why
Tony became one of the top producers in his company.
Tony's relationship with his clients illustrates the
powerful advantage of capitalizing on a 'natural market'.
WHAT IS A NATURAL MARKET?
A natural market is the portion of your target market that
shares a unique personal characteristic with you. It
automatically creates a relationship between you and a
prospect in your target market for a PERSONAL reason. For
example:
Let's say you're a teacher or have been a teacher in the
past. You're also a distributor for an MLM company selling
healthcare products. You define your target market as people
interested in preserving or improving their health and who
are also interested in a business opportunity. Some of those
prospects have the ADDITIONAL CHARACTERISTIC of being
teachers or former teachers, just like you. That's a natural
market for you. You can communicate with them on a special
personal basis.
BENEFITS OF A NATURAL MARKET
Potential customers are more receptive when they share a
common background or a special interest with you. It's human
nature to feel secure when doing business with someone we
believe is just like us. This is especially helpful for
promoting business on the Internet because prospects can't
see or hear you 'live'.
HOW TO FIND YOUR BEST NATURAL MARKET
Start by making a list of different things you've done in
your life. For example:
* What professions or occupations are you engaged in (now or
previously)?
* What hobbies or crafts do you actively participate in?
* What special interest clubs or associations are you
actively involved with?
* Do you have a unique national origin or speak a foreign
language (like my friend, Tony)?
* What unique special background or special experiences do
you have?
Each item on your list may represent a natural market you
can use. However, some will have more impact than others.
The greater the uniqueness of the common characteristic, the
more leverage it provides. Select the one with the most
unique characteristic to use first.
Your natural market is a more focused definition of your
primary target market. Once you identify a natural market,
start using it in your advertising. Revise your present
sales material to create special sales material specifically
appealing to your natural market. Use the same marketing
tactics you've been using but expand them to include this
new segment of your target market. You'll unlock a
completely new layer of business hidden in your existing
target market.
Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales
personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a Sales
Consultant. Bob recently wrote a manual for small business
owners titled "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With
Simple Postcards" and several other publications to help
small businesses grow and prosper. For more information...
Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards".
Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time)
Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133
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Copyright © 2001 Mike Valentine
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