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How to Attract New Customers With “How To” Advice

how to attract new customers with how to adviceWhat to know how to attract new customers with how to advice? A popular trend in marketing is giving advice your customers are looking for, in order to bring them to your online business.

Well, that’s kind of what I do here, but I am going to discuss it from an online retail point of view.

A lot of online retailers will offer sections on their websites or blogs that give expert advice on topics you are searching for on Google. The hope is that page will turn up in search results and bring these potential customers over to their website (and their shop).

How World Market Did It

A good example is World Market. They are a popular online store selling a variety of goods from all over the globe, and they have a section on their home page this month entitled, “9 Ways to Tie a Scarf” and each of the nine ways shows a different scarf they sell. Each way also includes a 40-second clip on how to do it.

How to Attract New Customers With How To Advice

Why is this brilliant? Well, besides showing how to wear their scarves, they are capitalizing on the fact that the phrase, “Ways to Tie a Scarf” is searched over 8,000 times a month on Google. So when someone searches that phrase, there is a good chance their home page will come up.  Plus, visitors can now Pin, Tweet, Facebook this video tutorial (social media loves videos) and World Market can add it to their YouTube channel, spreading this advertorial even further.

How Pottery Barn Did It

Pottery Barn is another online store that knows what its customers are looking for. They have a page called, “How to Hang Curtains” because that phrase is searched about 3,600 times a month on Google. While it is a nice value added service to offer this information to customers, it is also a great hook to bring in new customers who are searching on this, especially when Pottery Barn products are used in the tutorial.

FINAL WORD: What do your potential customers want to know related to what you sell? Be a source of advice for them and they may “accidentally” discover you.

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.online marketing consultant

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

I also have a wide variety of business & marketing downloads you can check out at my Shopify store.

More Posts

 

 

 

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. How to Attract New Customers With How To Advice

Which Facebook Ads Are Right For Your Online Business

FACEBOOK ADSFacebook ads can be confusing. According to an article on the website, Mashable, an IDC report that stated that SmartPhone users, on average, checked their Facebook news feed 14 times a day. This would explain why Facebook announced earlier this month a redesign of the news feed, and is displaying more and more paid advertisements in it.

So are Facebook news feed ads right for your small business?

Types of Facebook News Feed Ads

You now have a few options as to the type of news feed ad you wish to do, and I have to be honest, they keep changing, so it’s a little tough to keep things straight.

Page Post Ads

These ads essentially put your latest Facebook post out to a target audience you select, going beyond your Facebook fans to a demographic you choose, on a continual basis until you stop it. You pay per impression or click and you set the budget, even a low as $3 a day. The results may be a lot of page likes or a lot of post likes or it may actually bring traffic to your site.

When It Works: If your Facebook page is new and you want more fans, or you are trying to get more people to read your blog posts, this may be worth a try.

Facebook Boosted Posts

Say you want to promote just one post. If you have over 400 likes, a “promote” icon appears in the bottom right hand corner of the posting box. Select promote, then enter the amount of money you want to spend and it will tell you how many people that amount will reach, again beyond your Facebook fans. One shot deal.

When It Works: To me, this is a fairly inexpensive way to promote a sale or special event. But there needs to be a really grabby headline, a prominent call to action and the link needs to send the potential customer right to what you are selling to be the most effective for you.

Facebook Sponsored Stories

This one can be a little confusing. A sponsored story ensures that any time one of your Facebook fans interacts with your page (likes your page, likes a post, comments, etc.) that this action will turn up in the news feed of all of their friends. Now, you may think, why would I pay for that because doesn’t every action by a friend/fan turn up in the news feed already. No. Surprisingly a lot of what you post and do on Facebook your fans will not see, and if they can’t see it, they can’t like it. If you look at your posts, it will tell you how many people actual saw it. So you could have 200 Facebook fans, but it will say “40 people saw this post”. Therefore, a sponsored story provides a better chance that your fans’ friends will see anything they like that has to do with you. The reach is limited to that. You pay per impression or click.

When It Works: So, if your goal is really to get to your Facebook fans’ friends, this may be effective, especially if you are offering a “Friends and Family” type deal and encourage them to “like” in order to pass it on.

FINAL WORD: The longterm effective of these ads remains to be seen. As more ads turn up in the news feed, it may turn more Facebook users off. But for now, the best thing about these ads for your small business is that they are extremely affordable and measurable, so if they don’t give you the results you wanted, you are not out a lot of money and you can quit at any time.

More Articles:

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Facebook ads. 

How to Write Your Website Title Tag

How to write your website title tagWant to know how to write your website title tag?

Just how important is that title tag for your home page that describes your overall online business? Pretty important if you want search engines to find you. When you click on a website, look at what is written in that line in the top bar above the search box. This is the title tag. What you have here will determine whether you get found in searches.

Now, if you are a big online store with a lot of backlinks, you can be quite generic in your home page’s title tag and still turn up on the front page.

Some Examples of Top Brands Title Tags
  • West Elm: Modern Furniture, Home Decor, Lighting & More”
  • Pottery Barn Kids: “Kids’ & Baby Furniture, Kids & Baby Gifts”
  • Amazon: “Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs and more” (tend to list their most best selling categories)
  • Apple Store: “Buy Apple Watch  iPad mini, iPad, iPhone 5, Macbook Pro, Mac mini and more” (gets specific with actual product names)
How To Use Your Title Tag to Get on the First Page on Google Results

Now, if you are a small business, you will need to be more specific in your shop’s home page’s title tag if you want to be noticed. You just won’t be able to compete with the larger retail chains on the more generic, popular keywords, like “designer jewelry”. You have to target in on one of your most prominent products and hope you can upsell other products once buyers are in your shop.

So maybe you want to say, “The Shop for Leather Wrap Bracelets” if these are your top seller, and, depending on how many other people are using that title tag, it has the best chance of getting your business on the first page for that search. (It should be noted that if you don’t want to get overly specific in your shop’s title tag, make sure your product category title tags are very specific, like “leather wrap bracelets”, as these are picked up by search engines as a secondary choice).

Title Tag Examples for Smaller Businesses

For example, I searched the phrase, “Cute iPhone cases“. The shop, Get Casely, came up on the first page, because one of their pages was entitled, “Cute iPhone Cases”.

FINAL WORD: The big retailers (with the exception of Apple) are not going to get product specific in their shop’s home page’s title tag, so this is where you can compete. This includes the title tag on the landing page of your blog as well. You get 70 characters, so make the most of it.

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.online marketing consultant

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

I also have a wide variety of business & marketing downloads you can check out at my Shopify store.

More SEO Posts

 

 

 

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. How to Write Your Website Title Tag

Google Search Phrases On The Rise

google search phrases on the riseIt is really important to always keep an eye on Google search phrases on the rise.

I love looking at Google Trends and seeing which search phrases are popular, but also which ones are on the rise. The great thing about Google Trends is you can customize it by country and by time period (i.e. last 7 days), so it is a great tool to keep on top of the marketplace. So I entered some product categories to see what the top rising search phrases were, for the last 3 months, worldwide.

Top Rising Google Searches for Jewelry
  • Cheap Body Jewelry
  • Hematite Jewelry
  • Amethyst Jewelry (amethyst is the February birthstone)
  • Bridesmaid Jewelry
Top Rising Google Searches for Wedding Invitations
  • Fun Wedding Invitations
  • Coral Wedding Invitations
  • Country Wedding Invitations
  • Homemade Wedding Invitations
Top Rising Google Searches for Baby Clothes
  • Baby Summer Clothes
  • Neutral Baby Clothes
  • Crochet Baby Clothes
  • Handmade Baby Clothes
  • Unisex Baby Clothes
Top Rising Google Searches for Art
  • Kitchen Art
  • African Wall Art
  • Bathroom Wall Art
  • Beach Wall Art
  • Kitchen Wall Art (Kitchen seems to be in big demand)
Top Rising Google Searches for Vintage
  • Vintage Valentines
  • Modern Vintage Boutique
  • Vintage Swimwear
  • Vintage Prom Dresses
  • Vintage Bridesmaid Dresses
  • Vintage Style Dresses
Top Rising Google Searches for Home Products
  • Decorative curtain rods
  • Decorative baskets
  • Decorative bird cages
  • Decorative wall hooks
  • Decorative ceiling tiles

FINAL WORD: When you look at searches in lesser time frames, like the last 3 months, it helps you to see popular cyclical searches, such as Valentine’s, and also how far in advance people start searching for different events or seasons. For example, people are already searching for summer items. Use Google Trends to help you find where that next opportunity lies for your online business.

★ THIS BLOG POST  MADE NY TIMES SMALL BUSINESS, BEST OF THE WEEK 

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.online marketing consultant

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

I also have a wide variety of business & marketing downloads you can check out at my Shopify store.

More SEO  Posts

 

 

 

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Google Search Phrases On The Rise

My Latest Pinterest Marketing Tip

pinterest marketing tipWant to know my latest Pinterest marketing tip?

I am not sure if your business is using the popular social media site, Pinterest, but  you may want to consider it. One of the most popular types of pins is inspirational quotes. In fact, quotes comprise almost 50% of all pins.

So how can you use this trend of inspirational quotes to help your business get noticed on Pinterest?

Pinterest Marketing Tip If You Sell Art

First of all, if you do wall art such as this, then you should have no problem getting your products pinned. Just make sure that you have a product photo that goes in tight on the saying so it is readable. Then, add a watermark of your url or shop name so people can trace it back. Sometimes when people pin your items from some of the mobile apps, the original source gets lost.

Pinterest Marketing Tip If You Sell Kids Products

But what if you sell something else, like kids’ products? Well, here is where you can get a little creative. Simply find a cool or funny or inspirational saying that relates to your product and photograph your item against it or add the text to the product photo. For example, if I was selling baby booties, I would take a shot of the booties and to the side of the booties I would photoshop in the words, “I never knew how much love my heart could hold until someone called me Mom”.

FINAL WORD: You can do this for any type of product. If you sell food have a quote about food. If you sell jewelry, have a romantic saying. If you sell fitness products, have a motivational saying. It is almost like doing an ad with a tag line. But this is what gets pinned and repinned and will give you exposure.

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.pinterest marketing tip

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

More SEO Articles

 

 

 

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Pinterest Marketing Tip

Short Story Pitch Examples

short publicity pitch examplesNeed some Short Story Pitch Examples?

As you know, getting your products in editorial in magazines, blogs, your local newspaper, etc., is always a surefire way to get sales. But coming up with a story pitch for a writer is not that easy. So here are some ideas taken from today’s headlines that I thought might inspire you (and a few ideas at the end for the near future).

Short Story Pitches for Home Products
  • 5 Fresh Decorating Ideas to Bring Into Spring
  • Trend Alert: Mirrored Art
  • Spring Awakening: 51 Colorful iPhone Cases
  • Brighten Your Pad with Playful Decor
  • Welcome Spring with Floral Accessories Under $50
  • I Can’t Believe It’s From Etsy: Oil Paintings
Short Story Pitches for Baby & Kids Products
  • The Most Beautiful Baby Sleep Sacks
  • Cool Finds: Etsy Your St. Patty’s Day
  • 7 Oz-Inspired Picks for Kids
  • Hit the High Seas in Our Favorite Pirate Picks
  • 7 Animal Wallpaper Designs for Your Lil Wild One
Short Story Pitches for Fashion
  • 50 Swimsuits under $50
  • 7 Pinterest Boards Chic Moms Should Follow
  • Ditch Your Boots for These 17 Cute (and Cheap) Flats
  • 5 Striped Tops to Welcome Spring
  • What to Wear with Printed Jeans
  • Pretty Pastel Picks for Spring
Short Story Pitches for Wedding Products
  • 3 Great Ways to Save Cherished Wedding Memories
  • Vintage Navy Wedding Inspiration Board
  • 10 Tips for Toasting at a Wedding
  • Great Gatsby Wedding Inspiration
  • Our Favorite Escort Card Ideas
  • Top 10: Wedding Envelope Inspiration
Short Story Pitches for Beauty Products
  • 10 Nail Trends to Try This Spring
  • How to Get Better Skin by the Morning
  • Fix Your Most Common Beauty Problems with These Products
  • Spring Make-up Colors to Chase the Blues Away
  • The Secrets of Wearing Dark Lipstick
Short Story Pitches for Pet Products
  • March Essentials for Your Furry Friends
  • What to Pack on a Road Trip with Your Pet
  • From Functional to Wacky: Products to Keep Kitty Happy
  • Celebrate Valentine’s Day with the Pet Love of Your Life

As you can see, Spring was a big editorial topic. So what topics do you think editors will be looking for now, in order to publish in a month or two:

  • Movie influences with releases such as Star Trek, Superman, World War Z
  • Television influences with Game of Thrones Season Premiere
  • Holiday influences with World Health Day (April 7), Earth Day (April 22), May Day (May 1), Cinco de Mayo (May 5th), National Teacher’s Day (May 7th) and Mother’s Day (May 12th)

Not sure WHO to pitch to? Simply Google titles such as the above and you will see the blogs that tend to write these types of articles. Then send a short email pitch to their contact info.

About Me

I’m Gail Oliver and since 2012 I have advised thousands of small businesses and I can help yours too! have also written pitches that have gotten my customers featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz.com, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride, Martha Stewart, just to name a few. Read more about my Publicity Pitch service.

I hope you have enjoyed these 101 Small Business Promotional Ideas.

 

 

 

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Short Story Pitch Examples. 

How to Predict Product Trends Before They Happen

how to predict product trendsWant to know how to predict product trends before they happen?

In December, Pantone chose Emerald Green to be its color of the year. Do you think it had anything to do with the fact that the movie, Oz, the Great and Powerful was coming out in spring, in which Emerald Green plays a large part in the story? Just how much does pop culture influence trends in fashion and other types of product categories, such as Home, Wedding, Kids and Lifestyle.

Movies Influence Product Trends

When the Great Gatsby movie was scheduled to come out last fall (it has been delayed to this spring), the 1920s vintage trend starting showing up in early 2012. That was also helped along by the movie The Artist, another 1920s period film, which won the Academy award for best film in 2012 and television shows like Downtown Abbey.

If you were wondering why baroque styles came back into fashion two years ago and has stayed, you just had to look at the movies Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Anna Karenina (2012), Mirror Mirror (2012), Lincoln (2012) Jane Eyre (2011) and Alice in Wonderland (2010) to see the influence.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is obviously focused on Smaug the dragon and the new, very popular trailer for Game of Thrones also features a dragon. So does this mean that dragons will be one of the creatures of choice in 2013/2014?Pantone-color-of-the-year-emerald

What about human-type monsters? Remember how popular vampires have been the last few years? Well that looks to be overtaken by zombies, thanks to movies like ParaNorman, the upcoming movie, World War Z and the popular TV show, The Walking Dead.

Books Influence Product Trends

Books are an influence as well. Studs and spikes are showing up in both fashion, jewelry and home decor, citing a definite 50 Shades of Grey influence.

So if you want to get in on a trend before it starts, keep an eye on the things in pop culture that influence us – movies, books, television, music, world events, technology, and see what commonality you can find.

FINAL WORD: While product trends don’t have a long shelf life, they do help to get you publicity (because editors only want to write about what everyone is talking about) and publicity gets people into your shop to check out what else you offer.

★ THIS BLOG POST  MADE THE NY TIMES – THIS WEEK IN SMALL BUSINESS

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.online marketing consultant

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

I also have a wide variety of business & marketing downloads you can check out at my Shopify store.

More Product Posts

 

 

 

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. How to Predict Product Trends

What is Your International SEO Strategy?

international seo strategySo what is your International SEO Strategy?

For example, when you are adding tags and keywords to your website, shop, product listings, and so forth, are you considering all variations of the English language?

As you are aware, the English language has slight differences whether you live in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia and other English speaking countries. You could be missing out on these areas being potential customers (if you do ship product to these countries) simply because you did include their more commonly used phrases and spellings.

For example, if you are selling baby onesies, no one in the UK or Australia will be searching for that phrase. Instead they will be searching bodysuit, playsuit, sleepsuit or romper. So, if you want to sell to this international market as well, it couldn’t hurt to add these keywords to your tags.

If you sell pants, no one in the UK and Australia that will looking searching on that word either, (unless they are looking for underwear) but rather, they would be searching the word, trousers.

US Versus UK Words
  • Overalls are dungarees
  • Toiletry bag is wash bag
  • Swimwear is beachwear
  • Sweater is jumper
  • Backpack is day pack
  • Pillows are cushions
  • Message boards are notice boards
  • Cupcake liners are cupcake cases
  • Cookies are biscuits
  • Underwear is knickers (women’s)
  • Ring bearer is pageboy
  • Stroller is pram or pushchair
  • Crib mobile is cot mobile
  • Diapers are nappies
  • Birdhouse is bird box
  • Sleepwear is nightwear
  • Subway is metro
Spelling of Words Can Differ
  • Personalized is personalised
  • Jewelry is jewellery
  • Wedding favors are wedding favours
  • Organizer is organiser
  • Color is colour
  • Center is centre
  • Pajamas is pyjamas
  • Gray is grey
  • Mustache is moustache

So simply by adding a few extra keywords that cater to other English markets, this will help expose your products to even more customers.

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.online marketing consultant

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

I also have a wide variety of business & marketing downloads you can check out at my Shopify store.

More SEO Posts

 

 

 

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. International SEO Strategy

Target Market Examples

target market examplesIf you need target market examples because the concept confuses you, I’m here to help.

Your target market is the group of people who are most likely to buy your products and/or services. It is one of the first things you must identify before you can do any type of marketing.

Why is it important to know who is most likely to buy from you? Well, you can’t find them if you don’t know who and where they are.

Your Target Market Q&A
  • Gender – Are your products for male, female or both?
  • Age – You just need a range. For example, if you are selling wedding products, the age range is probably 23 to 33, for the most part. If you are selling orthopedic shoes, then probably an age range of 60+.
  • Income – For example, are you selling luxury products? Then you need to target buyers in the higher income range.
  • Business or End User – Are you selling products that another business would want, such as graphic design services or business cards? This means you are selling business to business or B2B. Or are you targeting the end consumer? Maybe you sell art, which you think is mostly for the home or consumer/end user, but businesses look for art for their offices as well. In this case, you can have two target markets or niches.
  • Primary Buyer – Is the buyer of the product not the user? For example, if you sell baby products, obviously you are selling to the parents, not to the baby.
  • Location – Is this a product only of interest to someone in a certain city or country? For example, you have a product with the Union Jack flag on it. Would someone outside of the U.K. still be interested?
  • Needs – What are the current needs of your target market? Is it someone who is getting married, having a baby, starting a business, going to college, buying a new home, etc.

There are other factors you can consider as well, depending on what you sell, such as your target market’s style (traditional, modern, etc.), ethnicity, education level and so forth.

Target Market Examples

Let’s say you are selling inexpensive women’s fashion jewelry online, and you only ship to the United States.

Then your primary target market is likely women ages 17 to 35, with a lower income range say under $50,000 a year, living in the US.

Once you have identified your primary target market, go back over this list and identify possible secondary markets.

So the secondary target market for the example above could people who might buy your jewelry as a gift for someone. This buyer could be both men and women, still in a lower income range and they could be living anywhere if they arrange for the item to ship directly to the recipient.

Still another secondary market could be a fashion stylist, who is buying your jewelry for their clients. Again, could be both men and women, a possibly higher income range and they would be living in the US.

Once you have identified your primary and secondary target markets, now you have to go and find where they are and what makes them buy. I always recommend asking friends, family and colleagues who fit the description of your target market. It should NOT be guess work.

You want to ask your target market what they read, watch they watch, where they shop, what social media sites they are on, what they are influenced by, how much they spend in a year on your type of products – the questions are endless but the more you know about your target market, the more effective your marketing efforts will be.

If you want to make it easier on yourself, download my 96-page Marketing Planner as there is an entire section dedicated to finding your target market.

It is impossible to market your business effectively if you do not know who you are selling to. Make that your first priority to determine who wants your products and/or services, and everything else should work around that.

More Target Market Articles:

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Target market examples. 

Competitor Analysis Template to Outsell Your Competition

Competitor analysis templateOne thing that is useful for any small business is a Competitor Analysis Template. I often have customers complain to me that they have too much competition. In all honesty, everyone does. But you can actually learn from your competition to make your products and services better, and this could put your business on top.

Competitor Analysis Template

Take a look at your competitors (just the successful ones) and compare to see where you falter and they succeed and vice versa. Then make the necessary changes.

Features – Are your products identical in every way? If not, you need to emphasize the benefits your products have that theirs doesn’t, and remember features are not always benefits if they are of no use to the customer. If you don’t have any benefits that your competition doesn’t, then you need to add some. And the best way to do that is to ask your current customers for a wish list.

 Services – What services do you offer that your competitors don’t? Again, these advantages you need to emphasize in your product copy to help your potential customer decide. Do you offer free shipping, discounts on multiple purchases, customization, etc.? Again, if you don’t have any advantages in terms of service, you need to get some. You’ve got to match the top players point for point.

 Target Market – Does your competition have additional markets that they are selling to that you are not? Uncover these and you have some new customers for yourself.

 Price – Believe it or not, price is not always a deal breaker. You want to be in the same ball park, but a few dollars isn’t going to make a difference so don’t price yourself below your competition. What you want to do is show the value that comes with your price, and that is why you have to detail what you offer in #1 and #2 above.

 Reputation – Have you won awards, gotten publicity or amazing reviews, been in business a long time – all of these factors can give you an advantage over your competition in the mind of the consumer.

 Branding – Do you look professional? Do you have a company logo, a positioning statement, professional-looking photos, well-written, grammatically correct product copy, contact information, etc. You’ve got to look legitimate, especially if your competition does, and it is worth it to make the investment to do so.

 Promotion – Are you finding your competition everywhere? Are they on Facebook, Instagram, running ads on Google, hosting a blog, appearing in editorial … this list goes on. Take note of what they are doing and try to be everywhere they are (and aren’t).

Competition doesn’t have to be a bad thing if you choose to learn from it. It’s what fosters innovation.competitor analysis template

Need a thorough competitive analysis template? Find one in my 96-Page Marketing Planner

MORE COMPETITOR ARTICLES

©2013 Gail Oliver All rights reserved. Competitor Analysis Template

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