When going online with your marketing your online marketing sucess will depend upon having a Strategic Online Marketing plan.  Be sure to focus on Strategy first and Action Steps second.

So what questions can you start with to make sure you’re a strategic online marketing whiz kid?  Let’s take a look-

1-  Define in detail how your product or service will change or help your customer…People who are satisfied aren’t motivated to be your customer.  Let’s say your company has products and services that are associated with Self-Improvement.  Your motivated buyers are seeking to change from defeat to victory, depression to well-being, burned out to fully alive.  So if your audience is not motivated to change and your product/service can’t deliver the change then you have wasted your time, energy and money.

2-  How are you telling your story?  There is an art to storytelling and you must know it to hit home.  This story-selling in the marketing world is what creates some of the biggest brands we know of and live.  How do you think that Apple captured such a massive slice of the pie in terms of the MP3 market.  It’s not because their product is better than everyone else it’s because they are focused on being a lifestyle choice and they clearly demonstrate it in their marketing messaging.  Start to plug into your favorite brands and notice if they have a strong story that sold you on becoming a loyal follower.

3-  Make sure what you’re saying is different…If you have the same message as your competition then you’re a sinking ship.  Your competition may be ignoring something that a lot of companies ignore which is an advantage for you…Use the psychological and emotional marketing angle that they may have overlooked as your ace in the hole.  If you focus on the features and are looking to be rational in your sales approach you will miss the lion share of your buyers.  Spending decisions are emotional.  Think of purchases you make for yourself, your kids the ones you love…are they made out of a logical place or do you have a heart invested in your reasons to buy.  I think of the commericals for the credit cards that talk about the things you’ll do with your kids and family as "priceless."  The memories the moments captured in the heart are what gets people to spend the money they have worked hard for.

4-  Can you say your message loud and clear being very bold with it?  If not, why?  The meek may inherit the earth, but if they are in business online they most likely will go broke.  There are too many companies and websites online today with tons of ads and clutter in the face of your customers to hope they will pay attention to you.  You have to go bold or stay out of the game. 

5-  Who is your perfect or ideal customer?  Do you have it down in terms of what motivates them, what are those emotional hot-buttons, how old are they, where do they hang out on and offline, what type of careers do they have or are they homemakers?  Are you ready to throw in the towel and get rid of unproductive audiences and put a laser focus on those that are motivated to say yes to you and what you have to offer?

This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of starting to get into a more detailed view of how your online presence will look and flow and most importantly connect with those who are eager and ready to say yes.  Get your legal pad out or your word document fired up and answer these initial questions…brainstorm with others on them.  Better yet, survey some of your ideal audience to make sure your hot buttons are really in existence.  Have fun with this and stay tuned for more on Strategic Online Marketing.