Experiential Marketing: The Basics

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For as long as there have been businesses, there has been marketing. Making use of a range of mediums around, businesses attempt to reach a growing audience, highlight their brand and products and declare that they are the must have. "Buy now, we are the best" is the general (and often subtle) message that is regularly shared.

From radio and television advertising to print and now even today's websites and social media brands use anything and everything they possibly can to communicate their message and the benefits of products and services. The marketing world however has now developed greatly as businesses move beyond simple communication and instead vie for engagement; this is today known as Experiential Marketing.

Experiential marketing does exactly what it says on the tin; attempts to create an experience because after all, an experience is more likely to have a positive impact and get a reaction then the basic communication that we are used to.

You may have seen a few examples during your everyday life, from Sensodyne Toothpastes pop up's around the UK to Blinkbox dropping a giant dragon skull on a Dorset beach to promote the new series of Game of Thrones; good experiential marketing can make a lasting impression and a lasting connection.

For those looking new to experiential marketing or curious as to how to make use of this modern phenomena, below are just a few of the basic facts to keep in mind...

• Event sponsorships were once considered the best kind of experiential marketing but today, brands are now one step closer to building a relationship with their consumers by encouraging real engagement. Participation is now the key to a good strategy.


• Experiential Marketing strategies are designed to achieve an emotional connection however it all depends on the exact type of emotion you want to achieve. From pop ups designed to give insights into the helpful benefits of a product to party venues throughout the UK; with 'live events' experiential marketing can help you make a powerful and lasting impact. Chocolate company Milka created several large bars that had one square missing; those who purchased the incomplete bars where then told that they could have the missing piece either mailed back to them or mailed to a loved one; the right campaign is a fantastic way to present your brand in a memorable manner.


• With the help of social media, marketers can now get a better insight as to what their customers want and need and leverage this. Did you know that a few years ago fans of IKEA had set up a Facebook page "I Wanna Have a Sleepover in IKEA" and how did the brand respond? By inviting fans to do just that! To this day IKEA sleepovers are still quite popular in different areas of the world and work in fantastic favour of the brand. A great place to start with any kind of experiential marketing is to look at what your customers want.


• As with any form of marketing, experience marketing must be made measurable in order to determine real success. Whether it is an email address that a customer has requested more information to be sent to or even customers to fill in a form; once users are engaged and you have achieved an emotional connection they are generally far likely to pass over details and show interest in making a purchase. These details can then be used to contact the potential customer and provide them with what a final nudge in the right direction.

Today's modern day consumers are no longer content with simple communication from brands, they want more and expect more for businesses they can now connect with in an instant and that's where experiential marketing comes in.

Your customers are smarter than ever and thanks to the internet, can connect to a multitude of similar businesses but with a well thought out experiential marketing campaign, you have a far better chance of making a lasting connection and coming out on top against competitors.

Is your business ready to take the next marketing step?

Joe Banevicius is one of the leading team members at design and manufacturing company Scruffy Dog Ltd

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8887418

Starting an Online Internet Business May Not Be As Expensive As You Thought

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Have you ever wondered how much it would cost to start your own internet business? This is one of the most commonly asked questions, and you may be surprised to know that you can start an online internet business quickly and for relatively very little money as opposed to having to come up with thousands of dollars to get started.

One of the reasons internet business is such a great business to pursue is because you can start your business fast and cost effectively. Also, your ROI (return on investment) is very fast with internet business versus other businesses which could take three years or more to start making a profit. Once you've made the decision to start an online internet business, there are eight important tools you will need to get started.

1. WEB HOSTING

The first is you will need to have a place for it to live online - a website. And with that, you will need a web address and hosting. The web address is what people will type in to find your business, and the hosting is where the site exists online. You can obtain your own web address for less than $10 and hosting will only cost you between $60-$100 per year (or less than $10 per month). This is incredibly cheap!

2. EMAIL LIST MANAGEMENT

Secondly, you will need a good email management system. Why? The biggest asset and money earner of your business are in the people who have found your site, expressed interest and signed up for your e-mail list.

Even if you do not have an email list yet, you will need to have a system in place even before your site goes live so that you can communicate with your community of followers. Try to steer clear of free or extremely cheap systems; you want a really good service that is reliable and trustworthy because after all, your list is the life of your business!

3. SITE DESIGN

The third tool you will need is to make your site "live" online. Don't become overwhelmed thinking you have to design and code the site yourself. A wonderful free tool called WordPress can do all the hard work for you, making it easy to update your website yourself, therefore eliminating costly web designers and programmers. Internet Business Mastery also has many tutorials to make the process headache free for you. If you still would like someone to do the entire setup for you, there are assistants who for $50 or less can help do the entire process for you.

WordPress offers many templates and themes which can give your site a customizable look of its own. Premium themes are also available which are an upgrade in design quality. Premium themes are also very affordable, only costing you between $70-$100.

4. PAYMENT PROCESSING

The fourth important thing to starting your own internet business is to have a good payment processing system in place. There will be a time when you will need to process credit cards and give people the ability to purchase things through your website. Having this system in place enables your business to work for you even when you are not - 24/7, 365, anytime. There are many free services such as Paypal, Ejunkie, and more that will process your orders for you, or you can upgrade later to something like 1ShoppingCart which will give you more functionality and features.

5. BUSINESS ENTITY

The fifth thing you will need for your internet business is to think about creating a business entity for yourself. The first kind of business entity is a self-proprietor in which you will do business through your own personal tax statements and all liability is on you personally. Another option is an LLC, which will protect your personal assets and family by keeping the business separate. An LLC is as easy to create as filling out the forms yourself for $20-$30. Or if you choose, you can have a lawyer file the paperwork for you for $400-$500 and give you the confidence that the paperwork is filed correctly.

6. YOUR PRODUCT

The sixth thing to think about is you are going to need a product to offer. Since we are talking about internet business, you may not need to manufacture and sell a physical product. Information products are a great idea and can eliminate production needs and costs. Everything is digital, and will only cost you your time. These types of products sell at a high margin, and can be delivered digitally to your customer.

7. TRAFFIC GENERATION

The seventh tool to get your internet business off the ground is getting traffic to your site. People need to be aware of your presence online! IBM's methods for getting traffic are either completely free or very inexpensive. Content marketing is where it's at - which means you are generating regular, authoritative content specific to your niche of marketing. This gets the attention of your market, and magnetically draws them to you. Some other methods to generate traffic could be through paid services such as Google Adwords, paid advertising on Facebook, mailings, or ads in magazines.

8. MENTORSHIP

The eighth and final tool you will need - and which is often overlooked - is mentorship. Mastermind groups can be a roadmap on your journey of internet business. The Internet Business Mastery Academy is a great place to go for invaluable feedback, guidance, and advice from those who have paved the way ahead of you in their own internet businesses. This will save you time and money in the future by avoiding pitfalls and mistakes. You can even receive a risk free trial membership to the IBM Academy to get you jumpstarted.

MASSIVE RETURN ON INVESTMENT

As you can see, owning your own internet business is very affordable, and something you can see results of in a matter of months instead of years. For as little as a few hundred dollars, you can have your own viable business versus $30,000 for a franchise or something similar. A couple hundred dollars for freedom and fulfillment are very worth the cost!

For a list of services we recommend as mentioned in this article, visit Internet Business Mastery's website.

Jeremy Frandsen is the co-host of the #1 internet business and marketing podcast, Internet Business Mastery. Jeremy is an expert on how to start an online internet business, as well as other internet business related strategies.

To learn more about how to start an online internet business and Internet Business Mastery, please visit http://www.internet-based-business-mastery.com.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jeremy_Frandsen/521212

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