by Ahmed Muzammil | Jul 21, 2017 | Business, Marketing, Startup |
Powering the Sales Funnel through targeted content is your opportunity to achieve more. More of what? Attention, towards whatever you have to offer to make more money. If you are focusing on products then its products and if you’re are a service provider then it’s the service you are offering.
The purpose of creating content in the first place is to generate more interest to the particular page so that you attract more attention. This attention increases the interest in your page and more interest means that more people are currently either actively or passively gathering information about your product/service.
You might wonder, why should I bother about content when am spending piles and piles of cash on the advertisement. You are rightful to question if you had spent or have been spending piles and piles of cash on the advertisement. But read and ponder.
Before there was Radio. Then came the TV. After that there was internet and Social Media came about creating many more ways to get to know about well anything. Not only can people look at a product or service, but they can also inquire about the aforementioned product or service by doing a few searches on Google or Facebook or Twitter.
This arm twists every one of you (the product or service provider) to mellow up to the would-be customers even before they know that they want to make avail of your services or your products. Here is where targeted content comes in to save your day.
Today’s marketing is not what yesterday’s marketing used to be. One bad post about you can make you lose a few of your future customers if not the existing ones!? So it’s very important for you to engage with your audience in a positive way through all existing platforms.
Why targeted content? An advertisement is far too good. You can argue all day. But with today’s smart devices, be it phones or tablets allow people to peer into numerous blogs and hundreds of posts before come knocking at your brick and mortar showroom to purchase anything. Hence the targeted content comes into play.
You have to maintain a good social presence. A positive social opinion about your products and service to widen the lower end of the sales funnel. You know you want it that way! So learn to master a content powered sales funnel.
R & D – This D Stands For Discovery
You need to get into the thought process of a person who may or may not pay to avail your service or product. This takes research and discovering the customers’ interests and targeting them from there. Many people who buy stuff are idle surfers of the internet. They just surf, mostly that’s what they do. If they like what they see, they will get it.
Others are informed ones who dig deep about you and your offerings to figure out if there are any shortcomings what so ever. For both these customers, there is an absolute need for your product. But the approaches they take are entirely different. Either informed (actively) or uninformed (passively) state they look for solutions to their problem or to eradicate the issue they are facing.
Your product or service may be the solution they are seeking in the first place. This process that leads up to the decision is called the buying cycle. During the decision cycle, the people will be searching for solutions or with the problems itself. The words they use become your key to unlocking the door towards your customer pool.
It is imperative that you use keywords that are targeted towards your business. For example, let’s assume that you are a networking connection accessories provider. You offer routers, modems, Wi-Fi range extenders and etc.
The goal here is for you to help you could be customer get well-informed about the various types of devices you offer. Not only just this. If for instance, you provide a tool of sorts which helps them get to the conclusion to what they need to get, will make them more comfortable.
Not only are you helping the visitor decide in what should be purchased to eliminate their pain points; but also you are earning their trust. This also improves their confidence. A confident customer is the one who is more likely to purchase from you.
A Helping Page – Full Of Info
Now, you have to utilize this confidence that you have earned in the right way. At this moment the customer is interested and you have to provide them with more accurate information about what types of products you offer and what’s the difference between them.
Not all people know everything. By providing the additional information you are making them well informed about what they should get to fix the problem they are having. In this case, in this case, it’s the necessity to get a Wi-Fi gateway.
But you have to assume that the person making the decision doesn’t differentiate between an ADSL modem with Wi-Fi and a Wi-Fi gateway. Here, if you provide the necessary information to the site visitors in helping them discerning the obvious difference between the two. You will be a hero, who just saved their day.
Give And Wait For You To Receive Back
Now, you have to provide targeted information about all your products and how they are better than your competition. You are welcome to include simple infographics which a common man can understand.
In this phase, you are being weighed against your competitors. A pivotal moment for you as this is the stage the people will show loyalty. Provided, you show some sweet deal. You not only have to show them that you have the best to offer but also, to show them that you care for them and you are here to make them happy.
After all these processes of researching, finding, understanding, and sweet deals. They will choose the best possible offer which suits their pocket. If you do all the above correctly. You would have gained a customer.
Testimonials Go A Long Way
Also, you need to have testimonial page for each and every product or a mechanism to rate your product. People (your existing customers) should be able to log in and post their thoughts about your products/services.
You can’t convince people (would be customers) like the people (have been customers). Positive replies and positive ratings will promote your products for you. And if you have a social media presence, it’s a great plus. Get communities for your products, encourage people to talk for you.
Provide the opportunity to the people, like lucky draw and so on. Many people talking is much more advertisement. Opportunities means, people who might not be otherwise interested will line up to try their luck. Also, reward your customers. Publish about your customer engagement activities in social media.
The more people feel welcome, the more you are persuading them to buy from you.
At The End Of The Day
You need to have targeted content which is properly filled with the appropriate amount of keywords. Keyword research tools help in a big way, for example, AdWords form Google. This will improve your exposure from current levels and increase your popularity. All these will help you gain customers. Through these efforts, you will power your sales funnel with your targeted content.
by Ahmed Muzammil | Jul 18, 2017 | Business, Entrepreneurship, Startup |
So, I was at The Wolf of Wall Street seminar in Singapore by the Wolf himself – Jordan Belfort. There were several things I learned from him. If there was one thing I took away, it‘s his advice about taking action relentlessly.
In his words: Eagles take action. Ducks just sit there and think about things. Eagles play offense, whereas ducks play Defence. – Jordan Belfort
At this point, I had goals, short-term, long-term, and lifetime goals. But I was a dreamer just like most people. I dreamt of a better life, a better financial situation, better health. But I only kept imagining, and dreaming doesn’t mean achieving.
Without action, the best intentions in the world are nothing more than that: intentions – Jordan Belfort
I realized the importance of taking action and how taking action is the only way I can move forward. I was a dreamer but not an action taker. I decided to take immediate action.
So, I immediately went ahead and did a couple of things which were of high priority for me. I got a Jawbone UP which is supposed to help me lose weight by tracking my progress; I finished reading “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, I even wrote my first book. It felt so fabulous to have taken those actions by the end of 2015.
I was playing the classic case of the following tactics vs. strategies. Strategies are like trees. They stand in the long term. Tactics are like bubbles, and they burst after a while. We’ll speak about the differences in the next couple of blogs. Stay tuned.
Click here to read the next blog post in this series
by Ahmed Muzammil | Jul 11, 2017 | Business, Entrepreneurship, Startup |
Before I attended the Tony Robbins seminar in May 2015, six months back I read “Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill”. Mr. Hill mentions in the book “Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.”
After I had finished reading the book, I created goals – one-year goals, five-year goals, ten-year goals, and lifetime goals. And I started developing a strong desire to achieve these goals. Or in other words, I dreamed about my goals.
Now, this is when I was at one of the lowest points in my life. My startup failed after many attempts; I was fat like a pig (I weighed 127 kilos, that’s 280 pounds), I hated to look myself in the mirror, I hated to go to conferences and meet people.
I couldn’t spend time with my family; I was depressed wanted to change my life.
I was sitting in Tony Robbins’ seminar, and he mentioned: “Decisions shape your destiny”. It’s true, coz many times we dream about things and certain decisions that we need to take to move towards the goals we don’t make them.
It could be because of various fears, or procrastination. But, I took Tony’s word, and I made a couple of decisions that day. These decisions changed my life entirely. I lost weight, increased my salary, and built a consulting company and made over $100,000 in sales while still at my day job.
So, here’s an exercise for you today: What are the decisions that you have been thinking about for a long time and haven‘t decided yet? Make the decision YES or NO today. Don’t be undecided.
Hit “comment” and let me know what you decided.
by Ahmed Muzammil | Jul 4, 2017 | Business, Entrepreneurship, Startup |
The last article I taught you about the six human needs. The six needs can get categorized into two. The first four needs are the “needs of the personality” – you will meet these needs whether you know it or not.
The last two, “growth” and “contribution” are the spiritual needs – these are what bring us lasting fulfillment.
Your top 2 needs become your driving force. While we all have the same needs, we value them differently. Our priorities for these needs differ one from another, based on what we value the most.
Quickly, determine your top two needs. What do you value the most? To understand the top needs, you need to look at your needs, your beliefs, and the emotions that are controlling you. You need to be the CEO of your own self.
And that brings us to the end of today’s article. Keep a lookout for my next blog where I explain the #1 thing that I did in the Tony Robbins’ seminar that changed my entire life.
by Ahmed Muzammil | Jun 27, 2017 | Business |
So far we’ve seen Certainty & Uncertainty, Significance & Love, now it’s time to learn about the last two needs that influence us to do what we do. They are:
5.Growth:
It’s the need to expand in capacity, capability, and understanding.
+ The need to grow financially.
+ The need to grow in your organization.
+ The need to learn something more.
+ The need to buy a bigger TV.
+ The need to buy a bigger / expensive car.
We do all of this because of the need for growth.
6.Contribution:
It’s the sense of service, the focus on helping, giving, and supporting others.
This is the reason why people help others.
This is the reason people volunteer.
This is the reason people donate money to charity.
This is the reason people eat vegan food. (not kill animals)
This is the reason people don’t use plastic. (to save the earth)
It gives people a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment when they contribute. It’s more of a spiritual need.
Growth and Contribution as an exception aren’t a paradox. But they are connected in a way that the more, the people contribute, the more they grow.
Think Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and some of the billionaires who give away a lot of their wealth. It hasn’t affected their position on the Forbes billionaire list. Their wealth has only increased.
So if you want to grow, give back first, help others, contribute to your society. Want to take action immediately? Then go to a crowdfunding charity website like Give.asia or GoFundMe.com and donate something to somebody even a dollar just to get started.
In the next few blogs, I‘m going to teach you in detail on how these needs affect us as a person and what I learned about understanding our self and where being more self-aware can lead us to.
by Ahmed Muzammil | Jun 20, 2017 | Business, Entrepreneurship, Marketing |
In my last blog, we spoke about Certainty and Variety. It’s the reason behind:
+Why some stick to a day job and some start their own company
+Why some pursue a normal life, and some pursue an adventurous life
+Why some people like to eat the same food and why some people like to try new food all the time.
Makes sense?
Now onward to the next two human needs:
3. Significance:
The need to be feeling unique, valuable, special or proud.
The need that motivates somebody to become a celebrity, or an attractive person.
Or for some to show off an expensive watch or an expensive handbag.
Or for some to buy a Lamborghini just because that makes them feel significant.
4. Connection/Love:
The feeling of closeness or affection with someone or something. It‘s the craving for love, sex, relationship.
People act differently for some people because they like them. A rogue fighter, or a terrorist, maybe a very caring father and a loving husband at home.
That brings us to another paradox. The paradox between love and significance.
Everybody knows that you need to make your partner feel significant and let your ego down to be successful in love, or in a relationship.
If you don’t let your significant self, relax for the sake of the relationship, you cannot have a great relationship. Thus you have to find a fine balance between significance and connection.
Have you ever given up on something for the sake of love? Reply and tell me. I would love to hear from you.
