IT’S A PIECE OF CAKE….RIGHT?

It's no secret that building an online presence for your business is critical to success in today's digital age. But what many small business owners don't know is how much work it takes to create and maintain a successful online presence.

At present, our organization is developing three online businesses. Starting from scratch, from concept to creation. If you think it’s as easy as putting up a website and getting your products introduced on the major sales platforms, you would be misguided.

When we started our first online business, we had no idea how much work would be involved. We thought we could just create a website, add some products, and start selling. But there's so much more to it than that. You need to build your brand, drive traffic to your site, create compelling content, and convert visitors into customers. And that's just the beginning.

JUST BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME (if you spend tons of money)

We have met with countless online marketers, SEO services, content providers, Fiverr contractors, and have attended numerous trade shows. In a review of what we heard you would also think it is as easy as just throwing a lot of money at it. The new SEO mantra seems to indicate "just throw money at it and they will come". That's just not true. As well, it is just hazardous to the success of your business. The mantra should read, "just throw money at it, and you may be wasting your money". In our organization, we have named it "The Dark Arts of SEO".

IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! I KNEW IT ALL ALONG!

It sounds very attractive to just believe that it just takes money to make money in the online marketplace, but that is more the exception than the rule. As a matter of fact, it's probably the single largest error made by most fledgling online startups. Website development, SEO algorithms, platform advertising with the goal of most companies to not to necessarily grow YOUR business but THEIR business. BTW, if your business happens to grow, that's OK too! Don't believe me? Try requesting a pay-for-performance arrangement with any marketing organization. According to most that is an unreasonable request. The companies wish to charge you on clicks or some other metric that does not necessarily equate to sales. Meanwhile, six months or a year down the road, that same marketing company is providing you a talk track telling you why YOU haven't been successful. Meantime, your financial resources have been not utilized efficiently and are in someone else's control.

So, are you depressed yet?

THERE'S HOPE!

As with most items, time and experience is your greatest teacher and should be the greatest influencer in your decision-making. With that in mind, I will impart to you my greatest learning throughout this process. To my surprise, it's something I've known all along. I didn't need to spend a lot of money on individuals or marketing organizations that possibly did not have my organization's interest as a priority As a result, I am fortunate to have not invested a great deal of money to get to the right conclusion.

SO, SHUTUP, TELL US WHAT'S THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IN ONLINE MARKETING?

You may not like the answer, but that does not make it any less true. It's the same answer and conclusion that I come to after almost 40 years of sales and marketing, and, through myriads of "Sales Classes", Tactics, Professional Selling Skills, and also all of the "Dark Arts of Selling. Many of us have experienced enough of that throughout our careers.

The answer is, "There's no magic to any of it". "No Secret Sauce", "No Strategy or Tactic", at all. It's pretty simple.

1-Good Sales and Marketing takes time

2-Growing your sales in a credible fashion and in the interest of your customer- takes time.

3-Developing credibility and trust takes time. Build your customer base one customer at a time and make sure you do what you say you are going to do...and mean it.

4- The magic of any successful venture is time, trust, and credibility. It is the cornerstone in the development of any business or business plan. As well, it is one of the most overlooked aspects present in most large organizations today.

Do you wish to be successful in your new business or endeavor? Give it time, care about your customer, don’t tell your story, let your customers do it for you. All that takes time. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.