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When asked what sources “influence your decision to use or not use a particular company, brand or product” 71% claim reviews from family members or friends exert a “great deal” or “fair amount” of influence (Harris Interactive, June 2010).” – Bazaarvoice.com
The above backs what everybody else already knows: people buy from their friends. Imagine the iPhone 4 was released today and 10 people you follow on Twitter said it was the worst product since Pontiac came out with the Fiero (This was my dad’s midlife crisis mobile). How would it effect your decision in purchasing the latest goody by Apple? You’d likely think twice. Had Maslow lived in the 80′s in 90′s I think he might have adjusted his hierarchy of needs. He has “Safety” and “Self-Confidence” as separate slivers in the human psyche but as we have evolved in to more ways to communicate I think he may have combined the two to make a larger piece of the pie in his hierarchy. Given today’s world and the ability to communicate with about anybody on the planet, consumers truly do take heed of what others say based on family, friends, and the level of respect they have for each.
Amway is a huge proponent of buying through friends. I am sure my parents were taken in once or twice by neighbors inviting them over for dinner that displayed a huge spread at the low cost of $20. Amway’s market is the family. What is better than a family selling to another family? They know all the needs and usually it is quality and bulk at a low price. How can I feed/supply my household on a family budget?
When I am presenting The Loud Few to a potential client, I have one thing on my mind: make them comfortable. When they are comfortable they tend to make buying decisions faster. I can back this up as my girlfriend is extremely comfortable with ANY shoe sales person she encounters. If you are empathetic to the buyers needs, concerns, and plans, then you deserve the sale. But as I stated above, you cannot forget quality. Friends tell 10 people about the great service they may have received at a certain point in time, but if that one friend had a horrible experience, he will tell 10 times that amount.
Some of my first clients were, and still remain, my friends. They were comfortable with me and respected my opinion/expertise. We did not abuse the existing friendship; rather, once we had them as clients we would host awesome kick-off meetings to address any and all elements of the project, a key factor before starting a working relationship. Why? Because it makes everybody comfortable and safe. If the client understands what we are doing and how we plan to work on the project, then they can better understand the process up front and communicate their needs appropriately.
From a simple suggestion on what to get at a bar to what car is the most reliable, we rely on our friends to help with purchasing decisions. If we didn’t do this, then the retweet feature would be non-existent. Danny Sullivan wouldn’t have a gajillion followers and Amway would be filing for chapter 13. We like comfort, safety, and quality. Is that so hard to ask for in today’s economy?
About the Author
Adam Hallas is the Business Development Lead at The Loud Few and specializes in interactive marketing strategy. You can learn more about him here or follow him on twitter at twitter.com/MrHallas.
Whether you have a brick and mortar or you want to bring a new idea to life, the online world is likely a good option to explore. So, where do you start? Hopefully I can walk you through the steps I took to create my own website (www.UrbHub.com) and show you some useful things to do (and not to do).
It doesn’t matter if you’re bringing an established business to the online marketplace or you’re launching a web-based start-up, the goal is the same, get people to visit your site instead of another.
How? Provide value and keep it simple.
Mistake #76: You think your idea is so great and you forget to play devil’s advocate. It’s only natural that you want your idea to be better than the others, but realize when your vision is clouded, take a step back, and ask questions. Here are a few questions that I fallback on all the time:
You’ve evaluated the competition and decided to move forward. Where should you go from here?
Get the domain name and build it.
Hint: You might have thought of the name and purchased the domain, but for those who have yet to make this step, keep it simple. In most cases, you can find a great domain name that will fit your business and your budget.
I’m sure there is a lengthy book about this at your local bookstore, but it’s not that complicated. Sit down at 2-4 completely different times and brainstorm ideas, this way you have a fresh mind and hopefully new ideas each time. I will typically think of as many words relating to my idea as possible, which ends up being like two words, so I cheat and use a thesaurus (www.thesaurus.com). Then I will compile a list of possible domain names. The key is to keep it as short, memorable, and as related to your service as possible. Use a service such as www.moniker.com to check the availability of your domain.
Figure out your budget and time frame because how you approach building your site will be dependent on these two factors.
Based on what you decided for a budget and time frame, you’ll want to pick out who is going to help you create your site. If your budget is low, then you can try to find freelancers to outsource your project such as www.getafreelancer.com. Keep in mind that dealing with someone overseas can cause you more stress because of both the communication gap and trust issues (i.e. Do you want to give out passwords to your site?). I would say you’re best bet is dealing with someone locally if possible, this way you can meet at a local coffee shop and explain your concept hands on, without confusion.
What you should provide to the person (or company) that is building your site?
Create a site map or tree of the pages you want to be included in your site. Take it a step further: write down the user experience as you picture it (i.e. If the user clicks this link, they should go here.). The more of the small details you think of up front, the more time and stress you’ll save in the long run.
Hint: Once you’ve decided who is going to build the site, get it online ASAP! You might think it’s a bad idea to sacrifice some of the more time intensive features just to launch your site quicker, but it will be invaluable to your success. Why? Once you get the site up, you’ll see how people are using it and there will likely be a lot of changes that you’ll want to make. One of those changes might be to get rid of that feature completely, which will be easier to cope with if you haven’t spent time, money, and stress to create it.
The site is up and running, congratulations. Are people using it like you thought they would? How is it the same? Different? What has your competition changed since you’ve originally conceived the idea for the site? The competition online is only growing, which means that you have to constantly be aware. It doesn’t mean you need to stress out and destruct, rather, you need to continue to keep it simple and provide value. As long as your visitors see a value in your site, you are okay. How will you know? Are you receiving more visitors? How long are they staying on your site now compared to when you first started? If you aren’t happy with the results, then change.
The key: ask yourself if you are providing value. Be honest.
If you’ve made it this far, then you’re either really stubborn or your site is successful. In order to stay in front of the competition, remember that people use your site because they find it valuable. You’ll likely add new ideas and technology throughout the life of your site, but keep the core value the same (because that’s what got you here).
About the Author
Brad Hogan is involved with Web Development at The Loud Few. You can learn more about him here or follow him on twitter at twitter.com/UrbHub.
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