When sales and profits are headed south - that is, in the wrong direction - some business owners think traffic is their number one obstacle to success.
Traffic a life saver? Why would anyone believe a crazy thing like that?
Because marketing promotes the lie that traffic is scarce and hard to get. Scarcity and difficulty are old marketing tricks, of course - part and parcel of fear-based marketing. But there's lots of money to be made, and it works. For proof, traffic is by now the biggest selling category in IM. Very powerful - marketing. Remember people used to smoke cigarettes, thinking it was good for them?
So people buy traffic in the hope it will be good for their business.
But traffic is not the secret to success in business. The key to success in business is to create and keep customers in a cost effective way. Simply put, you need a working business model before you even think about traffic. Until then, stop buying traffic.
The previous paragraph is amazing. It bears repeating until it actually sinks in. You may want to read it again.
Traffic is part of the business landscape, of course, but it does not run any deeper than that. Gone are the days when "not enough business", or a non-working business model, could be solved by simply throwing more traffic at it. For that, buying traffic has become a tad too expensive. Buying extra traffic will not fix a business that's losing money.
Look at it this way... imagine yourself with a headache while camping out in the wilderness. You hear the growl of a bear outside of your tent. It will do you no good to conquer the headache if you let the bear maul you.
The solution? You must find, and then adopt, a business model designed from the ground up "to make and keep customers in a cost effective way".
To be successful in business is not a stroll in the park, but it is equally true that creating an online business that makes money isn't all that hard to do either... if you know how. It all starts with a working business model. Call it a business funnel if you prefer - it's the same thing.
How to Recognize a Working Business Model
- It puts emphasis on repeat business. Because that's where the money is.
- The most expensive business activity is getting the customer in the door the first time. It cost many times more to acquire a new customer than to keep one that you already have. Doing business with a customer the first time around, you have product cost and marketing cost. After that, doing business with existing customers, the marketing cost has already been taken care of. Big difference.
- It recognizes your number one asset is your current clients. That they need to be treated as such.
- The pursuit of new clients is what most business are engaged in... but the big danger in attracting new business is spending so much in the pursuit that you win the game and still lose money.
- Offering and supporting current clients should be your primary business - to generate more business, more frequently with existing customers.
Bartlee Spencer - with a little help from his friends - has been running online and offline businesses for the past 10 years. Now he's helping others create online businesses that make money. His way of returning the favor. For more, visit [http://hotezinestraffic.com]
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5357754
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