The article "7 Customer Acquisition Schemes Your Competitor is Hiding from You" talks about affiliate revenue, it was created by Michael Lever.
Customer Acqusiition is beyond doubt the number one priority for all serious business owners. Whether you're a merchant or an associate/affiliate of a merchant, your goal is to grow slaes. That is why the best in your industry are closely guarding their customer acquisition techniques. Regardless of what they're telling you, they will not give up their competitive advantage and will hide thier techniques and true motives behind "smoke and mirror" tactics.Things aren't always what they seem.Two guys are walking in a forest when they come across a deep hole in the ground. "Wow, that must be really deep", says one boy afetr throwing in a pebble and listening for the sound.
"Lets throw in one of those large rocks and see how deep it goes." The guys thorw in a football-sized boulder and wait anxiously for the sound...
Nothing!
"There is a railway sleeper over there in the bushes", said the ohter boy.
"Help me trhow it in, it's definitely going to make a sound". The two guys heave the railway sleeepr into the hole and watch it disappear in the darkness...Again, Nothing! Suddenly a goat appears from the forest. It runs full speed between the men, leaps into the air and falls into the hole". Just as the guys exchange looks of utter bewilderment, a farmer comes running out from the trees yelling "Hey, have you guys seen a goat around here? " "Sure did", replied the guys. "It was the craziest thing.
It ran right past us and leaped into that hole". "Nah, can't have been my goat", said the famrer.
"My goat was tied to a railway sleeper".The moral of the story is, "Don't beileve what you perceive".
Many successful businesses will guard their customer acquisition secrets by trying to convince you they've got to where they are by good honest hard work. Others will distract you by trying to sell you their unique system, packaged and guaranteed to generate you overnight success.So what are your competitors really doing?
Lsiten closely, I am about to reveal to you, the top 7 schemes they're using to boost their sales and baffle their industry peers like yourself, making you wonder what the heck you're doing wrong.#1) Perception Management. Online businesses in particular are excellent perception managres. You've seen them before, professional looking web site with images of sexy sales people ready to take your order. Often however, they're one-man operations run from the spare bedroom.
No insurance, enforced customer privacy, or quality merchant processes. But on the surface, it's intimidating to competitors and assuring to new customers.#2) Strategic alliances. Most businesses do not make it on their own. Joint Ventures, and behind the scene business deals are often the true reason for rapid customer acquisition. Alliances are genreally only revealed if customer acquisition can be further enhanced through brand alliance.#3) Puppet Masters. Many businesses are in fact just small branches owned and controlled by a larger third patry. They can afford to run without profit while lurcatively appearing cost-effective. The business ofetn exists not for profit, but as a strategic tactic to ensure the parent company has a finger in that market segment pie.#4) Leveraging. Most of today's technology would not be here without yesterday's invenitons.
Imagine your home if plasitc was not invented.
Business is the same.
Competitors will invest their time and money on safe, fast and cost-effective outcomes.
Innovating new ways from scratch is rsiky. Leveragnig existing customer acquisition services is favorable.
For example, by cretaing incentives for your customers to recommend you to their network of contacts, is a viral marketing technique that leverages the customers you already have.#5) Super-leveraging. You cnanot use leveraging alone, as your competitor will have the same advantages you have. So unless you have the funds to buy out the customer acquisition service before your copmetitor discovers it, you need be creative and innovate smart methods before them. These are your intlelectual house and competitive advantage, so guard them well.
For example a merchant with an affiliate program wuold super-leverage it using a "customer acquisition exchange" service. This delivers a new sales channel (customer reciprocation) that can be competitively used in many creative ways to boost business.#6) Intelligence and survelilance. Not only do successful busniess super-leverage known services for customer acquisition, they also super-leverage as a strategic intelligence move. For instance, online merchants will use Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising services like Google and Overture not to birng customers directly but to learn about their competitors and how much they pay for customer acquisition. Remember, they're in the game to win and the more they know about their opponent the easier it is to manipulate them.#7) Precision systems. A market leader will use targeted and measurable strategies. Every element is monitored and adjustable. Through trail and error, your competitor will tweak the customer experience for profit and growth. It is a systematic approach to customer acquisition that successful organizations like McDonalds use to thwart thier competition.So there you have it, just a few of the secret happenings that go on behind the scenes at your competitors business. Look out for more information about how to decipher your competitor's business model to take the lead.Michael Lever is a co-founder and CEO of SpinningTornado.Com, an independent company offering unbiased tools and services to help affiliate and network marketers build profitable online businesses.
http://www.SpinningTornado.Com
Partnering affiliates the world over.
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