According to Erik Welker, Internet marketing expert and founder of InternetDreamMachine.com, when times are tough, you have to get on the level of the people. If your product or service costs more than $200.00, you simply cannot rely on your website to do all the work for you.
For success with your online business during tough economical times, Welker suggests that you create a plan of action that includes hosting a series of local meetings or gatherings. The Internet can be so impersonal that, except for a select few, most Internet marketers just blend into to background with everyone else… the original message becomes lost in the chaos.
According to Welker, if you can get yourself in front of a group of highly targeted prospects in a local hotel conference room, with minimal speaking skills, and assuming that your product or service is solid, you should be able to close at least 20% of your prospects over time, whereas with online marketing alone, you are lucky to close 7-10% in tough times.
Surprisingly, the online numbers will decrease as the economy gets worse, but the offline numbers will usually increase. When most people make a purchase online, subliminally they are taking a “risk.” There is much more risk associated with an online purchase than with an offline purchase. What if the package doesn’t arrive? What if they don’t pick up the phone? Or worse… what if this is a SCAM?
After all, nobody likes to lose money, especially in today’s less than stellar economy.