You Are Here:  HomeArchiveHow Perceived Value Increases Sales


How Perceived Value Increases Sales
 
EDITOR'S NOTES:
 
This week's featured articles may be exactly what you need to get ahead of your competition. Don't have time to read this issue now? Print it out and take it along with you! The whatUseek Weekly may be the best 10 minute investment you've made all month! 
__________________________________
 
whatUseek Weekly Contents
 
1) Article: How Perceived Value Increases Sales
2) Contest: Enter To Win - Your Ad In 3 Issues ($238 Value!)
3) Weekly Marketplace: Exceptional Products and Services
4) Article: The End Game - Profit, Profit, Profit
  
If you have an informative article that you would like us to feature, please email your article to editor@whatuseek.com. If we use your article, a link to your web site will be featured as well.
 
 
1) HOW PERCEIVED VALUE INCREASES SALES
 
If your web site is not generating the type of numbers you were hoping for, it's time to rethink your marketing strategy. If no one is buying what you're selling, then you have nothing to lose by making some changes.
 
People love SALES. I know I do, and I know my wife does as well. There have been many times that I purchased things that I didn't even need, but talked myself into buying anyway, because the item(s) were ON SALE. 
 
Here are some reasons I've used to justify purchases:
 
The deal was too good to pass up! I had to buy it just on principle! I may not need it now, but I will probably need it later!
 
"Sales" in general, work because of these two reasons:
 
1. Perceived value. If you think you're getting a good deal, there is a greater chance of you making a purchase.
 
2. Time limit. If the sale ends Saturday, you know that you have to make your decision by Saturday, before the price goes back to normal. The time limit presents you with a call to action and a sense of urgency.
 
Knowing this, how do you increase sales on your web site?
 
Have a "sale" or hold a contest.
 
THE SALE
If you have a product that you want to sell for $50, but it has a "value" of $100, then list the price of your product as $100, and offer the visitors of your site 50% off the list price if they make a purchase within 48 hours.
 
Create an online form that doubles as a 50% off coupon. When the visitor completes the form, have an autoresponder send them an email that links to the URL where they can order your product for 50% off. This email can also include other information (additional sales pitches) to help you close the deal.
 
If the visitor does not make a purchase within the first 24 hours, send them a follow up email reminding them that they have only 1 day left to get 50% off.
 
THE CONTEST
Hold a contest to give away your $100 product to a lucky winner each week. People that enter your contest are qualified leads. Remember that they would not have taken the time to enter your contest to win your product, if they didn't want or need it.
 
Each week, choose a winner and award your product to that winner. Then contact all of the other people that entered your contest that did not win, and let them know that they didn't win the contest but they have qualified to get a 50% discount off the product for the next 48 hours.
 
You will be surprised at how many people are willing to buy your "$100 product" for $50, which is fine because $50 is all you wanted for your product in the first place!
 
BOTTOM LINE: All of the top name department stores, furniture stores and electronic stores hold sales just about every week. Perceived value will increase your sales on your web site, just as it does in the big stores.
 
__________________________________
 
 
*______ A word from our sponsor - start ______*
 
SUPER WEB HOSTING AT A SUPER PRICE
*VISIT NOW*
http://superhost.com
 
$55/month for your own Virtual Server
 
NO EXTRA CHARGES FOR: 
FRONTPAGE 2000 EXTENSIONS
PHP3, MySQL, mSQL, postgreSQL
UNLIMITED TRAFFIC
NO ADDITIONAL BANDWIDTH USAGE CHARGES
MULTIPLE OC3 AND DS3 LINES
 
#1 Great customer service (friendly, courteous, and very knowledgeable)
 
#2 You get your own Virtual Server (the same as having your own physical server, and better than just virtual hosting)
 
#3 You can subhost multiple domains on your Virtual Server (subhost your own domains or subhost for others and charge them)
 
Quotes from our clients:
"The people at SUPERHOST.COM are great to work with."
"I'd be happy to tell anyone that asked what I think of your great service"
 
http://superhost.com
*VISIT NOW*
 
*________ A word from our sponsor - end ________*
 
 
__________________________________
 
 
2) CONTEST: Find the ad that is listed twice in the WEEKLY MARKETPLACE section and email a copy of that ad to contest@whatUseek.com (this is your entry). If we pick your entry, you will receive a 3-issue classified ad package for FREE (a $238 value!). Winners picked each week, so send in your entry today!
 
__________________________________
 
 
3) WEEKLY MARKETPLACE
----------------------------------
  
SUPERHOST - SUPER WEB HOSTING SOLUTION FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Super Fast, Super Reliable!
Multiple domain hosting on your virtual server
Excellent customer service
VISIT NOW: http://superhost.com 
 
********************
 
Add a professional-level search engine to you web site in five minutes or less. whatUseek intraSearch site search engine is FREE! Know who your web site visitors are and what they're looking for. Customize the look, feel and search results of you site's search engine. 
VISIT NOW: http://intra.whatUseek.com/?synd=weekly&chan=29m
 
********************
 
YOUR CLASSIFIED AD HERE!
Affordable advertising for your business!
Increase traffic!
Your ad sent to 80,000 subscribers for only $88
VISIT NOW: http://weekly.whatuseek.com/buyad.shtml
 
********************
 
SUPERHOST - SUPER WEB HOSTING SOLUTION FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Super Fast, Super Reliable!
Multiple domain hosting on your virtual server
Excellent customer service
VISIT NOW: http://superhost.com 
  
********************
__________________________________
 
*_______ A word from our sponsor - start _______*
 
I N T R A S E A R C H
FREE SITE SEARCH TOOL FOR YOUR WEB SITE
 
FIND OUT WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE LOOKING FOR ON YOUR SITE!
 
INCREASE YOUR SALES BY LETTING THEM FIND WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR ON YOUR SITE - NO MORE FRUSTRATED CUSTOMERS
 
http://intra.whatUseek.com/?synd=weekly&chan=29
 
3 MINUTES TO SET UP
 
You can customize the intraSearch results pages to match the current look and feel of your site, and you will be able to view the following stats:
* number of visitors that performed an intraSearch on your site
* what the top keywords that people were searching for on your site
* what queries provided no results
* visitor stats and much more
 
 
VISIT NOW
http://intra.whatUseek.com/?synd=weekly&chan=28
 
*_______ A word from our sponsor - end _______*
 
__________________________________
 
 
4) The End Game: Profit, Profit, Profit
 
What was once the most forgiving and freely rewarding stock market in history has quickly about-faced and become--gulp--realistic. For the last few years, it was enough to say that you're an Internet company--viable road-to-profitability-be-damned--and, with a healthy push of good PR, you were on your way. Unforeseeable ends to cash flow shortfalls weren't necessarily negatively viewed. No, instead they were quite exhilarating jumps into an exciting unknown that would unquestionably be fed in several rounds by a hungry bunch of angels and venture capitalists. Yeee-hahh!
 
At some point, though, individual investors en masse had a coalesced realization that it was their money--real money--on the line, and thought better of blind-betting their retirement savings and college funds. The complete loss of faith in tech stocks got so bad--and currently still is so bad--that being a publicly traded tech company can be an immediate liability.
 
I expect with great confidence that the current blind sell-off of all-things-tech will end, the total bleed-out will cease, and things will on land a far more realistic, acceptable track. This is great news for the good Internet companies with acceptable roads to profitability, for which they will eventually be amply rewarded. This is, however, very very VERY bad news for those tech companies where the ink is expected to run red indefinitely, for which many will be punished by the inability to raise the rounds of outside funding needed to patch their ongoing cash flow shortfalls. Trite as it may sound, this is truly the time when we separate the wheat from the chaff. Lesson to be learned? Be the wheat.
 
So, assuming this currently tres wicked stock market is some sort of parable, what should we have learned? I've boiled it down to the following:
 
How you'll monetize your business should be easily understood. That great idea you have in your head about a Web business--you know the one I'm talking about, right? Yeah, well, be sure that beyond clever, it is truly monetizable. The stock market, not too long ago, rewarded innovation first, with any understanding of monetization and profitability as an afterthought. First-mover advantage is still key, but you'd better be first-moving on a viably monetizable model.
 
Don't plan on making it on a model that will be wholly dependent on banner advertising alone. We have seen the value of our run-of-network advertising inventory decrease significantly over the last two years. Targeted ads generate more revenue per unit impressed, but in order to sell highly targeted advertising, your site has to be able to move a very large bulk of banner inventory. We generate millions of page impressions per month--far more than the average Web site--and we're only starting to be able to take advantage of rich targeting. Long story short, it ain't easy to make it on banner advertising alone.
 
Hire smart. Prior to the stock market "adjustment", many freshly funded Web companies were hiring at an astonishing rate--a lot still are. Unfortunately, the faster you hire, the less selective you may end up being. We have chosen to hire at a very conservative pace, and with a high level of selectivity. Make sure to be as selective--extract as much value out of each hire you make. And before you make the decision to extend an offer, make sure you can answer "yes" to the question, "Will this person help bring us closer to profitability?" Recently, in a conversation I had with a gentleman we do business with, he expressed that his Internet company would not have hired nearly as many people as they've already hired if they had foreseen the current market conditions. Remember, in a market like this, later rounds of outside financing might not be there for you, and personnel is often a company's biggest expense--so hire smart.
 
Smaller is sometimes better. If your business is going to be largely dependent on partnerships, try closing lower-friction, smaller partnerships first. The top-tier Web companies--Yahoo, Lycos, GoTo.com, eBay, Amazon.com, About.com, Go2Net, Looksmart, etc.--might make ideal partners, but you'll probably find that the process will move more slowly than you expected. Try closing several smaller partnerships first. This will help bring quicker revenue in, and will also help bring you to the attention of the top tier players.
 
And there are many more lessons still. Obviously, these suggestions don't apply to every Web company. At the end of the day, though, we all have to answer to our shareholders, and the only thing that satisfies them in the long run is profitability. When the market shakeup is over, the chaff will be put to rest. Be the wheat.
 
__________________________________
 
 
The whatUseek Weekly Ad Rates:
 
Run your classified ad in one issue of The whatUseek Weekly Ezine. If you are on a limited budget and need a quick boost in sales, this is the right package for you!
 
1 issue - US $ 88.00 (sent to 80,000 subscribers)
 
3 issues - US $ 238.00 (sent to 80,000 subscribers)
 
6 issues - US $ 440.00 (sent to 80,000 subscribers)
 
TOP SPONSOR POSITION
1 issue - US $ 606.00 (sent to 80,000 subscribers)
 
SECOND SPONSOR POSITION
1 issue - US $ 440.00 (sent to 80,000 subscribers)
 
VISIT NOW: http://weekly.whatuseek.com/buyad.shtml today to reserve a space for your classified ad today! Direct questions to buyad@whatuseek.com.
 
__________________________________
 
Published weekly by subscription only.
Read by intelligent web marketers.
 
If you have an informative article that you would like to share, please email your article to editor@whatuseek.com . If we use your article, you will get great exposure and a link to your site.
 
Have a great week! 
 
 Site Search Tool
Get a search engine for your Web site and allow your visitors to search only within your site.

It takes only a few minutes to get started.

Email Address:


Web Site URL [?]:


 Submit URL
Get more exposure for your web site by submitting to The whatUseek Collection.

 Recommended
Site Search
Hosting
Add URL
 

Home | Archive | Advertise | About | Feedback | Help | Terms

Copyright 2016 whatUseek.