Watering-Hole Marketing


We've learned that developing a unique selling position coupled with a target market is the most efficient way to market your online storefront. But what's the most cost-effective way? That's where the concept of watering-hole marketing comes into play. That's the person, place, or thing that already has attracted your potential customers' attention and credibility. If you find these sources, you find not only your potential customers, but also a strategic partner that could market your product for youfor free!

If you know where to find the watering holes of the target audience you want to reach, you are halfway toward your goal of acquiring customers who would respond to your product or service offering. If you find the correct watering hole, you will have the drinkers' attention.

Here's an example of watering-hole marketing. Suppose you run a company that sells telephone equipment to apartment complexes and small businesses. One way to find potential customers is to do cold calls and buy lists of companies that just received business licensees. But cold-calling can be very inefficient and costlyand by the time a company has its business license, in most cases, it has already purchased its phone system.

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A better way is to talk to title companies. Any commercial building or apartment complex that is being built needs to have a title search. Title companies guarantee that the title to the property being built on is free and clear of liens. Because this search must be done on any property before a bank will extend a construction loan, it makes the title company a watering hole for businesses that need a new phone system for the building or for future tenants.

Using a title company does one other thing for your business: It positions the title company as a credible source of information, one that has the attention of those at the watering hole. In this situation, you could approach a specific title company and offer an exclusive program to commercial property developers and businessesperhaps a discount on a phone system or a free extended warrantee. The title insurance business is competitive, so title companies love these kinds of deals that differentiate them for the competition. And because the major title companies are nationwide companies, working with them to help find prospects would give the telephone business national coverage for their product.

Here's another example. Suppose you owned a pet clothing company. Where's the watering hole where pet owners congregate? Veterinarian offices, for one. You might put sample brochures in the waiting room with your company's logo, telephone number, and Web address.

What's Your Marketing Goal?

Before you rush out and begin spending money on marketing your Yahoo! store, make sure you know what you expect to accomplish with your marketing plan and which marketing tool will provide it. That is, decide what you expect for your return on investment (ROI) from your marketing endeavourers. That ROI could mean more than just increased sales. You could also spend money on marketing to achieve the following:

  • More inquiries

  • Sales leads

  • Repeat customers

  • Attention from the media

  • Registrations

You can use many of the marketing tools discussed here for a variety of results; your ROI might not necessarily be a sale right out of the chute.

Finally, whatever the goal of your ROI is, you mustn't forget the call to action (CTA). An actionable CTA asks the reader of your marketing piece to take an action there and now. For example, "learn now" is a much better call to action than "learn how." Use active voice when writing your CTA. Do customers know what is expected of them when they read your promotion? Is it to buy? Register for a contest? Download a file? Join a club? Subscribe to a newsletter? Ask for further information? Don't be vague about the action you require from your customers or prospects.




Succeeding At Your Yahoo! Business
Succeeding At Your Yahoo! Business
ISBN: 0789735342
EAN: 2147483647
Year: N/A
Pages: 208

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