Are you LOST?

Recently I have taken on a very fun and challenging bet. It’s a bet (just for fun, of course) that needs total and complete dedication to win. It involved the Emmy Award winning ABC drama LOST. I was challenged to watch the show to see who could reach the end of season three first. Now, I took this on like it was another job of mine. I ended up finishing the first three seasons in less than three weeks (two weeks, four days to be exact!) And, needless to say, I won! Now, my coworker who was against me in the friendly bet did put up a good fight, so I would like to quickly congratulate him for that: Congrats, Slammer! (Nickname was used to save him the embarrassment of everyone knowing I WON and he LOST.)

 Now to anyone that watches LOST knows how unbelievable this show is. It brings you in and you can’t let go. I have never watched a show like this and I respect the actors and writers like never before. They (in my book) are the most talented in the industry (especially the writers). I am completely obsessed and I never want the show to end; sadly, it will someday, and I’m just glad that I was able to be a part of the phenomenon. Even though I started pretty late, I am catching up pretty quickly and that was very easy to do.

 So, this is a Internet Marketing blog, and what does this contest have to do with marketing? Nothing, or so it seems. In fact, it has a lot to do with viral marketing. Let me explain:

 Even though this show has been out for almost five years now, it keeps on attracting more and more new viewers. It has such a loyal fan base who can’t stop talking about it, which in turn, sparks people’s interest. That’s how I got started. I used to see the commercials all the time. I knew the show won awards, but hearing from the fans was what really made me want to watch it.

 So, how can this help you with your site? Give customers something to encourage buzz or chatter. For instance: When my friend, coworker and SEO Superstar Shannon ordered from www.Sephora.com and received free samples with her order, she specifically talked to me about the samples; the value proposition is what made her happy. It gave her a reason to spread the word about her purchase and it gave me a reason to check it out and eventually buy.  Hey–anything free is pretty cool, wouldn’t you agree?

 Ok, here’s another: I ordered Surgeon’s Skin Secret Secret hand lotion  from www.Jamarklabs.com. The product claims to help severely dry skin so I decided to give it a try. Jamarklabs.com has products that not many people offer.  Most of what they sell has beeswax in the ingredients, and that is not a common ingredient used in beauty products so in a way, they have a niche. But not only did the product claim to help dry skin, it actually helped like no other lotion I have ever used! I then went around my department and had everyone try the product. It ended up generating two more sales because the product really was one of the best we have ever tried.

Every online store or brick and mortar wants to find that one thing that will fall off the shelves and as a result, make the merchant into a millionaire in a year. Well, if you have a brand that lots of other stores sell (such as www.Sephora.com), give your customer more. Give customers a free sample or send them a coupon for their next purchase. Make them want to return to your store instead of the many others that sell exactly the same thing.

 Or, if you have a product that basically no one else has, make sure your claims actually hold true. So many times I have made a purchase in hopes that what they say it does actually happens; but, so many times, I was left disappointed. I absolutely was not let down in this case.  I am the first to recommend  Jamarklabs.com to anyone who has skin problems, all because of a solid product with strong marketing.

Give your customers something to talk about, and don’t take the chance of your site becoming LOST among the rest.