The Catastrophe Most Businesses Face When They Omit This Phase Of Operation

Every year I get to work with a few individuals who want to get started in Internet marketing. They them tell me about the ideas they want to pursue, how much they want to make and how quickly they will make it.

A few of the clients I work with have already started their business and come to me when they feel that things aren’t working. The first thing I do is ask them to show me their business plan. I really can’t work with a business if they don’t have a written plan. The reason is simple; if they can’t show me a written outline of their goals, chances are they don’t have a clue where they are in the process.

Many times, the solution to their problem is simply to get back to basics. That means starting with the preparation phase. The prep phase allows you to explore the market and identify the specific business model that gives you the greatest profit at a competitive rate.

During the Prep Phase, you get to study your market, craft the ideal business model for your company using the many profiles available to your profile. The best way to start the prep phase is to go to Google, Yahoo and Alexa among others. The reason you want to explore those sites, is because you can see the variety of websites and approaches that they take to market and sell their products.

You should make use of Google trends to examine the trend lines of your market. What you are looking for when you use these tools is the specific use of your product, how many people are using the product and in what way are they using it.
Set up a bookmarks folder that holds your research sites. You’ll be visiting them often. Here are a few of my favorite among my many research links:
• Google – use this site for checking the number of searches for a given keyword, the number of paid ads connected to a keyword and even more.
• Wikipedia – I use this site to get a handle on the history of a market or product. There are also interesting tidbits of knowledge associated to a product or service or the people attracted to them.
• Mapquest – I use this map website along with Google earth to look for geographic trends as well as similarities among target groups.
• Answers – This site covers a wide range of topics and like wikipedia, gives fairly good information on everything from apples to zebras.
• CIA The World Factbook – The government resource for worldwide information. It is updated regularly. Learn why Moldova might be a key country to look to as a future place of business.
• Keyword discovery – This site offers a comprehensive view of keywords and though it’s a pay site, is invaluable for the professional Internet marketer.
• Spyfu – Peek under the hood of your competition website to see what keywords they use to stay at the top of the search engines. Take a look at their pay per click word choices and much more. Another pay site with a free trial option.
• Google Trends – This is a must for every business owner. Whether you make your money on or off the web Google trends allows you to take a look at what’s trendy what’s popular and where the trends are most popular.
• Alexa – See where your website and other sites rank in popularity on the Internet. Use their “Wayback Machine” to see how websites have changed over time.
• NNDB – I use this site for getting information on people in the news and in history. There are lots of useful information on people and their role in society.
• Technorati – I use this site to check the popularity of blogs and the various industries they cover. Use it to check the popularity of your product.
• Clickbank and several other affiliate websites. Look at what is selling and what is not. Check out the squeezes pages of the sellers.

There are more on my list but this is a start. They will help you to see the big picture of your overall market. Take your time to ensure that you’ve got a clear snapshot of the various permutations of the market for your product. This is vital.

This is where the majority of new Internet business startups end. They spend years fooling themselves that they need just one more idea.

You need to study the market and decide which direction you wish to take. For instance suppose you are interested in selling an information product in health market? You should take the time to see if people are looking online for your intended product. Be absolutely sure that people are buying a similar product form someone else in large enough quantities to justify a business model.

Check to see if the product is on the way in or on the way out. Trends are very important; keep your eyes open. There will be a lot of temptation to skip over some steps or innovate as you go. You need to keep the numbers in front of your vision as you develop your plan. If you need more help contact me and I’ll get you more information on preparation.