Blog Family,

I confess. From time to time, I watch QVC. I said it. But you have to hear me out before condemning me as an outcast to know that I was doing market research for you. While 

watching a sale for pediatric posturepedic pillows,  it hit me.

The lessons to be learned from QVC are invaluable.

What is QVC?

QVC is one of the largest multimedia retailers in the world, and broadcast live 24 hours a day, 364 days of the year. This is the live show that sells the products constructed by the worlds entrepreneurs in a quick hitting, in your face, shop at home style.

According to their website, QVC is a wholly owned subsidiary 

of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Interactive Group. Trades under the Nasdaq as LINTA. QVC was founded in 1986 by Joesph Segal. In it’s first full fiscal year of business, QVC’s revenues exceeded $122 million. This is outstanding and was a record in American business history for sales of a new public company.

Additional information on the QVC website reveals the company received more than 181 million phone calls last in the United States alone, shipped 166 million units worldwide. Net sales for 2007 was more than $7 billion and they reach more than 166 million cable and satellite homes worldwide.

What does QVC have to do with Entrepreneurs?

I think it is safe to say that QVC has a winning business model and is doing a lot of things the right way. Therefore, I thought that maybe as entrepreneurs and bloggers, we could gleam some insight from QVC that has made them so successful and apply it to our individual businesses.

QVC sales the products of entrepreneurs like you in real time. There tactics and influencers have been effective enough to drive the kind of numbers that they are reporting. Maybe there is something to learn from this phenomenon known as QVC for each of our businesses.

Marketing Lessons from QVC

1) Prominent Product Positioning. Although they are only limited to your television screen, the QVC administrators have mastered art of prominently placing their products on the screen to maximize visibility and give the potential buyers an idea of how big the product is they are viewing and how it is used. This is done by showing the product next to common items in the home or someones hand to give an idea of size. And they are always demonstrating the use of the products as well as giving suggestions on how it can be used by the end buyers.

2) Repetition of your message and selling points. Repetition seems to be one of the key strategies that QVC employs to move their products. And moving their products is their specialty. Watching the show on pillows, they sold over 52,000 units while I was watching the show. Simply amazing! And one of the key points I noticed during this segment was how many times and variety of different ways they repeated the product name and unique selling points. The lesson for you is to make your offering visible and repeat the benefits as often as you can without driving the customer or readers crazy. The point is you have to get your message into their minds so they can realize this is something they need. This can only be done through repetition.

3) Urgency. I love the way QVC uses urgency to convert sales. Yes, they spokes person does let you know that this is a limited time only offer. But the subtle way they do it is the best….with the clock. They will have a countdown clock in the corner of screen letting the viewers know that this product will only be available for the next 5 minutes, so they better act now. Another way they utilize this tactic is by saying there is is only 1,000 of these units available and they show how many are left in stock. Again, emphasizing the urgency the viewer needs to use to get one of these great deals. In your business, maybe you could have time sensitive dates for your readers or customers to act on to take advantage of your offerings.

4) Appeal to Desire to Belong. I had trouble naming this, but it works. The point I am trying to illustrate is they use of “everyone else is doing it, so you should as well” tactic utilized by the QVC. Example, on the screen they would flash how many orders have been sold. As mentioned above, during the sale of the pillows they kept flashing the number of sales they have made. This was done for urgency because they said only so many units would be sold, but also to let people know that others have found this to be a great buy. Sometimes as entrepreneurs and bloggers, we utilize this tactic in the form of testimonials, which QVC does as well with live callers that are buying the products. They allow the presenters to interview them after making a purchase. The viewer identifies with the buyer and thinks maybe this will be a good deal for them as well. The desire to belong is great in a many of our markets, so consider using this tool at your disposal as well.

5) Show Savings. Regardless of the market and especially today, people are looking for a savings. You should not allow the consumers to calculate the savings they will benefit from buying your product or service. QVC does this with the side bar on the screen where they will show the retail price of an item, the marked down price, and the difference is the saving. In addition, they will have specials if someone bought two items, then they would get the second one for $5 off. Instead of just letting this savings slide, they would highlight that and encourage the buyers to get two in order to save more money. The more they buy, the more they save. It is a great way to get your potential buyers one step closer to making a purchase with you.

6) Make Purchase Recommendations.  As mentioned in #5, QVC will make various packages that the buyers can choose from and illustrate the savings involved. This is a great idea, but don’t loss the other recommendation in there. The opportunity to tell your audience what they need. QVC was selling pillows in sets of two, but encourage the viewers to buy two sets of two pillows for the savings, their spouse, even the guest bedroom. If you can build your ethos, trust, with your audience, then they will believe you and take your council in purchase decisions.

7) Connect Features & Benefits to Buyer Needs. You are aware that QVC utilized spokespeople to promote the products during the individual segments. The people are not talking aimlessly about the products they are selling, but they strategically mentioning the features and benefits of each item and drawing a directly relationship to the needs of their buyers. As an example, the pillows were to provide great support for the users and this point was demonstrated by having someone lie on their pillow and a regular store bought pillow. Once this demonstration was made and you could clearly see the difference in the two pillows, the presenters spent a lot of time telling the viewers how and why this will benefit them and solve their needs. Everything from the quality of the pillow will save you money because you will buy less, to the better nights rest and refreshed feeling you will spring out of bed was covered. Your buyers will not buy if they don’t understand how your product will help them out specifically. Spend time driving that point home.

8 ) Easy, Visible Purchase Options. If you watch QVC, there is no doubt that you can find out how to purchase their goods. First of all, the spokesperson is going to mention how you can do this every so often, but it is also plastered all over the screen. They have the phone number visible (large) and the website clearly visible. They let their viewers know exactly how they can pay for the goods, by credit card, eCheck, PayPal, but not C.O.D. It is very important to never leave your potential buyers guessing. Every delay is a moment for them to turn away and entertain someone else’s offer. Don’t give them that chance, provide them the information they need to make a purchase decision.

The Monster Marketer that is QVC

Without a doubt, the people at QVC have mastered their business model and does very well with it. As entrepreneurs, we should not spend out time trying to talk down or bad about another business, but instead we must learn from their successes. Everyday QVC runs in most countries, take a few moments to watch their broadcast from time to time. You might find a bargain that is right up your alley, but I am certain you will feel the power of their marketing efforts, notice the tactics I mentioned, and more.

Now go into the world, find your markets, implement the marketing strategies of the QVC and dominate. These tactics can be used on your website, commercials (if you run them), flyers, during presentations, radio spots, news paper ads, and more. If you find any additional strategies they are using, be sure to share them with us here. We are all here to learn and grow from one another.

First in the Mind, then in Reality!

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“We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late. Death comes unexpectedly. How can we bargain with it?”
- The Buddha

Greetings Blog Family,

My problem isn’t with planning, action, or skill. I think it is more of an arrogant outlook that I will eventually be successful. Not sure why I think this way, but it is just true. I think if I am involved in something, then I am going to come out on top. That confidence has been with me my whole life. My wife says it is because my parents spoiled me rotten and it gave me a complex. Maybe, but I know that I am going to come out on top. Let’s just say that I am confident.

Here is the thing. I am so confident that i don’t have any real urgency or motivation to hurry the process along. For instance, I am a blogger/internet marketer/guy trying to make a living on line/you fill it in. I am going to succeed. I just know it. It is just inevitable. It is going to happen.

I am not saying that I am entitled, should be granted this or anything. I will do what ever is necessary to succeed. I will read, learn skills, practice, study, watch, analyze, plan, and stay up all hours of the night putting in my time to succeed. Despite the work requirement, I will get it done. I have that confidence in myself that I can do it.

Personally, I wish everyone had this confidence, but this outlook leads me to at times just coast and go with the flow. Taking the journey of life and just flowing along. There is no urgency to succeed right away.

I guess this is called enjoying the journey to success. They say afterall that it is the journey that is the best part. This line of thinking is probably true, but no truer than the fact that death cannot be bargined with and it tends to come unexpectedly.

Not to get to morbit on you, but this is just the truth and that one reminder that puts my arrogance in it’s place. Our time to actualize our dreams is not infinate.  In fact, we don’t know how much time we have. Today is the only day that we are promised. Let’s be sure to get it done.

First in the Mind, then in Reality!

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Greetings Blog Family,

It is another terrific Monday here at FreddieTaylor.com and I am fired up as usual. Hopefully, you are as well. 

Today, I wanted to talk to you about something that has been weighing on my mind for some time now….URGENCY! Urgency is the key to success in your life and business.

Time to Face the Facts

At some point in our existence, we have to face the facts. The facts are you, I, and we only have a finite time on this earth and in this universe….and the clock is ticking. There are no do overs and no overtime. You cannot bring back any yesterdays or last weeks. Everything that you desire to do and accomplish must be done one day at a time inside of the allotted time frame we all have.

In the wake of so many tradegies and earily deaths in our society, you would think that most people have a real sense of urgency about completing their goals and objectives. The truth is most people don’t have a sense of urgency. Most people act as if they have an eternity in front of them in order to complete their life’s mission.

Youth is a Wonderful Thing

Well, I know I cannot fault them, but I know most of this thinking comes from youth. Believe it or not, once upon a time, I was a young man and felt immortality pumping through my veins. I felt like I was going to live forever. Then I turned thirty a few years ago and realize that was blood in my veins like everyone else. Worst or better, depending on how you look at it, I realized that I wasn’t going to be here forever like everyone else.

Shake Yourself Free

That thought triggered the urgency I wanted to talk to you about today. WAKE UP! Shake yourself free and start working to move towards your goals and dreams. Hate to be the one to break the news to you, but you don’t have forever to complete them. In fact, you are not even promised tomorrow. You don’t want to be one of these people later in life wishing they would have given more effort and energy towards completing your life’s mission, building your business, or having a better family. Get a sense of urgency and do it now!

You will like yourself much better when working towards your goals and dreams of building a successful business or family or health, whatever the case may be.

Inside this video

Inside this video I want to share a football analogy with you about urgency. I can still hear my college coachs yelling and screaming for us to go get the ball at its highest point.

What does that have to do with urgency?

Watch the video to find out. As usual, I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and urgency for your goals and dreams. Let’s get into it.

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