Is Your Business Attracting LOSERS?

I understand that! I'm talking more about trying to take steps to avoid the freebie seekers and others who don't improve your bottom line.

"Losers" is a bit of harsh word. By your description, I'm also guilty of being one at times, but I don't do the last thing (Buy and immediately refund).

I would still call them "Freebie Seekers".

Yeah I call them 'Freebie Seekers' too! Occassionally a freebie seeker does turn into a buyer though so you can't really rule them out and if you are offering free stuff you can't blame them!

I was speaking to a partner a while back and I commented that I had apparently built a huge list of 'freebie seekers'. His response was that he would be perfectly happy with such a list - he would be sending them to as many CPA freebie offers as he possibly could - it was a good point.

But I also fully understand the OP's point. What I think is that it really doesn't matter what your prospects do - sign-up unsub etc. In fact, if they are not opening your mails, unsubscribe them yourself. That way you will gradually filter out (by their action and yours) those who don't engage with your mails.

For those that do engage, keep pulling them back to your site to expose them to your advertising messages and also ask them to do little things for you from time to time ('like' something, retweet something etc). When people do buy something from you, get them off your prospect list and onto your buyers list. If they abuse your offer (unjustified refund requests etc) unsubscribe (or even ban) them from your lists.

Over the course of time, you will build a responsive prospect list and a loyal buyers list.

That's roughly how I operate.

Will

Lol.

Is the word "losers" a tad too harsh?

That's for you guys to decide.

And this is exactly why I relate marketing to fishing.

Think of it this way.

Are guppies, minnows, or sun fish "losers" ?

Well, not really.

It's just that.. When I go fishing..

I want Trout, and Salmon.

I don't want Bass, Kibbies, Minnows, or anything else.

No offense to the bass and minnows, but I'm a Trout & Salmon type of guy.



No need to negatively notate the different types of fish out there.

My advice?

Know what type of fish you want.

And; know what type of bait to offer that desirable fish.

I can confidently say from my own experience that the lower you charge for something the less likely it is people will use it and the more likely it is those who do use it are going to take up a lot of your time.

It's the people who buy your premium priced products that you never hear from. They are the great customers!

Obviously I'm generalizing a bit but that's just been my own experience.

I have worked in customer service for a looooooong time and can tell you the customer is not always right. IN fact i'd go so far as to say the most of the time the customer is always wrong.

Doesnt mean they ar stupid or that they dont deserve your respect...

I also agree with your approach.

Its nothing new.

You are just classifying your customers. All good companies do this.

I'm going to have to disagree with much of the OP on this one.

First of all, I do not believe that unethical refunds fall into the same category as people who simply look for freebies. Two very different things, even if some freebie seekers may ask for refunds here and there. That doesn't make them interchangeable and one does not necessarily indicate both.

People all have their own priorities. They also have their own amount of resources with which to tend to whatever those priorities are. Depending on what is most important to them at any given point in their lives, they will spend their money first on those things and then do their best to save in the areas where that is possible. Certainly can't blame them for that.

What I'm getting at is that not everyone has the same amount of resources and not everyone can afford the price tag on some products or services.

I'm glad someone else pointed out that many freebie seekers turn into buyers, because this is very true. I know because I used to be exclusively a freebie seeker (never asked for a refund immediately unless the product was truly awful and I can count on one hand the number of times this has happened) and now I am more often a buyer because I'm in a different position now and can afford to invest more in the products I need and which will help me the most.

And hey, being a loser has its perks. I find it a little difficult not to sympathize with freebie seekers because of my own roots and for the simple fact that I know what it is like to be in their position. I actually try to give back as much as I possibly can to the web in general, in terms of free help, advice, resources and even products. Why? Because without some of the free tools I used in the beginning, I wouldn't be where I am today and that matters to me.

So I guess send the losers my way and you can have buyers only. I'm chill with that.

Same here. With some of it, anyway. I suspect that much of my disagreement actually relates to assumptions the OP has made which I happen not to share at all.

It seems to me that you're perhaps assuming that people who find a marketer's site and download something like a "free report", because it's offered there, are necessarily "freebie-seekers". It's not an assumption I share.

As Ashly explains, just above, that's a completely different phenomenon and a completely different demographic. I don't mean it impolitely at all, but I can't help wondering whether you might have confused the two, to some extent? Targeting keywords which include "free" is clearly asking for trouble, but I don't really imagine you were actually doing that? Certainly one should focus on attracting qualified buyers: I can't see anyone arguing with you there.

I don't know that it's necessarily mean-spirited, but I hope you'll excuse the observation that it does seem consistent, in a sense, with your rather strange expectation of "guaranteed abuse", in response to your post. I see some agreement and some disagreement (as one expects, in a forum), and no abuse at all.

I like your description! These are also the same people that flip the bird to people when they drive and it's always somebody else's fault that they are not successful in live, etc. Oh how I could go on! lol Well said!

I guess it depends on your niche. I didn't have the negative experiences you have mentioned with my products.

But I once had a problem with someone who didn't pay me for my services as much as they should, and since then I don't work before being paid, without exceptions.

There are many dishonest people online and offline. This is a known truth.

Searching for free (or cheaper) alternatives is a sign of an intelligent shopper. Most don't get wealthy, and sustain their wealth by giving away their money.

Some people are really losers but I believe most people just want to build trust first just before they find the hook to buy stuff from us. That's it.
Free stuff in most of the time works well to build trust for the first time, just to let people know that we are real and good people that are cool enough to solve their problem. It's all about TRUST..

Higher trust rank in google = higher and easier ranking
High trust rate in customer = higher conversion and profit

The frustration is understandable but, be careful about thinking of any customer as a loser or stupid. That kind of cynicism can creep up around you and cloud your perspective on all your customers. This can happen a lot easier and faster than you might realize.

Regards,
jim

I think the spectrum has gone wider. I have been pitched $1 product to $20k product. They all sell. It all comes down to what is your offer and how you are presenting it. But, if i have to buy $500 product, i got to be 100% sure, if i really need it or not. $10 products are more or less impulse buys.

I guess it depends on what your business model is, and how effectively you can convert your free prospects up your funnel ladder, but I've never been successful when marketing to the low-end of the spectrum. Bottom feeding always proved painful, prone to customer support nightmares, high refunds, low EPCs, etc.

I feel far more comfortable when marketing products from $197+ , and the return on my efforts have always been better.