Creating a winning proposition for an online business is accomplished by establishing and executing goals, strategy, and proven marketing tactics. Equipped with these three (3) major components of business planning, an online marketer can expect to see business growth resulting from increased conversions and higher sales.

So, exactly how do you pull these three major elements together?

Start with goals

First, creating goals is the most important place to start. Maybe your goal is to become the largest online seller of products or services in your particular niche. That’s an awesome and commendable goal. Maybe your goal is to launch a brand new product concept to the world –which is also admirable. Perhaps your goal is to increase conversions by 200% within 6 months or something more lofty and aggressive.

But now that you know your goal, how do you achieve success?

A winning combination

You must have a strategy that includes marketing tactics if you want to succeed. Think of it this way.

There are three components of a successful and powerful marketing plan.

1. Goals are the big picture. A goal tells you where you want to go and it is the vision of success that you have for your future. It’s the inspiration and motivation that keeps you focused and it’s what makes you want to jump out of bed to hit the keys and enter cyberspace every chance you get. It’s what keeps you from straying in your business endeavors.

Becoming the #1 seller of Product X is a goal.

2. Strategy is an idea about how you can achieve your goals. It’s a more general idea of how to get where you want to go and it is a conceptual plan for success. Maybe your goal is to become the #1 marketing expert in a particular niche. You plan to do that by offering a unique service that accompanies your product or by offering an alternative way to utilize your product.

Or perhaps you plan to do it by including value-added products or services with every sale. Maybe you want to be the “go to price” guy. You may want to make 100% money-back guarantees with no questions asked. Regardless of the “how”, you are now thinking about strategy and ways to increase your exposure, conversions, and sales. There may be multiple strategies to support your goals and that’s fine. It’s even expected.

Creating a new way to optimize Product X is a strategy.

3. Tactics are those individual actions, activities, and plans that help you achieve your goals and are based on your strategy. Now we’re down to business.

A tactic is a real action that helps you implement your strategy. Tactics are when you really get down to work. They are derived from a clear understanding of your potential customer, the target audience needs and desires, and a thorough analysis of your product’s strengths, benefits, and value.

But they are also created with knowledge of the competition, what makes your product unique, how you separate yourself from the competition, and what the market is looking for not only today, but tomorrow! Just like strategies, there may be more than once marketing tactic to accomplish the strategy and once again, that is the expectation.

Tactics allow you to demonstrate how your product can be diversified or how it can be leveraged in multiple ways for others to receive value or benefits in some way. Tactics may include creation of videos, blogging, promoting your business in one more than one language, creating content that optimizes keywords, re-engineering a website to make it faster or more user-friendly, or other specific actions that help you accomplish your strategy and achieve goals.

Execution is critical

Online marketing tactics should be simple and expertly executed. Knowing how to create the three components of a winning online business will drive conversions and sales to new heights. Use an engaging combination of basic marketing tactics and augment them with advanced marketing tactics that have proven successful time and time again for the fastest road to success.

Before you approach your business with a “we’ll wait and see” approach, evaluate your goals and create marketing strategies and tactics that ensure success for the long-term. Increased conversions and sales will follow.