When crafting a marketing strategy for your business, successful marketing online for anyone comes down to (in my opinion) the following five pillars.

• Definition of your customers' needs
• Adaptation to your customers' needs
• Proof
• Acceptance of the proof
• Closing

I learned these five pillars, D.A.P.A.C., early in my career as a vacuum cleaner sales rep. Back then, we used cold canvasing and went out and knocked on potential customers' doors. Standing in front of a completely unknown person with a $1,000 vacuum cleaner in your hand and, an hour later, leaving the house without the vacuum cleaner but with a check of $1,000 in your pocket requires some skills.

Successful marketing online follows the same pattern in today's new business environment.