Small business internet marketing, understanding how it all works.
Our company is often contacted by potential clients who take great pains to give us detailed lists of what they want their website to do for their business. In so doing, they have over-looked the most important part of any small business internet marketing strategy: their own product or service. They have the idea that by spending money on a website they will automatically increase sales. What we have to explain is that just like in the off-line world, they must look at their product or service first and develop a clear picture of their place in their own market as it relates to the internet. Only then can a web presence be developed that will return results.
Their misconception about spending money on a website in order to increase sales comes from the off-line world idea that when business is bad you spend more on advertising. This is partially true, with one qualification, the internet is not one big classified ad, but in fact it’s just the opposite. People use the internet not to look at advertisements, but rather to find information about a product or service. When we say this sometimes the response we get is, “Well, then I’m doomed! How will I ever attract more business?’ Our explanation is that the internet offers small businesses a much better opportunity to compete than the off-line world does. Instead of an advertisement which is hit or miss and may cost lots of money and have limited exposure, you can communicate to a targeted group of people about your product or service and direct them right to your point of sale at considerably less cost to your company.
Where the disconnect arises is in the difference between selling and pre-selling. Much of the off-line world is all about selling. Creating a sales pitch and then broadcasting it widely, hoping for a sale. The internet, on the other hand, is about providing the very best information about a product or service and making it easy for the person to interact with the providing company so that they can take the next step and buy that product or service. As we all know people buy from people they trust. The Internet lets small businesses build that bond of trust. The other factor which is so important to small business internet marketing is the low cost, or even no-cost marketing methods which are now available. Email, blogging, video, audio, Twitter text messaging: these are extremely low cost and affordable tools. Even better, most of them have unlimited usage without increased fees.
Take a bit of time and find a good consultant to work with you on an internet marketing plan for your small business. The time spent will save you tons of money down the road.
