Internet Marketing on a Budget

tscheer — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:25:03 GMT

Savvy
business owners know that success depends on exploring the variety of
marketing opportunities available. But in order to maximize promotional
budgets, these business owners must increasingly choose the right
marketing opportunity based on their skill and knowledge level as well
as their promotional budgets. While you may already be reaping the
rewards of advertising in the Yellow Pages, local newspapers,
television or radio, or even using door-to-door mailers, marketing your
products and services on the Web provides greater reach into your
prospective audience and a more cost-effective way to secure mind-share
and profits for the long-term sustainability of your enterprise. That's
a marketing opportunity that you simply cannot deny.

Online
shopping seems to get more popular every year, but people still love to
get out of the house and go shopping-and they always will. What's
changing is how shoppers prepare for their excursions. For example, a
recent analysis by comScore Networks reveals some important numbers
about local search. The study states that 63 percent of U.S. Internet
users (approximately 109 million people) performed a local search
online in July 2006, a 43 percent increase from July 2005. What's more,
during the second quarter of 2006, 47 percent of local searchers
visited a local merchant after their search, aided by the fact that
many local search engines offer location mapping as well. Simply put,
those taking advantage of local search will see more customers than
those who do not.

The
following are some simple suggestions that you, as a brick and mortar
business, can employ to get the word out about your product or service
immediately and do it by only investing your time, your most precious
resource as a small business owner, and not the dollars that keep your
business profitable. While you should at least have a modest Web
presence that users can use to learn a little more about what it is
that your company actually does, the following tips do not require that
you have a website at all and instead focus on how, along with some
creative thinking, you can market your products, services, or solutions
on the Internet by spending a few hours of your time each month and
without breaking the bank.

Build An E-Mail List To Build A Business:
E-mail
changed marketing for the better. As a direct response medium, e-mail
enables you to keep prospects interested in what you are offering and
informed about what you are doing or offering at a fraction of the cost
of postal mail. While many people will tell you that you will need lots
of bells and whistles to market effectively through e-mail, the truth
of the matter is that there are several services and resources online
to help you manage communications sent by e-mail while simultaneously
building essential relationships with your client base that you need
for long-term success. For example, anyone can set up an account on
either Yahoo! Groups or Google Groups and have a ready-made platform to
share messages (sales or marketing messages, too). If you are a plumber
in Topeka, you can set up one of these groups and share information on
a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule about how to maintain a plumbing
system or current discounts you are offering on sink installation. When
someone needs a referral, chances are excellent that it will come from
one of the e-mail subscribers who trust you because you are the one
providing valuable information. The real benefit besides the free price
tag is that all the hard work (coding, e-mail delivery, etc.) is done
for you. All the group owner has to do is promote the group to their
customers. The referrals will come over time as long as you are
dedicated to its success.

Social Networking:
There has been an influx the past few years in social networking on the Web. Destinations such as MySpace.com
and others enable you to set up a presence on the Internet and network
with those people using your products and services. Marketing your
business on MySpace is effective as it enables you to build a
relationship and network with your users and prospects. For example, a
florist might want to use a site like MySpace to keep in touch with
customers who use their services regularly. Business owners can get
valuable feedback from these users to improve their services or get
insight into why some use their solutions while others don't. (Are the
roses fresh? Are the lilies expensive?) In addition, as referrals are
usually the lifeblood of any enterprise (large or small), MySpace users
frequently search for and find recommendations from those in their
network.

There are also some other important services on the social networking scene which you should investigate including Yelp.com and JudysBook.com.
It is free to create a profile at both of these services and add
information about your company. What makes these Web sites so important
to your Web marketing is that the members of these communities
routinely and actively share their experiences with other members.
Asking your existing clients to share a review will ensure you receive
exposure and in the end may just generate some new business.

Local Focused Search Sites:
When
your prospects use the Internet, chances are good they will use it to
search and find something - ideally your business and not those of your
competitors. Most of these users conduct their searches at Google,
Yahoo!, Ask.com, or MSN, and lucky for you, these companies all offer
you a free way to list your company. In addition, several of these
companies enable local business operators to provide additional details
such as hours of operation, area of focus (zip codes, neighborhoods,
etc.), and, in some cases, details about their products and services.
You can learn more by visiting your preferred search engine and
conducting a search for the term "local business listings."

Keep in Mind:
While
many of the aforementioned services are complimentary, there is still
some cost associated with marketing your company online - namely time.
If you can set aside a few hours each month to generate some exposure
through the free methods above, you'll see the increase in new sales
almost immediately if done correctly.

Also
keep in mind that establishing stringent controls about your business
information will play an important role in your success. Ensuring the
consistency of your brand across various distribution channels will
mean that all prospects will receive the same information and will not
be mislead. In the end, when consumers trust you they will be back to
spend again and again.

Small
business owners would also be wise to track the results of their Web
marketing. Being informed on what works and what does not will save you
time and money. As a business owner, you can only lose if you do not
engage in Web marketing. Now is the time, so get involved today.

Re: Internet Marketing on a Budget

John_6x6 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:10:28 GMT

Good information, but why didn't you just make this an article instead of a forum post?

Re: Internet Marketing on a Budget

SherraScott — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:17:03 GMT

Internet marketing is definately a place small businesses need to be focusing more marketing attention. In the US alone, Internet marketing and advertising spending is estimated to skyrocket from 1.3 billion dollars in 2005 to 9.3 billion by 2010. It's expected that by 2009, 80% of small businesses will have an Internet presence and will market online.

The Internet marketing industry is growing and evolving rapidly. It can be difficult for small business owners to keep up with everything needed to market effectively on the web. There is a vast array of opportunities to market on the Internet and the options can be overwhelming - on-line communities, e-mail marketing campaigns, blogs, affiliate programs, the list goes on.

Creating and maintaining on-line profiles can be time consuming and confusing for many people. Do you have the time to devote to on-line marketing? Do you have the necessary skills to effectively market to your target audience on-line? These are just some of the questions to ask yourself before marketing your business on-line.

Business owners who are overwhelmed with the options, shouldn't be affraid to seek 'professional help' in the form of an Internet marketing consultant or assistant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sherra Scott
Quality Practice Management Solutions
Certified Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant
http://www.QualityVA.com
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Internet Marketing on a Budget

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