I work for an online marketing firm, so I tend to spend a lot of my time evangelizing web marketing in all its many forms. And, although web marketing is a powerful tool that can radically alter the way a company operates, it does have its weaknesses as well. Therefore, before you decide to dish out some money on a web marketing campaign you should consider the strengths and weaknesses this medium has.
One of the major strengths of web marketing is how targeted it can be. In a way that’s even more directed than magazine advertising ever was, with web marketing you can be sure that you’re reaching your target demographic in that it lets you personalize advertisements in a way so they show up when potential clientele are looking for the exact keywords that relate to your product. You are able to reach niches that are difficult to target properly using traditional media. You can advertise on a website devoted entirely to bulldog breeders, but you would be hard-pressed to find a channel where you can be positive you are reaching folk who enjoy breeding bulldogs.
The second strength goes alongside the first: cost. Through smart use of online marketing, you attain a wide audience for a fraction of the price that you would have spent on old media. Television commercials, as you already know cost thousands of dollars to make and then thousands more to broadcast on television stations in a local market, even more if you want the entire US. And, best of all, with web marketing you can be positive that the people you reach are into your product.
However, one to the bad stuff: the one major weakness of web marketing is that there is no simple way that a consumer can interact with your product. If a potential consumer were to see a commercial and then travel to a store then they would be to touch the product, feel it in his or her hand, and even try it on. This opportunity is not available to customers who are being marketed to online. If they are purchasing a product online they don’t have the chance to interact with that product and choose if it is right for them.
Therefore, web marketing is at its best when the product is something abstract, like a trip, or something that isn’t overly personalized, like a novel. If you really do expect that the consumer will only buy the product if they can feel it or try it out (makeup, shoes, women’s clothing), then maybe web marketing is not the way to go. However, there are profitable companies that operate in all three areas I mentioned, so it really is up to you.
So, do you think you would like to learn more about hiring an online marketing firm? Would you would like to learn more about web marketing? Check us out at fishbat.com to learn more!
Related Reading:
Guerrilla Marketing, 4th edition: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small BusinessWhen Guerrilla Marketing was first published in 1983, Jay Levinson revolutionized marketing strategies for the small-business owner with his take-no-prisoners approach to finding clients. Based on hundreds of solid ideas that really work, Levinson’s philosophy has given birth to a new way of learning about market share and how to gain it. In this completely updated and expanded fourth edition, Levinson offers a new arsenal of weaponry for small-business success including* strategies for marketing on the Internet (explaining when and precisely how to use it)
* tips for using new technology, such as podcasting and automated marketing
* programs for targeting prospects and cultivating repeat and referral business
* management lessons in the age of telecommuting and freelance employees
Guerrilla Marketing is the entrepreneur’s marketing bible -- and the book every small-business owner should have on his or her shelf.
