Why You Should Market Your Business Online

online-marketing
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If you are not already marketing your business online, it is time to start doing so. Although there are a few exceptions, just about every business can benefit from online marketing. There are so many advantages to this type of marketing. First of all, marketing your business online is extremely affordable. Other advantages to marketing your business online include the ability to reach a large target audience, the ability to reach potential customers all over the world, and the ability to customize the marketing for different sectors of the target audience.

The affordability of Internet marketing is one of many reasons why business owners are turning to the Internet for advertising. Advertising online is incredibly affordable, especially when you consider how many potential customers a business owner can reach with an online marketing campaign. Most methods of online advertising are quite affordable and some of them do not have any direct costs. For example, you may choose to market your business online by participating in industry forums and posting links to your website whenever it is appropriate. In this case, the cost of creating and maintaining the website is insignificant compared with the number of potential clients you could reach through online marketing. Additionally, the costs associated with posting links to your website are incidental. You could consider the cost of having access to the Internet as part of the budget but you probably require Internet access for other reasons as well so it is completely worthwhile.

Reaching a large target audience is another very worthwhile reason for marketing your business online. You may have spent a great deal of time and energy doing market research and determining who your target audience is. You may have also spent a great deal of time trying to figure out the best way to reach this audience. This is a very sound marketing principle but as it applies to marketing on local television, radio, and print media, it only allows you to reach a limited audience. However, when you take your marketing to the Internet, you automatically increase your potential target audience tremendously because you now have the ability to reach members of your target audience around the world.

This ability to reach customers around the world is another major advantage to marketing your business online. Regardless of where you live and operate your business, you have the ability to reach those who have an interest in the products you sell or the services you provide no matter where they live. This makes it possible for you to do business with customers around the world.

Likewise, the fact that the Internet is available 24 hours a day is also very beneficial to those who choose to market their products or services online. Shopping for products and services in person can be very difficult, especially for individuals who work long hours or those who work unusual hours. These working conditions make it difficult for those individuals to do business and to purchase the products and services they need during regular business hours. However, business owners who have an online presence are much more convenient because, unlike stores and calling centers, the website never closes. This convenience gives potential customers the ability to view products and services, compare these products and service with the ones offered by competitors, and make a purchase at any hour of any day.

Learning about Internet Marketing

Internet marketing is not overly complicated but it is also not a process in which anyone can excel without making attempts to learn more about the subject. Business owners who do not know a great deal about Internet marketing but who wish to integrate Internet marketing into their overall marketing strategy should carefully study the basic principles of Internet marketing before launching their online marketing campaign. Fortunately for those business owners, there are a variety of options for learning about Internet marketing. Those options may include online research, reading published books, and studying successful Internet marketing campaigns.

Researching Internet marketing online is one method that can be used to learning more about this topic. This type of research can be very informative and can provide the business owner with a great deal of advice and other information. However, it can also provide the business owner with a great deal of misinformation. When researching any subject online, it is very important to note that not all of the information available online is accurate. This may be due to a variety of factors including content which is written by those who do not have a great deal of knowledge about the subject matter as well as content which was written years ago and is outdated. This can be frustrating but fortunately, business owners can still learn from the Internet. This just means they should be more cautious about accepting information as accurate and may wish to verify the information they obtain before implementing an Internet marketing strategy.

Published books are another valuable resource for learning more about Internet marketing. There are a variety of books available that focus on this subject and provide a wealth of useful information. When selecting a book for use as research material, it is important to choose a book that received positive independent reviews. It is also important to choose books that were published recently. This is important because the Internet marketing industry is evolving continually and a book that was published only a few years ago may be outdated and may lack information on some of the new developments in the industry. The appeal of using published books to learn about Internet marketing is that you can keep the books on hand for easy reference when you launch your Internet marketing campaign.

Finally, business owners can learn a great deal about Internet marketing simply by studying successful Internet marketing campaigns. If your business offers products and services in a particular niche, consider entering relevant terms into popular search engines and studying the websites of some of the highest ranking businesses. This can provide you with a great deal of insight into what these business owners are doing, which may be contributing to their success. Examining everything from their website design to their search engine optimization strategies and even the content on their website can help you to determine why they are more successful than you. You should also consider how they are marketing their website, which may include banner ads, affiliate marketing programs, or other types of advertising. Armed with this information, you can take the opportunity to implement changes to your own website and marketing strategy, which may help you to achieve a greater degree of success. Care should be taken to not copy anything directly from your competitors but rather to try to emulate their degree of success in your own way.

Conclusion

If you are a business owner who is reading this article and you do not already have a strong online presence, you need to immediately start learning more about the world of Internet marketing. This is so important because, if your competitors are marketing online, you may find that they are gaining a steady advantage and are becoming more appealing to potential customers. Before too many of your potential customers become loyal customers of the competition, it is time to start figuring out how you can market your business online and keep up with the competition.

We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. For a complimentary assessment of your online presence, let’s have coffee.

Author

  • Michael Cohn

    Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has decades of experience in IT and web technologies. Michael founded CompuKol Communications to help small businesses and entrepreneurs increase their visibility and reputation. CompuKol consults, creates, and implements communication strategies for small businesses to monopolize their markets with a unique business voice, vision, and visibility. Mr. Cohn earned a Master’s degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master’s degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

16 Responses

  1. Purushottam (Puru) Awade says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    1. It is like advertising. Objective is to get known and NOT to generate revenue.
    2. If I want to attempt internet marketing, I need to know profile and behavior of readers. It is different from readers of print media.
    3. If the contents of the articles are appealing enough, there will be phenomenal response. It is just the matter of tweaking the presentation-brief, precise & concise.
    4. Also once is not enough. What creates an image is how many times and how long one commits good deeds. Otherwise there are millions of people doing something good only once during lifetime.

    I got benefited. Just half an hour ago I responded to a query here on Linkedin wanting to know more about our activities. Whether I get the order, times will tell. But purpose is served.
    By Purushottam (Puru) Awade

  2. David Mainwaring says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Entrepreneurs in Social Media
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    The starting point is to analyse your website, learn what the problems are. Then fix the problems. Second step it to develop an online marketing strategy and then implement it. All companies can benefit, why get left behind?
    By David Mainwaring

  3. Ananth says:

    Wonderful post Michael. Thanks for sharing.

    In today’s world where digital is the way to live, it’s a part of life.

    I strongly believe that if you exist as a brand, then there is already someone out there talking about you. So it’s very important to be a part of that conversation prism.

    Integrating online marketing tools and process is a wonderful way to –

    – Plan your brand reach
    – Enhance your SEO
    – Have a brand monitoring process in place
    – Tie your campaigns with ROI that are measurable for both – The BRAND and the end users
    – Empower users with real value-add and give them ease to engage with the brand.

    Irrespective of the industry, a digital marketing campaign is essential for every brand today but with goals that are specific to the organization’s goals and focus in the long run.

    The idea being, digital and online marketing enables the BRANDS of today to deliver the best results, optimize their IP across TG and at the same time generate results that add value to the business revenue and brand too.

    Regards
    Ananth V

  4. Chuck Leblo says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    You are correct, you must market online….it’s just a matter of opinion on how you market – I believe that Peer to Peer Influence Marketing is the next BIG Frontier. Who would you rather trust when talking about a product, the Company or the Customer?

    I do however respectfully disagree with Puru; It is ALWAYS about generating revenue. If you can’t tie a ROI to your marketing efforts, you are flying blind 🙂
    By Chuck Leblo

  5. Purushottam (Puru) Awade says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    I admit Chuck that ROI needs to be assessed. But please guide me on this –

    1. Although they manufacture engineering products, they regularly advertise in financial media bcoz it helps them get their payment without hassles. Also attracts investors.

    2. In daily newspapers including vernacular,although common man is not going to use their equipment. Bcoz it builds corporate image. They get more discounts at hotels, saves time…wherever they go their job is just done.

    3. Few advertise in college bulletins to attract quality manpower.

    In these cases ROI cannot be in terms of revenue. I feel it is guided by purpose. Should be assessed, YES !!
    By Purushottam (Puru) Awade

  6. Chuck Leblo says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    Puru, Good points, but I would still argue that all 3 of your examples can be traced back to desire of revenue as the root reason for the advertisement.

    1. Attract investors..Why? To fund growth for more revenue…without the promise of revenue, why would I invest?
    2. Daily newspapers are read by common man…common man runs business…corporate image is wanted for what? – to get more business by getting more people to know who you are. Getting more business should equal more revenue.
    3. Advertise to attract quality manpower…why? Better people drive either sales or product development, which also drives sales…sales equates to Revenue.

    I do see your point, I just deal with customers that don’t have the luxury of advertising unless they can tie an ROI to it. Maybe that is because we typically work with very small businesses that don’t have the budget dollars to advertise for brand recognition only.

    Great chatting with you. I would love to learn more about your organization.
    By Chuck Leblo

  7. Jessica Swanson says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Shoestring Marketing Group
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    Great article. And, it’s so important for small business owners to know the benefits of online marketing.
    By Jessica Swanson

  8. ADENIYI OLUKOYA says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    @Puru:Ultimately Brand recognition must arrive at the realms of REVENUE. i am in total agreement with Chucks.

    @Michael: this is an excellent post, especially if you want to get the attention of our youth, who lives, sleep, eat and play inside the internet arena.
    By ADENIYI OLUKOYA

  9. David Scott says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    I think this is a forgone conclusion that every CMO should be expected to know. If they don’t, then they shouldn’t be a CMO.
    By David Scott

  10. Mitch Duckler says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    This is solid advice. There are many stereotypes about what types of businesses benefit (and do not benefit) from having a strong online presence. When evaluated in the broader context of all the things being online can do for a business, it should be a forgone conclusion that it is something we all should be doing in a big way.
    By Mitch Duckler

  11. Andy Collen says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    Well thanks for bringing this up but one must add how crazy it is to DIY marketing. They say a fool has himself for a layer… what does that say about marketing if that is not your expertise.
    By Andy Collen

  12. Anthony Hoff says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    Great article. Internet is now a powerful tool and most of the times free. You have to read this to understand why you can’t continue without a online marketing campaign
    By Anthony Hoff

  13. Sahail Ashraf says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Attraction Marketers
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    It’s all about branding. If you’re not online, your brand suffers directly. People expect you to show authority online because nearly 75% of purchases in the Western world are started online.
    By Sahail Ashraf

  14. Anshul Verma says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    Interesting piece of content. In general I would agree however it is easier said than done. The true essence lies in not only creating web presence but also managing it to the benefit of the business.

    There are so many business owners / businesses who have online presence but can’t demonstrate how that is useful for the business.
    By Anshul Verma

  15. Angie Fisher says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Email Marketing & Social Media
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    Great article! Marketing online is a definite need for businesses! I’ve gained some amazing relationships just from marketing online and obtained some great opportunities. Sometimes it’s just your time that you need to dedicate – especially in the beginning.
    By Angie Fisher

  16. Michal Bicik says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Web Editors
    Discussion: How Does Your Business Benefit From Marketing Online?

    Okay, the article summarizes the obvious (for me) but does not go to the core.

    There are (potential) customers, who realize marketing their business online is vital but fail to realize that a) you do seldom get good quality for peanuts and b) that marketing is a continuous effort rather than something done once (or once a half-year).

    Likewise, I have had some difficulties explaining some of my clients that the website they have is technically and design-wise obsolete and lacks customer convenience features (be it a concise structure of navigation, comprehensive content, CTA, etc.) and that their 10-year old concept looks as good as a typo in a printed add.

    Now, what would your arguments for cases of such conservative approach be?
    By Michal Bicik