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FOCUS ON MARKETING
Internet Marketing: Today and Tomorrow
by Michael Pilla
The twentieth century was the age of mass marketing. Companies tailored their advertising, as well as their products and services, to appeal to the widest possible audience. This strategy has been effective that it has resulted in a market so saturated with messages that it is now becoming increasingly more and more difficult to be heard above the clutter.
Enter the age of niche marketing. Businesses now spend just as much time and money defining and redefining themselves to appeal to ever smaller fragments of the overall market. The hope is that these market "slivers" will identify so strongly with these particular companies that they will remain loyal customers for life.
While technology may have, in large part, created this phenomenon, technology has also provided us with a way to respond. The Internet, the ultimate communications tool, allows us to have the reach of mass media, while also giving us the ability to target our messages down to the level of the individual. E-bay, Amazon and even the recent blogging craze are examples of net's ability to give mass media reach to individual interest.
Where as mass marketing was basically a monologue, Internet marketing can be seen as conversation. With its ability to deliver a targeted message anywhere in the world at any time, the web can help you cut through the "ad-noise" by appealing directly to your target audience in ways that are meaningful to them. The interactive nature of the Internet also means that they can communicate with you. This two way exchange of information allows you to keep attuned to the needs of your market and allows your market to better identify with you. In effect, you are turning your customers into a community.
Taking advantage of all this power
In essence, there is no such thing as Internet Marketing. There are only marketing strategies that take advantage of the Internet.
When most people hear the words "Internet Marketing" they invariably think of one particular facet, — web sites, ad-words, e-mail marketing or even search engine optimization. But the true power of Internet marketing is in using all of these tool together in a coordinated effort.
Just as one does not need to know how to build a plane in order to travel by air, one does not need to be a technical whiz, in order to effectively use the net for business development. There are five basic tools in an effective Internet marketing program that all companies can take advantage of, regardless of budget or expertise:
Web Sites — The backbone of the web, make it the center of your marketing universe. Start looking at your web site as more than just as a stand alone, online brochure. Look at it as an extension of your business, the one place where current and future clients and customers can gain access to you when they are most interested in your product or service.
It is also a very versatile tool: great for networking and lead generation, creating your own public relations opportunities, gathering information from prospective clients and new business development.
The flexible nature of web sites means you can have different sections of your site configured to appeal to different segments of your market, or promote different parts of your business.
Search Engine Optimization—Gone are the days where all you had to do was put up a web site, massage the search engines, go to the beach and wait for the checks to catch up with you. Though I would no longer rely solely on the Search Engines as a source of new business, it should be part of your Internet “media mix”. Design your site to be “search engine friendly" with plenty of relevant content, especially on the home page, and submit it to the major ones. Look into Goggle's ad-network, where you can get paid to be part of Goggle’s ad distribution channel and buy ad-words to improve your rankings where it makes sense. The rules do change on a regular basis, so if Search Engine rankings are important to your business, you may want to hire a professional consultant.
Relationship / E-mail Marketing — The key to "turning your customers into a community" communication. Regularly send out e-mails to current, past and potential clients by announcing changes in your company, relevant news items, advances in your industry, links to sites of interest and include a link back to your site. Conduct your own opinion poll and post the results on your site . Have a feed back form on your site so your customers can contact you directly, and be sure to respond when they do.
Online Ads — Both a potential source of revenue and another way to improve your visibility. Advertise on sites that your customers (and potential customers) frequent. If your site can accommodate ads, accept ads from sites that that will enhance your business. For example, if you run a kennel, display ads from companies that produce dog dog food or grooming products. Your customers will see you as a resource and you'll have some extra income from the ads. Also investigate "reciprocal links" where you come to an agreement with another company to display each other's links on your respective sites.
Off line Integration — Last but not least, the internet does not exist in a vacuum. Coordinate what you do on the web with what you do off line. Use the same branding elements and messaging on both. Put your URL on every piece of promotion and time updates to your site to coincide with any new advertising.
Of course there are matters of degree, and you can choose to spend as much or as little on these according to your budget and marketing objectives, but implementing this coordinated program will allow any company to effectively take advantage of what the internet has to offer. The key is to not put all your eggs in
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