Published: February 04, 2009 Last Updated: February 09, 2022

So Where Can You Spend Your Marketing Dollars?

I believe the obvious place to look at for spending your Marketing Dollars, is the Internet. But then I would, wouldn't I. Afterall, one of the Services we offer is Website Design. But hear me out.

When you look at all the Marketing Channels you can choose from, the Internet is easily the fastest growing. More and more people are now using the Internet to not only look, but to review, Products and Services they want. On top of that, in most cases it is also the cheapest form of advertising - particularly when you take into account it's reach. So why wouldn't you want to be part of that.

Up until about 2 years ago, I knew very little about the Internet. As a Business Advisor, I knew that it was a valid marketing strategy and told my clients that they should not neglect it. But over the last 2 years, I have learnt a great deal and am continually being surprised by the opportunities that can be found. But let's start with the basics.

A simple website is a great way to give additional information to a Prospect and to build credibility. The simplest way to view it is like an online brochure. The advantages though of the website over the brochure is that you never run out and in many cases, you can update it regularly to keep it current. So not only is your website more up to date, but it is cheaper in the long run then those Brochures.

From here, you can look at a more advanced website (latest technology). These take you beyond a simple online brochure website, to a website that allows you to interact with your visitors. This can be something as simple as a Newsletter Subscription Form, or something as involved as a Members Only Area. The advantages of these types of Websites, is that it becomes stickier. By this, we mean that potential customers will come back to your website more often. And research shows, that the more contact we have with a business, the more likely we will choose it over a competitor. Not only will they come back to your website, but you can also email them info.

Then we have the Online Shop. This enables you to sell products on the Internet. The main advantage here is that you can suddenly reach a lot bigger marketplace. If you where a traditional store, you would only be pulling customers from your surrounding area (how far out you go depends on the uniqueness of your product or service). With an Online Shop, you could potentially sell to the world. Better yet, you can automate most processes, so that not only can you sell every hour of every day, but you can minimise the number of staff that you need.

Lastly, you can start looking at the host of other opportunities on the Internet. Examples of this would be: Affiliate Programs, Social Media and Online Communities to name a few. However, these are areas for us to discuss at another time.