Internet marketing is a must-have

Without internet marketing, your marketing plan is only half-finished. Even if you think the world-wide web isn’t right for your business, just about every type of business in the world can benefit from an online presence.

I’m only going to scratch the surface of the internet marketing subject here. There are many people better qualified than me to lead you through the process of getting online. I will provide links to their sites in due course. In the meantime, here are my top tips for getting started.

If people in your target market are using the Internet, then you are missing out by not being there. Even if just a percentage of your prospective customers are Web-enabled, it could be worthwhile. You need to do some research in this area. Speak to your existing customers. Would they have found you if you’d been on the Web?

A lot of nonsense is talked about the need to have the latest gimmicks and gismos on your Web site. All you need is something that prompts the visitor to take action! If a simple one-page Web site with your key selling points and contact details prompts them to telephone you, why do anything more sophisticated?

You can start small and grow with your internet marketing success. Getting on the Web need not be expensive. As a minimum you should have a domain name (your company address on the Web - e.g. our domain name is www.newmarketingplan.com) which costs just a few dollars or pounds to register for a year. If you already have a PC and modem, you can register with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for around $10 a month. Most ISPs give you space for a Web site at no extra charge, and you don’t need your own domain name. However, having your own domain name looks much more professional. Finally, you can have a basic Web site designed for under $300.

You don’t need a PC to be on the Web. Some Internet Service Providers will send your electronic mail as faxes. Or if your Web page just has your telephone and fax details, you can bypass electronic mail altogether. You may lose some potential enquirers though, as Internet users love the immediacy of e-mail.

Shop around for a suitable Web site designer. There are thousands around and I will aim to provide some selection guidelines in due course.

Plan your growth carefully. Assess how successful your initial internet marketing has been before getting too ambitious. If your first ‘toe in the water’ is a success, you can progress to giving the visitor more information. This should include hints and tips (all Web sites should aim to be educational - refer to Free advice for more ideas). You could also include information about your customers, who they are and what you’ve helped them to achieve. Finally, if you have appropriate products and services, you could have a full-blown on-line system for taking credit card orders, linked to your product database. That’s the subject for another whole web site, though!

Some industries already have extensive directories on the Web. An example is the hotel industry. You can register your details with many of these directories for $100 or less, without the expense of your own Web site. Personally I can recommend Smooth Hound for small hotels or B&Bs in the UK. Clients of mine have received bookings from all over the world for a few dollars spent with Smooth Hound. Again, email enquiries can be faxed to you, so you don’t even need a PC.

Security on the Web is still a concern to many people. The thought of having credit card details stolen has deterred people from buying on-line. Personally, I don’t think the risk is any greater than giving your details over the telephone, or allowing the waiter to disappear with your card into the depths of the restaurant. Provided you use a secure Internet connection, the information will be encrypted during transmission. This minimises the risk of anyone being able to interpret details such as credit card numbers. Look for https:// in the URL, or a “lock” symbol at the bottom of your browser

A Low-cost Action Plan for Internet Marketing

1. Decide on the main purpose of your website. Are you selling something, providing information, gathering potential customer data, nurturing relationships? You can do any or all of these, but be clear from the start, or you’ll lack focus.

2. Your internet marketing should focus on “what’s in it for them” i.e. your customers and prospective customers. Try and see everything from their point of view. Identify and solve their problems.

3. Give away free information. I cover this elsewhere on this site, but it’s worth repeating. Provide your prospects with something of value and they’ll come back to you when they’re ready to buy.

4. Capture and use your visitors’ details. First name and email address as a minimum. It’s nice to be able to personalize emails and newsletters with a first name greeting.

5. Try Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising as part of your internet marketing mix. Google Adwords and Yahoo Search (previously Overture) are the top two in this field. Ignore the rest. This is your fast route to search engine traffic. It can take weeks to get free search engine traffic via Google, but with Adwords you can generate traffic within hours. Your rates will vary from a few cents per click, to a few dollars per click, depending on your selected keywords.

6. Don’t be dazzled by all the latest Web design ‘wizardry’. You don’t need it to succeed at internet marketing!