Gone are the days when you went from one shop to another in search of a product that you wished to buy. Yes, there were days when we asked our friends and loved ones for recommendations before investing in something that we needed. In the present times, almost everything from doing research, looking for recommendations, comparing prices of different brands, and at times even purchasing the product, happens online.
Living in a digital world, we see more and more business firms coming forward with online marketing and business. However, there are still some companies that do not have a website or make use of online services for marketing. Some of them think that it would be a waste of time and money, while others believe that their business can do well enough without the online services.
Online marketing is really important in the present-day world, considering that customers rely more on the internet and social media to research a product and compare the different prices before making a final decision. Building good relations with your clients and customers is made much simpler. What are some of the major benefits of online marketing for business?
Table of Contents
Potential clients and consumers are online
Around 3 billion people all over the world have access to the internet and online services. Even though all of them are not planning on purchasing your products and services, some of them definitely are.
The most compelling of all the reasons to start online marketing for your business is that a good number of your prospective clients and customers are online, and they depend on the internet to meet most of their needs, including doing research, getting the latest news, shopping, downloading movies, and even working. Studies have shown that the percentage of people spending money online is quite high and for your business to be visible to these people, you need to go online.
Better accessibility
Distance would never be a problem when you market and sell your products online. You can save the cost of setting up outlets to sell your products and services. Even if you have outlets in different areas, allowing you to shop online can help you gain more customers.
This will increase your profit and add to the growth of your business. You can also export your goods to other countries without the help of distributors.
Online marketing is cost-effective
Marketing your business through print and other media could be expensive, and the number of people who would be interested in it could be quite low. Even though online marketing also has a price tag, you are advertising it only to those interested in your services and products.
When the ad is placed online or if you have a website, only those who specifically searched for your products or your company on the internet can view the content. If you opt for PPC or the pay-per-click method, you are required to pay only when a person has clicked your website or viewed your company’s ad online. You can learn more about PPC and avoid paying money for an advertisement in the print media in which only a few are likely to be interested in.
The internet is available 24 hours a day
Appointing a marketing team to promote your business 24 hours a day, including the weekends and holidays, is impossible. Even if your company manages to appoint people to do it, it’s going to cost your company a huge sum of money. It’s highly impossible to reach all the customers at the same time using traditional techniques in marketing.
Considering that the internet can be accessed from anywhere at any time of the day or night, this would be the best place to market your business. Creating a website that is professional, writing blogs, and creating pages for your business on social media can help you promote your business 24/7. Prospective clients or customers can access the required information or purchase products and services during business hours and any time of the day.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
When a potential customer is searching for a product or service provided by your company, they do it using search engines online. Considering that a number of companies provide the same kind of products, your business needs to have a higher ranking on the search engines to be found by prospective customers.
That’s where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in. SEO helps in optimizing your website, giving it a higher rank on search engines. This helps in directing the online traffic to your site. Ensure your webpage is updated regularly to maintain a top position on the search engine and get new customers.
Increased visibility
Having a professional website that uses SEO will give your company a higher position on the search engines, which helps prospective consumers to find your business easily on the internet. The ones that occupy the first few positions on search engines are usually investigated by people. This increased visibility will draw more customers to your website, and the chances are high that they would purchase the required product or service from you.
Draws quality traffic to your website
Adopting marketing strategies to only attract only those people who are interested in the services and products your business has to offer is referred to as targeting.
Targeting can be done through pay-per-click (PPC), Search Engine Optimization, or marketing on social media. Targeting can draw quality traffic to your company’s website. This can bring about more sales than you would receive if you had a broader marketing strategy that was not aimed at a target group.
Personalized offers to customers
Internet business and online marketing allow you to create profiles of your customers based on their choices and history of purchase. This will enable you to give your customers offers that are personalized. Personalized offers can be given by keeping a track record of the pages that the prospective customer’s visit and the products they have browsed through.
A brand name
Internet marketing allows customers to find your business online. When your company occupies a higher ranking on the search engines, the link to your company gets clicked quite often, and this helps the customers to remember the name of your brand, and your company gains better credibility. When more people come searching for your brand, you become a respected industrial authority, creating a brand name.
Two-way communication
The traditional forms of marketing allowed a consumer to get information regarding the products and services through emails, print media, and billboards. Though this method can be effective, it has its limitations since there is only one-way communication.
Online marketing and internet business makes two-way communication possible. A customer can raise his/her doubts, clarify them online, and get detailed information on the products. Relationships with the customers and clients tend to strengthen when there is two-way communication. Maintaining a good relationship will cause these customers to approach your business for their needs in the future.
To ensure that your business survives in this digital era, you need to let go of the traditional means of marketing and start the use of online services. The result would be steady growth in your business.
