The Modern Approach
All across the United States, more people and businesses are turning towards their computers to save money as well as get ahead. There is now a wave of people out there who are using the Internet to create social networks as well as facilitate the exchange of information. Internet marketing has been around for a little while, but it still seems like brand new to a lot of people. Companies see the value in marketing on the Internet as opposed to other, more traditional means of advertising such as news media and print (you’ll recall my blog on the Yellow Pages). 
So, why the Internet? Why is there this huge push for Internet marketing, and why (like that Kevin Bacon game) does everything seem to lead back to it lately? Well, for starters, Internet marketing is beginning to change the way that most companies do business. Even smaller businesses can jump in because Internet marketing is still fairly affordable. It’s a cost effective means that save businesses tons of money in advertising costs. It also helps to facilitate communication around the world. For example, any business owner can simply type a question into Google or any other search engine and more than likely find the answer he/she was looking for. Within a matter of minutes, you can send a detailed email message with pictures and links to other articles or videos to you business partners in Asia or your best friend around the block.
Additionally, marketing/advertising campaigns for most companies can be expensive. For example, it may cost a company anywhere from $10k-30k for a one page advertisement in a newspaper or some other form of traditional media. However, if that company decided to advertise on the Internet, it would cost them only a tiny portion of what they paid. The smarter choice, it would seem, would be Internet marketing. With all the craze of the World Wide Web and everyone using it for every and anything, it doesn’t automatically mean that traditional advertising in newspapers and magazines will end….at least- not yet…
April 14 2008 02:00 am | Blogging and Business Networking and Social Networking
Yetti - Email Marketing on 15 Apr 2008 at 2:02 am #
Yes, I agree that Internet Marketing is still a cost effective way to promote a business online.
Email marketing can be applied to every business… no matter what type of product or service you sell.
For example, you own a local hair salon.
You can simply get the e-mail address of your customers when they are paying you, letting them know that you will be sending them discount coupons every month.
By building email list, you can remind your customers to come back to your hair salon again and again!
When your business is slow, you can send an email to your customers by offering special discounts as incentives for them to come back to your salon.
All you have to do is to remind them that you are there.
It costs you nothing, but it helps to build rapport and loyalty with your customers.
Yetti
The Modern Approach | youguysshouldknow.com on 15 Apr 2008 at 11:18 am #
[...] Internet marketing is surely changing the way that many companies do business. What is the deal with the Internet and people’s increasing fascination with the Internet? There are a lot of people out there who think that businesses are changing the ways that they do business because of the technology. For example, could it be possible that with the invention of the Internet that more and more businesses are moving away from other, older forms of media advertising. After all, how often do you now see people using the Yellow Pages? If you need directions to somewhere, how often do you see people using a map? And why would you? After all, simply type in the starting and ending address in mapquest on your computer and print it off OR you could simply use that fancy GPS system that you bought (or that came with) your car. Advertising and marketing on the Internet is a heck of a lot cheaper and more efficient, it would seem, for businesses. [...]
Internet Marketing | starfishfood.com on 15 Apr 2008 at 4:12 pm #
[...] Internet Marketing is changing the way that people do business. No more wasted money on print advertising! Most advertising endeavors can cost upwards of 10 million dollars. Why spend that much money if you don’t have to? Businesses are finding out, that they can advertise on the Internet for a fraction of that cost. Plus, it’s more effective! Think about how often you check your email in a day. How often are you actually on your computer? and how much of that time on the computer is spent surfing the Internet? You’d be surprised. As increasing numbers of small businesses, especially, try to bolster their numbers (in terms of people buying their products/services), they are also looking to the Internet to help them with advertising and marketing because it is simply more cost efficient. [...]
Janelle on 16 Apr 2008 at 8:44 am #
Yetti-
Thanks for the comment. I totally agree with you. Marketing is not always about “selling” the product (although that is still what you hope the end result will be). Rather, it is about maintaining and building relationships with people. Great idea with the email list.
-janelle-
JBourne on 18 Apr 2008 at 4:16 pm #
But hasn’t traditional advertising in newspaper and magazines been dying down over the recent years since more and more people are getting their news online?
Newspaper and magazine marketing certainly has its place because they will always be popular, especially in large cities, and there will always be advertising there in order to fill a niche market so that you will build awareness with loyal readers. It certainly does cost more, but the lore is still there given the high number of readers.
Janelle on 21 Apr 2008 at 8:24 am #
JBourne,
Great comment! Yes, I agree that traditional advertising has been dying in recent years due to online marketing and advertising. I think that there will always be a sort of appeal to opening a newspaper versus opening a web browser; however, the future remains to be seen with regards to whether or not newspapers and magazines will survive.