Telephone: 08445 448 824 or Email Us

Internet Marketing

If you have an online store for your products then you probably have a comprehensive internet strategy that is bringing you high quality business. However, if you are a products or services company that sells direct to your customers using more traditional approaches then you should take a long hard look at your internet strategy. Chances are you have a website. You may even have spent significant amounts of money getting your website designed so it fits your corporate identity. But how do you use your website? And is that as far as your internet strategy goes?

Internet marketing is about more than just having a website that acts as an online brochure but often that's all many companies use it for. It's a reference place to send prospects to and maybe has a few customer quotes or some examples of your product brochures and possibly an intranet for customers.

The internet is accepted as a place where consumers shop. I don’t know many people who haven't bought something off the web but is it a place where business people source business solutions? Increasingly it is and the larger technology companies do generate leads through the web because their branding ensures that their prospective customers find them.

Remember the term 'clicks and mortar'? That was the term used to describe existing successful consumer brands that transitioned to volume online sales but not your average small shop who sold specialist items. The same is true today for B2B companies. Your prospects will use the web to research products and services but will tend to end up on the branded sites because they have got to the top of the search engines by virtue of the fact that people have already heard of them.

There is an opportunity to for prospects to find your products online but like other areas of marketing it does require a plan and some action. Firstly you need to take a look at your website. Is it informative? What does it tell your prospects about you? Is it easy to use? How does it look? Does it reinforce your brand?

Once you have reviewed your website you will need to consider how your prospects will find you. What sort of words will they be using to find out information about your types of products and service? This knowledge provides your keyword phrases which you will need to use in your website and also in any online advertising campaigns. You may also want to use these keywords to create micro sites relating to a specific topic.

But your website(s) are not the only element in an internet strategy. You need to consider online PR. Are there online magazines and websites dedicated to topics relevant to your market? What about chat rooms and discussion forums? Do your technical staff contribute to any of these? Is there an opportunity for you to set up an independent forum relating to your company's areas of expertise?  Do you have any well respected knowledge experts who could write articles to publish on your website and in other places?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a hotly debated topic; just how do you get your website to the top of the search engines when your prospects are looking for products and services you can provide. Using and defining your keywords, as mentioned above, plays a significant part in this but so does your online PR strategy. Linking strategies are often discussed in SEO forums too and you should consider who you want links from and who you are prepared to link to. As a minimum you should make sure those technical bodies you belong to provide a link which you can specify the wording on.

The internet has allowed markets to segment themselves. It removes the concept of mass marketing and can almost be considered micro marketing. It is a place where a new band or artist can go from unknown to best-seller almost overnight. For most businesses however it's not a panacea to all marketing problems, simply another form of marketing that will help your potential customers know that you are there, which after all is the only way they are going to buy from you..

Like all aspects of marketing, internet marketing is not rocket science; it just requires some thought and planning and consistent effort. This is one area that you will find lots of service companies offering to help you and there are some good companies available, but do be careful. An un-reputable company which uses unacceptable techniques could result in your site being blacklisted!

There are many good resources relating to SEO but two that I recommend you take a look at before employing anyone to help you with this topic are the webmaster guidelines from Google (http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769) and SEOchat (http://www.seochat.com/ ) although I have no association with either and cannot guarantee their accuracy.

Internet marketing is yet another tool in your marketing arsenal. It is my opinion that right now the Internet is still underutilised by a significant proportion of B2B companies, especially those offering services. If you take the time to maximise your web presence and perform a full range of internet activities it could be you, rather than your competition, that your potential customers find.

Value propositions; what are they and why are they so important

The rules of customer segmentation; why it could make a difference to your bottom line

Making direct mail work for your company