“People need deals and deals need people.” You remember that scene in “A Beautiful Mind” when Russell Crowe, er, I mean John Nash, says the best option is the one that benefits both the individuals involved but also the group as a whole? In other words, you need to create deals for your product/service that are mutually beneficial for both the consumer and for you. The economy will stabilize once we’ve reached equilibrium.
And how do we reach that equilibrium, you ask? The WEB! The INTERNET! The entire ONLINE ARENA! Advertising online is the wave of the new century. And now is the best time, if any, to get your business into the 21st century. If you do, you’ll be in the best position when people start buying again. Why? Because there are a lot more people using the web right now than you think. In fact, the web is very quickly becoming the hub of all media. The web allows you to watch TV and movies, listen to the radio, or just download music, talk with friends (and even people you thought you would never see again thanks to a little something called social networking, i.e. Facebook, MySpace), buy pretty much anything you want, pay bills, do all your banking, and even get medical advice. The virtual world is slowly replacing the real one.
Of course that is not to say that traditional media advertising has no place in your marketing strategy. Traditional media, such as print advertising, television advertising, outdoor advertising, or direct mail, still serves the same function it has for years. But the market is rapidly becoming fully virtual. Instead of advertising your big savings deal in any traditional media, you can do it for alot cheaper on the internet. You can market your deals on your own website, on your competitor's websites, on any search engine, or any industry experts' websites in order to gain maximum visibility. And the precision of internet marketing will maximize your ROI since potential leads will all be those that are already interested in your product/service.
In order to fully corner the market, I suggest that you invest in all media, both traditional and online. However, the current economy may force you to be a bit more frugal with your capital. If that is the case, then you should certainly focus more on your web assets.
So when people start buying again, you better be prepared to meet them half-way. And when people start buying again and go online to do so, if your business isn’t online it probably won’t survive. In order to stay in business and meet the demands of the new century, you'll have to have a basic web foundation.
In order to have a comprehensive web foundation, you should think about including a website, an email marketing campaign, a social networking campaign, a blogging campaign, and search engine marketing. It’ll definitely be worth your investment.
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BOC Partners, Inc. is a privately held marketing company located at 1030 South Ave West, Westfield, NJ. We've been around for 25 years. We specialize in both online marketing and traditional marketing. Visit us at http://blog.bocpartners.com, http://bocpartners.wordpress.com, or http://www.bocpartners.com.
