Why Marketing Is SO Important on the Internet

Back in the days of my GCSE/’O’ Level Economics, I remember thinking how irrelevant the Laws of Pricing and Supply & Demand appeared to be.

Brands, Location, Relationships and other such factors made markets ‘imperfect’. The people whose buying patterns I studied used these as prime drivers and certainly didn’t review the market and choose the most logical supplier prior to making their purchase, as the text books seemed to indicate they would.

And that, I believe, is how a lot of businesses survived, even prospered. They weren’t the lowest cost, most efficient, highest quality, etc., supplier – they just happened to be there. People chose them because they were there, they had been there for x years, they had dealt with or were friends of Jack or Jill, they advertised on the local radio station, or a host of other non-logical reasons.

Frighteningly there are still businesses out there operating like this. If you ask these businesses a relatively straightforward question like “Why someone should buy from you?” they’re stumped. Some even look at you strangely, wondering why this idiot is asking such a stupid question. They open the doors every day and business comes to them…. the phone rings…. their mates always buy from them…. they’re the only ones in town…. they’re the only people who sell whatever….

Worryingly, some of these people think they can transfer their business success onto the internet. Those that don’t, are convinced the internet will not change their business – the internet effects other people, rather like crime.

Both these sets of people are wrong, but the first group will wake up first.

When you transfer your business online you have to accept that the rules change. People can switch between one site and another with a simple click.

• They’re not pressured into making a decision by pushy salesmen, they can compare the market at their leisure and take as long as they want looking around and researching, before they commit to a decision. I think this is a major reason why buying online has become so popular.

• They’re not limited to one or two shops or a single local dealer, they can literally scour the world for the best deal without leaving their home or desk.

• The salesmen can’t spot non-buying signals and make that unrepeatable final offer or close the deal when they see the buying signals.

• Unless you’ve got a really interactive site you can’t offer mates rates and nobody’s going to pop in because they like the look of the assistants or fancy a chat.

This is why Marketing (That’s Marketing not just advertising) is SO Important on the Internet.

• Spend a fortune on advertising in your local town and you will get people into your shop. The chances are you will sell something to a high proportion of those people.

• Spend the equivalent on advertising on the internet and you’ll get even more people onto your website. The difference is that unless they like what they see, they’ll click onto the next site that’s offering what you do.

You need to fully understand who your customers are and who they are going to be, what they want, what they will value, who your competitors are and what they offer and then make sure you offer your customers more of what they value than your rivals. And then you need to make sure that all of this is carried through your entire organisation, not just your advertising, but your website, your T&C’s, your service personnel, everything! Everything and everyone must be singing from the same song sheet.

That’s marketing and this is really important on the internet. Ignore it at your peril.

If you want help on marketing your business effectively using the Internet speak to Peter Van Zelst at Specialist Online Marketing. Peter van Zelst is the Founder of SpecialistOnlineMarketing.com , a practical online marketing agency, providing practical online marketing help and support to businesses.