Newspapers and magazines around the globe have been complaining for quite some time now that subscriptions are down. Readers are no longer interested in dragging around tons of paper, especially when they can satisfy all their reading needs online. As a result, the advertising industry has been shifting towards the Internet, following their fans.
Geoff Ramsey, CEO and cofounder of eMarketer, predicted that online marketing spending will increase by 9 % in 2010. According to Ramsey, the raise will occur due to a readjustment of the overall marketing budgets. On other words, entrepreneurs will pull out money previously spent on traditional media outlets and pump it into the digital world instead.
The online market is a big place, offering lots of choices to spend your hard-earned advertising funds. Some entrepreneurs feel they won’t need to spend any money for this because they could take care of all the tasks themselves, but we all know that this is virtually impossible. Nobody knows all the nooks and crannies of marketing, and no-one has the time to do all the work on top of running a successful business. Eventually, some of the responsibilities will need to be outsourced.
Now that you have made peace with the fact that you will be hiring help to design and realize an efficient marketing strategy, you will need to figure out how to balance your budget so you will receive the highest return for your investment (ROI). For that reason, ask yourself the following questions:
1. What exactly do I want to achieve? Do I want to generate higher sale, and increase leads, or will you focus more on conversions, higher targeted traffic, etc?
2. How much money can I spare for online marketing and SEO?
3. What are my ROI expectations?
4. Where do I need to spend my funds to achieve those ROI goals?
1. What exactly do I want to achieve?
Your objectives will depend largely on your type of business. If you operate an eCommerce website your main goal may be to increase sales or to increase conversions. In that case, hire professionals who are able to turn your existing, high targeted traffic into more sales.
If your traffic is ample, but your visitors are not really interested in your products or services, you may want to invest in professionals that can attract the right audience, the kind that is looking for your kind of merchandize. Without targeted traffic, sales will remain substandard.
2. How much money can I spare for online marketing?
Keeping the global economic crisis in mind, most business people today are uncertain about the amount of money they can or should spend on marketing. They are uncertain about the ROI of their funds, and often do not realize that, unlike traditional advertising methods, online marketing success can be tracked, monitored and tested fairly quickly after improvements are introduced. If the ROI is unacceptable, simply change your objectives; you can reinforce your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) plan, or redesign your marketing strategy.
To track your progress, download Google Analytics, or another analytics program. Use as many tracking and testing tools as you can, and collect as many resources as possible. The more complete your marketing tool palette, the sooner you will reach your goals.
3. What are my ROI expectations?
Everyone’s ROI expectations will be different, as no two businesses are alike. What works for one may be insufficient for another. For instance, one entrepreneur may spend $ 900//month for 6 months and achieve a 25 per cent increase in conversion rate. He may feel this was money well spent. Another company may spend the same amount over the same time period, yet only see a conversion growth of 5 per cent. Although their ROI increase is less, they may be equally thrilled with the results as the first company, because they started off with high targeted traffic and an excellent conversion rate. Any improvement is icing on their cake!
Whatever your expectations are, keep them realistic. It will help you assess your performance effectively and allow your hired help to meet your expectations.
4. Where do I need to spend my funds to achieve those ROI goals?
The best way to create an effective marketing strategy is to list all your strengths and weaknesses. If you know which areas need improving you will spend your money wisely and effectively and will be able to determine your ROI goals.
Don’t be fooled to think that once you have set your ROI goals, you’re done. They will change over time, just like your company will undergo transformations and the Internet will continue to evolve. Competitors will come and go, your merchandize or services will change and your disposable capital will fluctuate, just to name a few of the factors that may force you to reinvent your ROI aspirations.
The entire process may be rather confusing for beginners. In that case, consult with a trustworthy online marketing specialist. Most professionals are listed online and through customer reviews and client comments, you can find the one with a great success track record. Pick the one you will feel most comfortable with and can afford.
In conclusion: Attracting the right audience online is not as simple as placing an ad in your local newspaper. Your competition in the virtual world is bigger and fiercer, and not doing anything to improve your sales and reputation once your website is up and running, is one of the worst mistakes you can ever make. Therefore, know your strengths, weaknesses, prospects and threats. With that knowledge, you can arm yourself and always be one step ahead of your competition. Use the advantage, and before you know it, you will have achieved all your goals and objectives.
