Marketing Network, it that the same as Internet Marketing? No, although Internet Marketing is a big part of Your Marketing Network. Your Marketing Network is the actions, interactions and tools used by a good marketing plan. Businesses must be involved in several different types of marketing efforts, online and offline, all planned, integrated and executed based upon a strategy. Large corporations have sales, marketing and IT departments staffed with full time employees, all focused on the company goals; higher company revenues and profits.
The company goals for Small Businesses are no different except they operate on a different scale and must have better control over expenses. Small businesses also generate leads to gain new customers while keeping current customers. However, without million dollar budgets, this can be challenging. Challenging yes, but these goals certainly are achievable and a necessary process for not only surviving but also growing your business.
The basic marketing theory stays the same no matter what the size of company or the size of budget. Create a marketing plan that generates leads, improves sales, increase the customer base, decrease the cost of sales and increases profits. That is a lot to ask but that’s marketing.
Marketing Has Changed
The foundation of our Marketing Strategy is the Marketing Network. For the Small Business, using the internet as your primary marketing resource is the most cost efficient and functionality effective method. Don’t pay hundreds of dollars on some display advertising for a one time action that is not well targeted. As recently as 2007, the internet offered little to the small local business. However since development and growth of Local Search and new low cost technology, small businesses can take better advantage of different strategies. Before Local Search, the internet offered a small business an online presence but little value. After all not too many small businesses cared about consumers that were not local. THINGS HAVE CHANGED AND FOR THE BETTER!
Now with Local Search and new technologies, any small local business can implement a marketing plan that provides a much better ROI at a reasonable cost.
The goal of marketing is to drive qualified customers to your business. Not all plans work for all types businesses. However the general idea is to target certain geographic, demographic and in some cases behavioral consumer profiles that best serve your market using both online and offline strategies.
Marketing Network Action
The diagram below shows some common action methods that can drive leads to a website and then to your business. This is not a single step process but typically takes multiple steps to get from a consumer decision to buy to an actual sale. Consumers have a ton of information available about the product or service of interest. Consumer buying is a process of research, comparison and getting to know the business offering the product or service. This leads to trust which leads to sales. Your Marketing Network must be more visible and better then your competitors; and not just once but day after day, month after month.
Starting on the exterior sides of the diagram, your potential customers interact with the website by using local searches, referrals, articles, media, advertising and even your business card. However each of these and other types of actions must conform to your well thought out marketing plan.
The website then provides the landing pages to get the potential customer’s attention that this may be the place to find what they need. The landing pages must, at a glance, offer what the potential customer is looking for and lead them deeper into the site, increasing viewing time and reducing bounce rate. If this is accomplished, the resources provide more detail for the products or services of interest. This is a key for the research and comparison process.
The lead generation has some authentic offering that provides a benefit to these potential customers. There are many things that a business can offer from information to sample products and services. This is another step in the buying process that builds trust. The lead generation system provides the initial interactive communication between the business and the potential customer that gives structure to the process steps from an initial lead towards the sale. The final Call To Action is direct communication between the potential customer and your business.
All this is done with Your Marketing Network.
