LeadMastersUSA

Small business is shifting dollars to online promotion

The line between advertising and marketing is getting increasingly blurred as more small business shift their advertising dollars to online marketing efforts. Trends predicts that small business online marketing will more than triple over the next five years to $1.63 billion as local companies put more of their budgets into building their Web sites, social media, PPC, video and other promotional efforts online.

In a new report titled “Main Street Goes Interactive,” Borrell Associates predicts that interactive ad spending across all segments including display, search and email will grow by only 10% in the next five years to nearly $7.5 billion. This growth is slower than past years, but it is encouraging to see growth in a marketing area.

Everything online IS marketing

What this indicates is that small businesses do not differentiate between spending money on anything internet related like: upgrading their websites, starting an email campaign, coupon programs, PPC, or banners ads online – to them it’s all advertising. I have found this to be my experience as well, many businesses expect to see the same kinds of numbers in ROI from a website redesign as they do from an offline ad.

This leads to some sticky conversations because so many small business websites are lacking in the elements that create leads and generate online sales. A website redesign is often a necessary starting point, but NOT the end result. In order for ANY business website to be successful it must ATTRACT & ENGAGE the target visitor, CAPTURE their INTEREST and information with an irresistible giveaway and CONVERT that prospect into a relationship with a relevant follow up program.

Without this system in place your website is like a telephone number that only goes to an answering machine message. With no capacity for the visitor to leave a message you have no idea who has called or what they want. I predict that many small businesses will spend their hard earned money on PPC and banner ads with dismal results because they do not understand the fundamental difference between Internet media and print media.

Push gives way to PULL – good news for small business

Print media is still part of the push marketing era. The loudest, brightest ad gets the views. Internet media is Pull marketing, which means you must attract customer interest and nurture their relationship. Remember that online it is often easier to click away to your competitor than to search your site for something relevant. The good news about all this is that small businesses are naturally more customer centered and can invest the time in creating truly relevant information to share. Creativity can overcome a lot of obstacles online which gives small business a distinct advantage in the Pull marketing system. Larger corporations are simply not flexible nor fast.

Print advertising gives way to email and video

Standard format advertising, which is now 47% of all Small Business spending, will shrink to less than 19% by the end of 2013. “Citing a B@B Magazine survey, Borrell noted that only one-third of marketers interviewed planned to increase spending on banners in 2009, while more than two-thirds expected to boost spending on email marketing.”  Video marketing is also on the rise, as more ecommerce store use video product demos and reviews to drive traffic and increase sales. Videos will also be used on normally boring business sites to create a more personalized experience, as educational tools, for training purposes and to drive traffic.

How does your business plan to shift into a pull marketing system?