How the Internet Is Changing the Local Marketing Game

How the Internet Is Changing the Local Marketing Game

Hours in front of the television has shifted to YouTube, Facebook and computer games. People still watch television; however technology such as the Pvr ensures that most viewers only see commercials as they speed past them.

This convert in buyer behavior has thrown an titanic monkey wrench into the fourth 'P' of the marketing mix (Product, Price, Place & Promotion). In the good old days, promotion was pretty easy. A nice ad in the telephone directory or a catchy radio spot at drive time meant that the phone continued to ring and customers found you. For some added exposure try a direct mail campaign or a place a coupon in the local business directory. Who cares which message is the one that pushes your campaign to 'critical-mass' with your target group? Each media choice was like a piece of an imperceptible puzzle that would begin purchasing behavior. This 'marketing mix' is the reckon for the old adage "I know that I'm wasting half of my advertising budget, I just don't know which half!" We understood that repetition is the key to earning that significant 'share of mind' with customers. Exposure equals business.

Clients of mine narrative that what used to work well naturally doesn't anymore. One recently shared with me that he tracks his advertising spending 'like a man possessed' and he has seen his Roi on telephone directories go from 7:1 to barely breaking even! If you're a small business owner this probably sounds familiar.

Consumers naturally aren't using old media the way they used to. Up-to-date statistics on Internet use supports this. According to Atlanta based Media study Group, The Kelsey Group:

- 70% of North American households use the Internet as an facts source when shopping locally for products and services.

- 31% of all business buyers turn to a search motor first when seeing for a locally based stock or service.

- 25% of all market Internet searches are conducted by users seeing for local merchants.

- 43% of all searches on Google comprise a geographical identifier.

- 86% of those People ensue up with a phone call.

- 61% of People who call make a purchase off line.

For marketers, relevance and relationships have supplanted the 'shotgun' approach. Customers are turning to Google and social Media. Google cares about relevance; social Media is all about attention. To put it other way, clients find you with Google and then stay associated with you through Facebook. Relationships replace repetition.

Most business owners have heard that social Media is essential. What does that mean? A buyer may find you while researching a purchase, but isn't yet ready to buy. Facebook keeps them associated if you give them a reckon to 'like' you. National television spots are asking for Facebook 'likes' without giving customers any compelling reckon to do so. This seems eerily customary to the dot-com debacle of the late 1990's when too many foolish decisions were made in haste and billions of dollars were wasted before it was properly understood. Many so called 'experts' surfaced and preyed upon the not yet Internet savvy, draining the resources of Fortune 500 firms and small businesses alike. History has a habit of repeating itself...

Businesses need to understand just how prominent it is to come to be relevant to Google. Page ranking isn't for sale. There is a process to ranking well. business needs to learn this. Just like in early days of the dot-com boom, some opportunists have surfaced. Many businesses receive many offers every week from Seo (search motor optimization) firms promising predicted results and charging outrages fees. Seo is surely an prominent part of a prosperous web presence; yet it is only a piece of the 'new' puzzle. There are many other issues to consider such as back links, auto-responders, lead capture pages, mini-sites, and social media campaigns just for a start. It's prominent to come to be educated to understand exactly what is being offered, how it works, in order to properly value these services.

The playing field has leveled and local businesses can compete like never before. Campaigns can be tried, tested and improved at very minute cost. There are no magic bullets with Internet marketing. It is still all about seeing the message that is the most effective and then getting that message to the right people.