Social networking on the web has totally changed the marketing landscape. Many businesses are abandoning traditional, physical advertising (billboards or magazines) and opting to advertise in a more fluid, creative way. This usually includes an active social media presence, a visual element (such as photographs on Instagram/Facebook), and a concerted effort to join in the ongoing industry conversation. But internet marketing isn’t necessarily the best option for every sort of business. Read on to learn about the pros and cons of web marketing and see if it’s the right path for your business:
Strength: Fast Availability
Customers appreciate the convenience of having instant access to your website and updates. The smoother and simpler the purchasing process is, the more likely customers are to buy. If someone can buy your product on their phone while standing in line at the bank—that’s a win for everyone!
Strength: International Exposure
With internet marketing, there’s no separation between the local and the international. For this reason, the possibilities for expansion and growth on the internet are nearly infinite. For a business to undergo international advertising without the help of the internet, would be a huge ordeal. Web marketing has opened the doors to limitless expansion across the globe with ease.
Strength: Free Online Marketing Campaigns
If you’re up to the challenge, mastering some marketing web tools and launching a successful campaign will cost your business little to nothing. Compare this to the high cost of physical advertising, and it’s hard not to see the value in web marketing. The downside is that it’s not easy to master online marketing tools, and you’re better off hiring a team of competent web marketers like Coalition Technologies to maximize your investment.
Strength: Measuring Success
So many things on the internet can be measured and weighed, from site hits to click-through rates to the amount of time each user spends on a given web page. You can use all of this information to make changes to your site and improve visibility and sales. You’ll have to have a sound strategy for understanding exactly which numbers point to success. For example, you may be getting lots of hits, but very few sales. These numbers show you that you need to focus on converting views to sales by giving the potential customer more incentive to buy or perhaps streamlining the buying process.
Weakness: Sluggish Websites
Without the aid of a fast and powerful internet connection, navigating the web can be slow and frustrating. A website that has too many moving parts can move sluggishly, even on faster internet connections, and a customer won’t wait around very long to wait for everything to load while surfing your website. A badly built website can be worse than no website at all.
Weakness: “Untouchability” of E-Commerce
Many consumers prefer to touch, test, try on, and feel the products they’re interested in purchasing. This is a big issue for clothing companies, where sizing can be tricky and you get lots of returns on clothes that don’t quite fit right. Some products are just problematic for sale on the web and a strong return policy is required if you want to keep up a happy customer base.
Generally, online marketing is a powerful tool to use if you have time to continuously improve and analyze your campaigns and website. For many, working online can be overwhelming. That’s where companies like Coalition Technologies come in. Marketing companies can help you handle an otherwise intimidating workload and give you expert advice on how to grow your business through the Internet.