16-05-2012, 11:56 AM
The Internet as a Marketing Tool
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“Build it and they will come.” You may remember this line from the movie, Field of Dreams. And, as often happens in the movies, that dream did come true. This is often the same philosophy that guides the business owner to develop a web site. Will his or her dream come true also?
With the web so visible to us in writing, advertisements, and casual conversation, many business owners come to believe that a web site is crucial to business growth. Indeed, some business owners have had financial success using the web. Examples are Amazon.com, B-movie.com and Golfballs.com. But the story heard in public is not the entire story. Amazon Books, for all of its visibility, has yet to make a profit. Sites like Golfballs and B-Movie have increased sales and are generating profits from web sales, but to reach that point the companies have invested significant resources in money, time, and energy.
So what about a web site for your business? Is it necessary? Will it help? How can it be done? Answers to these questions will be found in this fact sheet along with some tips to help guide your efforts.
The web market. Micro, home-based, and small business owners, like all business owners, are interested in tapping into a potentially huge market. A web site allows the business owner to reach this market using only limited resources. How large is the market? The numbers vary greatly and change daily, but the Nielson Company estimates there to be 58 million adults in the United States and Canada. That number increased by 15 percent just during a six- month period in 1998. The typical web user is no longer just young, upper middle income males, but is rapidly diversifying by age, gender, income, and ethnicity.
Yet, as a business owner trying to make an informed decision, you are probably more interested in the number of buyers versus browsers. Here the numbers decrease rapidly. While companies are reluctant to report sales, estimates suggest only 5 to 20 percent of on-line browsers actually make a purchase. In addition, the purchases made are less than $60.
advantages
• A growing audience
• World-wide presence and access to buyers
• Your micro, home-based, or small business looks like any other business
• Possible low cost marketing
Disadvantages
• Tremendous competition. As you can be found anywhere in the world, so can your competitors.
• Getting people to come to your site. Over 1 million pages are added per day. Getting found in this maze is difficult.
• Continual need to refresh and update your site
• Business operations need to change to handle web site business
Making the decision to build a web site for your business begins with understanding your market. Do you believe a web site will reach your potential market? Also, do you have the resources necessary to develop and maintain a competitive web site - competitive in terms of sales but also competitive simply in terms of attracting viewers. If you have a niche market product attractive to a geographically diverse audience, then a web site might be a good investment.
Summary
Should your business have a web site? Probably. However, the type of site and the details about the site will vary. Your own knowledge of your business and customers will help you determine if you need a web site and the specific purposes for your site.