Weekly Column: 2017-02-24
When is it a good time to start online marketing?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions for those who come in for a consultation regarding online sales. While it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when to start online marketing, in my opinion, it is better to start as soon as possible. At this very moment, visitors are finding websites through various avenues and their first impression will dictate whether or not they will visit a particular site again in the future.
Consumers search for products in different ways. They may need a product now or some undetermined time in the future, but nevertheless, they are looking for these products right now. If you market online, you will be able to acquire more visitors to your website, putting you ahead of your competitors. Therefore, if you are currently marketing online, you will be able to attract the attention of consumers who are searching the internet right now.
On average, a consumer will visit a website approximately seven times before purchasing a product. While it would be best if a sale occurred on the first visit, consumers with a plethora of options make their choices carefully. So if you differentiate your marketing strategy and leave a good impression on your visitors the first time, they will become familiar with your website and have more trust in your product. Also, instead of revisiting the site over and over, they will be able to compare it with other websites, in a shorter period of time, and decide what to purchase.
While many business owners are aware of the importance of this aspect, there are many cases where they overlook the process of making a sale. You must convince consumers who have purchased your products to come back and purchase from you again. In fact, it is often significantly easier to have a returning customer purchase your products again than to convince a new customer to make an initial purchase. Of course, you should have additional marketing strategies to make a customer a repeat customer, but from the consumer’s point of view, since they did not buy on impulse, they would not want to spend more time trying to purchase a product from an unfamiliar place.
However, if you do not take advantage of this situation, are satisfied with just the first sale, and neglect to market for repurchasing and repeat customers, the customers may not return to you or only return after a long period of time. That is why it is extremely important to have and implement strategies not only marketing for sales but also special marketing strategies to manage existing customers.
Another important step is the development of social media. Current consumers can easily share the pros and cons of their purchases through social media. If consumers are satisfied with the products and services they have purchased, they will repurchase in the future. They will also advertise and promote these products and services to the people around them. As online media develops, people spread their thoughts and reactions through the internet and through word of mouth, which naturally stimulates the interests of tens of thousands of others. This is the effect of viral marketing mentioned last time. Of course, it is also important to be vigilant to prevent the negative effects of a customer dissatisfied with a given product.
However, treating the consumers well by having good customer service through marketing will induce them to become a returning customer and bring in more customers due to the viral marketing effect. If you think of the value of each consumer as more than ten consumers and pour your devotion into this, your sales will also go up by at least ten times.
In the end, having effective online marketing means creating real-time increase in sales as well as an increase in revenue. If you are currently engaged in online marketing, I hope you will be aware of the importance of online marketing and combine sales and marketing as soon as possible so you will be able to reap the benefits anywhere between ten to 100 times.