Statistics Prove beyond a Doubt as to Who the Winner is!
The internet revolution has truly changed how business is conducted all over the world. The business world is captivated by the powers and the prospects the World Wide Web offers. Online marketing through the internet has become the preferred mode of increasing consumer awareness of their products and services of a significant number of companies the world over. Traditional media marketing done through television, cinema and print medium has taken a back seat to online marketing. Statistics on recent trends indicate a paradigm shift in the choices of business owners, marketing managers and executive assistants to use online marketing as their prime marketing stratagem. However, there are a few skeptics who doubt the clout the internet holds vis-à-vis online marketing and a debate rages on the question of which is better and which mode offers faster and better results. My knowledge, wisdom and experience as a man involved in online marketing strategies for quite a number of years makes me vouch for the superiority of online marketing over traditional media marketing. I will present some statistics to justify my preference for online marketing, not as a proof of my knowledge and business acumen but to put forward an unbiased opinion for the sake of the readers.
- According to one recent survey done by a popular and respected research organization, about 72% of the American population own computers and have access to the internet. About 28% of the world population has access to the internet. The figures are likely to increase in numbers rapidly. This validates the thrust and reach of online marketing.
- The internet is the preferred medium at work and the second preferred at home to the majority of the American population. Americans spend 14 hours per week watching television and 14 hours per week online. ( Google Statistics) Nothing can illustrate better the potential reach of online marketing.
- The average consumer is more aware than ever before. He or she is well informed about products and services that they intend to purchase. The average consumer does not wait for the marketing companies to reach them and instead go after their choices based on information sourced from the internet. ( Wikipedia )
- 11 research firms predicted that online ad spending will grow at the rate of 12 to 19.4 percent in the year 2009 (eMarketer).
- A study done in May 2008 revealed that 72% of marketers said their online marketing budgets will increase or remain the same even during recession (Forrester Research).
- Online marketing is one of the "recession proof corners" (New York Times).
Now that the potential and reach of online marketing has been established, let me proceed to illustrate how online marketing ranks over traditional media marketing in many ways. There are three vital factors that make online marketing a more sensible choice when it comes to cutting costs and increasing profits. They are cost, proof of reach and conversion rate.
Given that all businesses are in the game to make more money, the costs involved in creating/implementing traditional television and print media marketing campaigns does not make any sense at all in terms if returns when compared to the benefits of employing online marketing strategies. To start an online marketing program, all one has to do is develop a website with content that is enriched with keywords that attract prospective customer traffic to your website at a far less price than running expensive traditional media campaigns. More traffic results in more business and it is the job of the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) /online marketing /Web development companies to provide your website with all the things needed to bring more visitors to it. Good online marketing strategists know the importance of competition analysis, keyword research, and providing content that will be instantly visible to the algorithmic combinations of a typical search process. The knowledge of how to entice potential customers to reach your website comes with years of experience and market research. If you already have a website and still do not find the expected amount of potential customers visiting your site, a good SEO/Online marketing company will do a free evaluation of your website to recommend any changes needed.
The second factor is the actual reach of a marketing campaign. In traditional media marketing, a business owner will not have any idea of how many potential customers he or she is actually reaching. For example, if there are about 30,000 readers of a particular magazine or newspaper, how will anybody know as to how many percent of the actual readers have noticed your marketing promo? Truth is there is no way of knowing it. In online marketing, powerful web analytics keep track of the traffic to your website based on which you can calculate conversion figures and make suitable changes in the content or strategy to boost sales.
The third factor is conversion. One of the main differences between traditional media marketing and online marketing is the way in which customers make a choice. In the former, a campaign is addressed to a general audience, looking for potential customers while in the latter it is the customer who is coming to you. He or she already knows what he or she is looking for and it thus makes it easier to convert the visitor to a customer.
Good web development companies, SEO and online marketing companies are experts in the way a potential customer searches and makes choices on the internet. This knowledge helps them in making needed changes to a website to help the website generate more traffic and thereby more business.
All the facts stated above and especially the fact that online marketing is still growing even during these hard recession times should convince even the die hard skeptic. The smart marketing manager or business owner is taking action now, because it is their survival that may be on the line and a professional online marketing company will be worth their weight in gold.
By : Jon Reasa
