Online Marketing:

A Primer For Building Effective Online Marketing Programs

The Internet has ushered in a new era of "online marketing" (or "Internet marketing"). And with it there has evolved a growing list of online marketing tools and methods to reach, persuade, and nurture relationships with current and prospective customers. To be competitive in this online era, it is essential that companies fully exploit the unprecendented opportunities provided by online marketing. But how? Which programs and strategies will be best for your unique situation? Mastering the fast-evolving tools and methods of online marketing can be daunting for even the most intrepid marketing team. Add to that the requirement to comply with the growing body of email and privacy laws and regulations around these methods. It is no wonder that most companies fail to capitalize on the true potential of online marketing.

The True Potential of Online Marketing

When it comes to online marketing, the potential for dramatic and cost-effective impact on your business is extraordinary. And while a well-designed and executed online marketing strategy can indeed achieve spectacular results, what is even more remarkable is that you can prove the direct raltionship between your marketing investments and the actual resulting sales. Furthermore, with the careful application of current best practices and the latest technologies, you can:

• reach your prospects at the very beginning of the buying process
• understand your customers and prospects to a level of detail never-before imagined
• provide them with exactly the information they are looking for as they progress through the stages of the buying process, and
• build lasting value-based relationships with each individual customer.

Selecting the Best Online Marketing Mix

What are the most effective components of an integrated online marketing strategy? What is the best way to decide which online marketing programs will provide the greatest return on investment? Since the online marketing landscape is constantly changing, its no surpise that every marketing team struggles with these same questions.

Generally speaking, online marketing programs are meant to achieve one of the following marketing objectives:

• Branding
• Customer Recruitment
• Customer Retention

By organizing the available online marketing program options into these three categories, we can simplify the process of developing a balanced and integrated online marketing strategy.

At the planning stage, we have found that the following matrix helps our clients efficiently explore the alternative online marketing programs available. Starting by establishing the balance you are trying to achieve between branding, customer recruitment and customer retention. Then, use this matrix to help you build a balanced mix of online marketing programs by selecting the the most effective alternatives in each category.

In the matrix shown here, we have indicated the primary application for each program with a blue "X". Keep in mind that many programs will have secondary benefits in one or both of the other categories.

Web Site Marketing Programs: The Foundation of Online Marketing

Since the online marketing plan is often built around driving qualified prospects to the corporate web site, the important and difficult challenges of balancing investments among the numerous marketing programs that build and enhance the corporate web site deserves special attention. There is a staggering breadth and variety of competing investments to choose from in building the web site portion of the online marketing plan, as shown in the expanded table below.

Building Integrated Online and Offline Marketing Campaigns

Keep in mind however, that a well-designed set of integrated online marketing programs will reinforce and complement each other such that their combined effect is greater than the sum of individual program contributions. And when used correctly, the integration of offline marketing programs with online ones can make a potent combination, particularly in reaching very busy C-level execs as well as mobile or reluctant web users.

StratiMind's Online Marketing Services

StratiMind offers a comprehensive set of consulting services covering the entire SEO Success Pyramid™.

 

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