Is Internet Marketing Effective for Businesses?
We’ve all seen the articles and blogs filled with the gone-viral marketing genius of the likes of Apple, Nike and Oreos. Those big companies can plunk a huge wad of cash on a new online campaign like Mashable’s Easter Egg Contest and not really care if it turns into a huge flop. Small and mid-sized businesses don’t usually have a lot of time or money to throw around when it comes to marketing. So they have to be able to find reliable, effective sources for their marketing budgets and endeavors. With no time or money to waste, then, is online marketing really effective for small and mid-sized businesses?
That’s just the question that the guys at BrightLocal recently asked in their November 2014 small to mid-sized business internet marketing survey. They received 736 responses from companies with 1 to 50 employees, and here’s a bit of what they discovered, broken down for you so you can better understand the facts and figures related to the effectiveness of internet marketing.
Internet Marketing Expenses
The majority – 70% – of these small and mid-sized companies spend less than $500 a month across the board on ALL their marketing. Company size seems to have something to do with marketing budgets, with companies of 3 or less employees spending less than $400 a month on all their marketing.
About 1/3 of all those surveyed said they spend at least 70% of their budget (small as it is) on internet marketing. 1/3 spend less than 10% of their budget, and the other third fall somewhere in between. Now, it’s a good bet that some of these results correspond to the type of business and or the nature of the product or service being offered. However, the fact remains that 2/3 of small to mid-sized businesses ARE spending somewhere between $50 and $350 a month on internet marketing. That’s nothing to sneeze at. But what are they getting for their hard cold cash?
Internet Marketing Results
The good news is that 75% of those surveyed found their internet marketing efforts to be effective – some going so far as to call it “very effective.” So much so that nearly 40% of the small to mid-sized businesses told the survey that they intend to increase their internet marketing budgets for this year. These companies are seeing more traffic to their websites, better search rankings, and more phone calls to their firms as a result of their internet marketing campaigns. These are facts and figures that are difficult to contend with – these are actual businesses doing actual internet marketing reporting actual positive results.
And the answer is…..
The survey clearly shows that internet marketing is having an impact on the small and mid-sized business world. So what does this mean for you and your small to middle sized business? Will 2015 be the year you, too, increase your internet marketing campaigns and budget? Will this year see you take the plunge and give it a try? It doesn’t have to be as spectacular and gone-viral as the big boys. But you’ll never know if you don’t try, now will you?
Internet marketing is great but the key to success is listening to your client and listening to their problems before you offer solutions. Once you have done a good job listening then you have to be prepared to answer their questions because they will definitely have them before they open their wallets or purses up. Internet marketing is cheaper than traditional marketing and is VERY EFFECTIVE. Great post!
Thanks for the comment Andre!
Listening to your customers is one of the most important parts in marketing. You have to understand the problem before you can provide a solution.