subject: What Could The Internet Do For Your Business? [print this page] SEO Tool 1: Is Traditional Advertising Working?
The internet is changing the way we get information. It will not go away or stop evolving. The internet is a force to be reckoned with.
Think about traditional media newspapers, yellow pages, TV & radio. Do you still read your local daily paper, USA Today, or do you get your news online? For most of us, its still a mix. We might read Sundays paper, or whatever day the grocery ads come out. We might watch some network news & a lot of CNN during crisis periods. We listen to the radio in the car. Perhaps you have satellite radio or maybe youve got your iPod plugged in. How about those iPhones? Were reading the news online in record numbers.
Do you keep the yellow pages of the phone book within arms reach, or do you look up numbers & websites online? Your customers do not use the directories to make buying decisions. You can better spend those dollars on other marketing actions to reach them.
Advertising is just one arm of marketing. Relationship-building, networking, direct sales, public relations, sponsorships, information & education, websites, blogs, special events, mailings (both snail and email), telesales (within the legal parameters), sampling, public speaking, giveaways, testimonials, referrals, promotional gifts & sales promotions are just some of the other ways you can market your company. Are you engaged in those activities?
Traditional advertising is not yet dead, but it is in poor health. You need to adapt your business advertising strategy in order to survive at all. Just as our lives are constantly changing, so must the way we do business. The only way a business owner can survive, even thrive, is to continue adjusting to grow. You must know & take care of your business, your customers & adapt in our ever-changing world.
