Online Marketing For A Recession
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“Despite significant changes in consumer behavior, there is a large disparity between the amount of time that consumers are spending online and the time that money marketers are spending trying to reach them online,” explains Forrester Research Principal Analyst Charlene Li. “When at-work Internet use is taken into consideration, online consumers spend more than one-third of their time online — roughly the same amount of time they spend watching TV. Yet marketers spend only 4 percent of ad budgets online versus 25 percent on TV.” Online marketing budgets need to be ramped up, recession or no recession — that much is clear. What’s less clear is the allocation of the new budget between PPC, SEO, e-commerce marketing, social networking, copywriting, web design, viral video production and more.
One way to decide on your online marketing budget is to consider what everyone else is doing. According to the latest Forrester Research report, the average marketing budget in 2010 will be increasing as follows: 47% of businesses plan to increase their social networking and viral video marketing budget; 44% will increase their internet design/web development; 40% will further increase online advertisements; 38% will increase e-marketing campaign initiatives; 27% will increase marketing technology; 14% will increase their budget for loyalty programs; 11% will increase their branding and advertising in offline marketing campaigns; 7% will ramp up their direct mail; 5% will increase marketing training and staff; and 4% will increase traditional spending on TV, radio and print.
The “2009 Tribalization of Business Survey” found that some of the top online marketing strategies during a recession include: increasing word-of-mouth (38%), improving customer loyalty (34%) and creating brand awareness (30%). Many executives feel this can be best done through the matrix of social networks. However, certain obstacles exist — like getting people to join, return and stay engaged. To gain the best results, market plans should include partnering up with other vendors, running exciting promotions and contests, offering special perks for participating and giving community members something of value for their time. In addition to these objectives, executives are also placing some emphasis on idea generation (29%) and customer support (23%).
Loyalty programs are a popular online marketing strategy that offers excellent customer retention and return-on-investment. Research firm CIO Insight reports that nearly 75% of U.S. shoppers belong to at least one loyalty program, although these initiatives aren’t functioning as well as they could. The key to making these programs work is to offer continuous incentives to spend and special perks that really make the customers feel important and valued. These days, consumers want coupons and contests, but they also want content and substance, which is where marketing newsletters come into play. To read about four successful case studies of loyalty programs, visit www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Special-Reports/Loyalty-Programs-How-4-Companies-Foster-Loyalty.
Rene Lacape is a seasoned insurance agent. He has been dealing with both corporate and individual accounts for several years up to the present. If you need him, you can check his website and give him a call. Act now.
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