Online Class: Internet Marketing Basics

There is no doubt about it. In today's marketplace your company has a very limited and local visibility if you do not have an Internet presence. Creating a site or online store is the beginning of your Internet presence and the beginning of your company's ability to market to the international and Internet community. Trying to conduct Internet marketing without a website is like putting flyers on cars parked in your local community and not having a store front to direct them to – it simply doesn't work.

Once you set up a website for your company, then you are ready to begin an Internet marketing program that can help your company, its presence, its reputation and its productivity. Select a domain name that reflects your company's name or its major products or services. 

When you set up your company's site, you are suddenly visible not only to your local, state or national community, but you are equally exposed to the international community. Your company's increased visibility to the international and national communities can rocket your business to a new level of productivity and sales.

Increased Marketability

Once you have created your company's website and taken the risk of national and international visibility, you are then ready to take advantage of all that exposure by using Internet tools that immediately increase your marketability. For instance, you are suddenly positioned to tap into any number of "social networks".

Global Exposure

Never underestimate the power of your company's immediate global exposure. When you set up a site and begin an Internet marketing campaign, you are suddenly thrust into the global marketplace. You are, by definition, marketing your company on an international level. You may not see a global response right away, but it will show up.

Eventually, you will make a decision whether to pay for international marketing exposure or whether to handle international business as it comes. You will decide if the profits offset the costs by a reasonable profit margin and whether you can gain significantly by increasing your international sales. For certain types of companies, the global market will be one to pursue and for others it will become a non-issue. But, the advantage of having an Internet presence and Internet marketing strategy is that you will be positioned to more easily decide your participation in the international market and you will be ready to take opportunity by the horns.

Small & Limited Overhead

Both your website and your Internet marketing represent relatively small and limited overhead in terms of your overall business costs. Websites can be set up for under $500 and maintained for under $300 per year. Internet marketing via search engines can be handled for as little as $150 a month, or you can handle it virally for virtually nothing.

Immediate & Direct Communication with Clients

Through Internet marketing you have an immediate method for communicating directly with your clients and your potential clients. Your website is the one place where everyone who is ever interested in doing business with you can immediately look and refer to find out what you have on sale this week, which discounts are applied to this week's sales, and what is coming up in your marketing efforts. Whether your Internet marketing is focused on Google ads or email marketing, with an Internet presence, suddenly your clients know where to look and find out what you're up to.

When your clients and prospective clients know where to find you on the Internet, they feel like they have the latest news on your company. They feel like their interests are being attended to and that you're communicating with them in a very responsible fashion. You are relying less on your local store staff to talk to them or sell them your products and allowing them a central place in which to look and get their questions answered at their convenience.

When people can find answers to their questions at any hour of the day or night, they are more inclined to turn into satisfied customers. They are less likely to complain that they "didn't know" something. Your clients will immediately feel like they have the information they need to make a decision without having to pull it out of a store clerk.

Increased Sales & Convenience

In essence, all of these business advantages to Internet marketing add up to increased sales volume and customer convenience. There is an unspoken increase in customer trust when a company "goes online." Your customer quietly sees your company as modern, up-to-date and competitive. You will be more likely seen as being in-touch and worthy of your pricing.