Is Your Online Business a Field of Nightmares? 10 Mistakes NOT to Make

Is Your Online Business a Field of Nightmares? 10 Mistakes NOT to Make

MarCom New Media (www.marcomnewmedia.com) is a cutting edge integrated marketing services consultancy based in Los Angeles, California, and has been helping clients prosper online since 2004. We’d like to share our perspectives about the “Field of Nightmares….”

Do you have a website?
Do you remember the movie Field of Dreams?
Do you remember the tagline for the movie?
For those of you who don’t remember it was, “If you build it they will come.”

With the right marketing strategies, you can turn your website from a field of nightmares into a field of dreams.

Unfortunately, in the real world of building a successful online business, it’s more like a Field of Nightmares. Why? Because most new businesses are not doing the right, if any, integrated marketing to succeed online. And many business owners don’t realize that it often takes more than a year for success and return on investment. It is why more than 80 percent of new businesses fail the first year.

Today’s online marketing trends and statistics show that by 2017 ten percent of U.S. retail sales will be online; the 2013-2015 expanding from $258.9 billion in 2013 to $434.2 billion in 2017. (Source: Forrester Research.)

When it comes to e-commerce and websites, so often people believe that “if you build it, they will come.” Typically this often becomes a “field of nightmares” rather than “dreams.” Businesses online must put the effort in to get results and when they do, it is possible to get a home run. And there are simply some marketing tactics that should be an ongoing cost of doing business. SEO for instance: online website SEO once done rarely needs changes. But offline tactics are ongoing thanks to all the changes Google continues to make.

So exactly what should a small to medium-sized business be doing to gain market share today? We hear all too often from client prospects, “I do not have budget for marketing.” Or “We tried pay per click (PPC) advertising and received little benefit.”

The truth is … “If you’ve built a website – you’ve only just begun” and chances are they (visitors) won’t come – without a lot of work, that is. Because if your website is not bringing you a boatload of potential customers on a daily basis you haven’t done your job. In reality to succeed you need to be actively doing integrated marketing – from search engine optimization (SEO) to public relations, plus email and social media marketing for starters, and you need experts to do these tactics.

Mistakes New Business Owners Make

We have been doing this a long time. Basically many people with small businesses and/or startups online have never been educated about why marketing is so important. Here are some of the common mistakes we see which lead to wasted money and less revenue, not to mention a lot of frustration:

1) The number one mistake we see is that new business owners think they can handle the marketing themselves. WRONG!
2) Not allocating a percent of their budget for marketing; from 10 to 20 percent.
3) Having an outmoded website. Today’s tablets require dynamic websites.
4) Not writing excellent content – everywhere. (Blogs, releases, websites, marketing, social media.)
5) Posting inadequate blogs; two to three (300 to 500 words) per week is required for success.
6) Thinking they don’t need SEO or that they can hire SEO experts for less than $700.00/month.
7) Thinking social media alone will provide revenues. It is great for branding and some leads, but does not always offer revenue.
‘8) Relying on Pay per click advertising for website sales. PPC is like renting. The minute you stop it so do sales.
9) If you don’t know your competition and track their moves, you could lose sales.
10) Hire expert marketers. If you thought marketing experts were expensive wait until you see what hiring amateurs can cost. The wrong SEO team can get your site delisted from the search engines. Be careful.

93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. Search engine optimization (SEO) is imperative for customers searching for products online. If you own an online business, ask yourself: Do you study your market carefully: the industry, competition, and changes? Is your online presence in sync with your PR, and social media efforts? Do you listen? Do you post to all social sites daily and Twitter more than 4-5 times a day? 78% of consumers listen to the input of other consumers online. Do you track/measure your online marketing and PR efforts?

Integrated marketing communications means: To inform, persuade, remind, reassure the customers and differentiate the organization in the minds of the customers. There are three requirements for successful marketing communications: RELEVANCE, ORIGINALITY and IMPACT. Communication is about engaging with your target market.

MarCom New Media
helps businesses eliminate these risks so they don’t join the 80% fail rate of small businesses in their first year. Our clients get results. Email us at info@marcomnewmedia.com to start a discussion about your marketing and how we can help.

Turn your online business into sustained success.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

gas138 gaco88 daget77 rajacuan vegashoki88 batman138 macaudewa prada188 atm138 megahoki88 judicuan emas138 sikat88 emas168 warung168 rupiah138 money138 abcslot max77 fit188 caspo777 gebyar123 selot88 asialive88 zeus138 ligadewa mild88 dolar138 garuda138 koko303 royalslot gbo338 slotid88 kampuspoker papua4d harta138 dolar77 sikat138 infini88 slot star77 hoki138 88 slot selot 138 slot idn slot slot88 idn live baccarat online