The Small Business Online Marketing Guide
The Small Business
Online Marketing
Guide
Tips + Advice to Grow Your
Business Through Online Marketing
Why you should be marketing online
Case study: How Happy Hound gets 90% of its sales online
10 things you can do today to boost your online marketing
Worksheet: How you can get started
Contents
4. Why Your Business Needs to Market Online
6. 10 Ways to Use the Internet to Grow Your Business
9. Measuring Your Results
10. Tip a Day: Map Your Path to Online Success
12. Case Study: Happy Hound
13. Online Marketing: Something for Every Business
14. Key Terms
16. Worksheet
2
Suzanne Golter of Happy Hound
dog day care and boarding
Welcome
Every day we hear from business owners who think they need special
skills to reach new customers online. Overwhelmed by the number and
seeming complexity of online marketing options, they sit on the sidelines,
eager to get in the game but confused about where to start.
Sound familiar? If so, this guide is for you.
Whether you¡¯re new to online marketing or just looking to do it better, the
advice in this guide can help you reach your business goals. You¡¯ll learn:
? How many new customers you can find online
? 10 ways to use the Internet to grow your business
? How to measure your results
? How one small business gets 90% of its sales online
? Key terms and what they mean
We¡¯ve also created a daily tip sheet filled with ideas to help you get started
as well as marketing plans for four different types of businesses. Get
started right away by filling out the worksheet to create an action plan.
As with anything else, practice and persistence will lead to online
marketing success. We hope this guide starts you on the path to
becoming an online superstar.
Sincerely,
Brynn Zuccaro
North America Business Marketing
Google
3
Why Your Business Needs to Market Online
Did you know that 94% of consumers research products
online before buying? Or that three out of five people use
search engines as a go-to shopping resource?*
HOT TIP
AdWords
See the Key
Terms section for
an explanation
of online
advertising
terminology.
There is no longer any doubt that buyers go online
to research and purchase products and services.
Companies that have websites and market online can
reap the rewards of connecting with these shoppers.
The hardest part of doing anything can be getting
started, so create your game plan now to start getting
the payback from marketing online. Here¡¯s how:
Set your goal
Online marketing can do many things for your business.
Choose one or two objectives for starters. For example,
do you want to drive visitors to your website, generate
more foot traffic to your store or restaurant, or gather
emails for a newsletter?
Identify your target
Be clear about the buyers you want to reach. What do
they care about most? What are their problems? Have
they purchased from you before? Are they currently
buying from a competitor? Also consider their gender,
hobbies, location and other specifics; these can all help
you determine the best ways to reach them, as well as
the messages that will work best.
DID YOU KNOW?
The good news for your business is that online marketing doesn¡¯t have to be
complicated, time-consuming or expensive. Consider that:
? Online outreach often costs less than offline efforts.
? Launching new campaigns can be lightning fast ¨C meaning that potential
customers will see your campaign quickly.
? Changes and updates can be made instantly, usually at minimal cost.
? Measurement tools quickly show what¡¯s working and what¡¯s not.
*Source: 2010 Compete Online Shopper Intelligence Study
4
The Small Business Online Marketing Guide
Learn about current customers
If you have a website, ask your current customers how
they found it. If not, ask them where they go online now.
This insight can help you focus your efforts.
Check out competitors
Just because a competitor is doing it doesn¡¯t mean it
works ¨C but it might. Reviewing what your competition is
doing can help you create your own unique approach.
Set a strategy
Taking the time to think through your plan before you begin
can dramatically improve your results. Choose one or two
tactics that work within your budget, make sense for your
audience and that you can commit the time to manage
effectively. Many successful online marketers take a ¡°test
and refine¡± approach to get the greatest payback.
Track your results
Online marketing makes it easy to measure program
performance; take advantage of this by closely monitoring
the response to your marketing programs. Increase your
investment in the programs that work well and revise
components of programs that aren¡¯t working as well as
you would like to see how your program improves.
SPOTLIGHT
Twiddy &
Company Realtors
()
in Duck, North
Carolina, wanted
to increase the
number of online
bookings for its
vacation properties.
Using search
advertising,
they increased
bookings 50%.
Get
Informed
Improve
Performance
Track
Results
Narrow
Focus
Set
Strategy
5
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