The Changing Face of Marketing

13 Sep 10

Online marketing can be defined as all promotional activity taking place on the internet, including email.  It comes in many forms including online advertising, search engine marketing, email marketing, social media and so on. 

Why is Online Marketing So Important?

If you've ever tried marketing a product or service in the past, there's a good chance you would have heard about the four P's.  Traditionally, the four P's represent the core considerations of any marketing mix:

1) Product: the actual item for sale, whether it's a physical product or a service
2) Price: the amount charged for your product or service - not necessarily a monetary value
3) Place: where the product or service is available to be purchased
4) Promotion: how people will find out about the product or service eg advertising

However, the four P's are missing one very important element that will determine and influence all other aspects of your marketing mix and that is 'People'.

People will decide if they like your product or service.. or not!  People will assess whether they feel it offers value for money.  So if we have people in mind, we can start to understand why online marketing is such a valuable tool in what we can call a 'modern marketing mix'. 

Gone are the days when the web was only for 'geeks'.  The market has been gradually changing the way it chooses to consume products or services and absorb information and there is no doubt we are now at the stage where the mainstream market is open to the online world, and hungry for more. 

  • TV took 13 years to reach 50 million users
  • The Internet took 4 years to reach 50 million users
  • Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months!*

As a result, businesses are finding they have to adapt their approach to marketing and embrace the online world in order to keep a step ahead of both their customers and competitors.

Does your business have a strong online presence?  How does your business stand out from the rest?

*Social Media Revolution, Socialnomics July 2009