A reality check on your marketing strategy

The 'Marketing Strategy' is the way we have come up with for achieving our marketing goals and it should include two mandatory elements: - Which target consumers whom we can reach, hold a viable potential to buy whatever we intend to sell? - What is the offer (the entire marketing mix) we will be presenting to these consumers in order to appeal to them and thus realize the said potential, given their alternatives? You must not think of these as two separate questions but rather as two parts of the same idea. Let me clarify. What are "target consumers with a potential to buy"? These are consumers (a sizeable enough group with buying power) likely to desire what you are offering. Why would they want it? That is the potential that you are supposed to identify. There may be several reasons. For example, maybe they are not consumers of your kind of product yet, however, they might be if something happens, or if they are exposed to a certain message. It could be that they have special needs or preferences, which up until today were not catered to by any of your competitors' offers (and don't forget that psychological, social, aesthetic needs are real needs). Maybe they are bored with what they routinely buy. When you identify such a situation, you know that the potential is there. Identifying potential is only the initial stage of your mission, of course. Your strategy would also have to include something that you are going to offer these consumers that might improve their situation in a certain way, solve a problem, give them more than what they already get for the same price, or open new opportunities for them. In short, something that will motivate them to buy from you and thus materialize the potential. The 'Marketing Scenario' is a synopsis of the logic of your marketing strategy. In the same breath, it also enables you to make sure that that logic really works. The 'Marketing Scenario' translates the 'Marketing Strategy' to simple everyday language. How will it happen in reality? How will the materialization of marketing goals occur? I don't know whether or not you have already sunk in this fact, but marketing goals are achieved through customer acts. So, let's assume that we install a webcam with enhanced psychological insight capabilities inside the market and that it captures the materialization of our marketing plan, one purchase after another. What is the 'Marketing Scenario'? The 'Marketing Scenario' is an amazingly simple tool to use: Only four questions. Are you jotting this down? 1. Who are the people who we believe have the potential of buying what we intend to sell? Yes, these are the same people we so often refer to as the 'Target Consumers'. First, we must define our targets. What do these people have in common that makes them probable prospects (in the sense that they are likely to be particularly interested in our offer)? We could use demographic, socioeconomic, psychographic, as well as lifestyle descriptions. Note that at times, we target not a specific group but a wide almost indefinable group of people in a specific mood, a specific situation, or a specific need or state. Make room for another possibility. You can target not a defined group of consumers but rather a state of need/desire or a consumption context shared by many diverse consumers at one time or another. 2. What precisely should they be doing (that they are not doing already and will probably not do if we will not intervene), that would direct them to eventually choose our brand specifically? It is, by the way, the first and only objective of branding. What do they have to do so that your marketing plan will materialize (even before the actual purchase)? Do they have to go somewhere? To call? To agree to meet your salesperson? To stop and pick out your product from the shelf? Which activity, which does not occur today, would lead them in the correct path on the way to buying? 3. What is the sound reason that should motivate them to change their behavioral inertia? How will they benefit from that change? Why would you, in their place, buy what you are offering? You can think of it as your differentiating factor (what makes you differentially better?), or as your competitive advantage (what makes you comparatively better?), according to your preference. What could make their situation better compared to their current standing and to the other options available to them in the market? 4. How exactly will they extract the benefit (that which answers question 3) according to your marketing plan? That is not a repeat question. Notice that the third question dealt with the 'why' of the target consumer's planned motivation, and now, we are trying to understand the 'how' of your marketing plan. How are you planning to provide the benefit defined in the answer to question 3? If, for instance, you said before that you are making something more accessible, easy or comfortable for them, now explain how it will become more accessible, easy or comfortable, due to you product. Let us look at an example: The introduction of Palm Pilot to the market. O. K.? Just the main points: 1. "Residents" of the business community, gadgets fans, who manage a dynamic, constantly changing schedule, and have not yet embraced the electronic organizers, or were disappointed by them because of their being laborious to update and generally unreliable. 2. ... will step into the nearest office equipment store and ask about the Palm Pilot. 3. ... because at last there is an organizer which is not only sophisticated, small and wonderfully shaped, but is also easily kept up to date and preserves the stored data when damaged or when upgrading to a new model 4. ... because the Palm Pilot can 'converse' with the PC, making the updating process a simple task to perform, as well as enabling creation of backups which could be easily transferred on to the next generations of organizers. That is what the 'Marketing Scenario' is all about. All you have to do is answer the questions. Be precise. Be thorough. Be honest. Do it in writing. Even if you're absolutely sure that the answers are positively clear to you and there's nothing to be gained. Only when your 'Marketing Scenario' is totally translated to a written text, should you go on and proceed with the brand development process. Otherwise, you will get trapped along the way, and don't say I didn't warn you.

Increase your traffic through articles by 300

Many people are submitting articles to article directories, which is a great way to gain traffic. But none of them realize that there is a way to really optimize the results of writing an article. The Mistake When your submitting an article, do you paste your full article, I'm pretty sure that you do. There are two problems with this: 1) Provoking your reader to visit your site decreases 2) Google may read it as a supplement if you also posted the article on your blog/site also. Explanations 1) When your reader finishes reading your article, and their satisfied, what would their normal behavior be, clicking on your web address or visit other articles to learn even more. It would be visiting other articles, but you don't want that to happen. So there is a way to solve this. When posting your article, only post the first half on the article directories and the full article on your site or blog. Get the idea? So what would happen now, if your article was well composed and your reader is interested, then they would gladly visit your blog or site to continue on their read. It's a great way to get all your happy readers to your site. 2) As many people do, they submit their articles to directories and also post them on their site/blog. Now what happens, well Google greatly dislikes copied information. They call it a supplement, and if your article on the article directories gets indexed by Google, then the page on your blog or site will not be indexed by Google if you submit your full article on to the directories and onto your site or blog. So, just submit half your article on the directories and the full article on your site or blog. Making it effective Let's say that your teaching your reader something or exposing something that can greatly benefit them. Well you have to know when to exploit it, so you can get your reader to your site. On the first half of your article that you will submit to the article directories, go over the points on what you can offer and how it can benefit the reader, keep teasing the reader on what they could find out from reading the article, get the drift? By this point your reader should be jumping off the walls waiting for you to finally tell them, so what do you do, just finish the article right there. Just add a little nice message saying that the full version of this article can be found at xxxx/ ( Your website). ;P Most likely they will click on your web address. Please check out traffic-building-googled. blogspot for more suggestions

Computer consulting don t market the 90 s way

The 90’s was a time of certification for computer consulting businesses. Everyone touted what formal partnerships they had with what major corporations. “Hire us because we’re a Novell certified shop” or “Hire us because we’re an IBM business partner.” Most consultants aren’t leading with that anymore because they don’t want to be perceived as an extension of that company sales force. They want to be perceived as their own brand of computer consulting. The Benefits of Partner Programs Have Disappeared In the old days, you used to get big MDS and co-op advertising when you were in a partner program. Those days are rapidly ending, so there’s really no financial reason for sticking their logo all over the place anymore. Spend more time branding yourself as opposed to just focusing on the solutions that you represent. Stick To The Products You Know Naturally when you get new computer consulting prospects and you’re taking them through the qualification stages and sales calls, you’re going to tend to recommend the solutions that you’re most comfortable with. If you’re authorized to belong to a program, you’re going to recommend that particular solution. That’s fine, but don't make your marketing message focus on just that particular product or that particular platform. Don't Become a Commodity If you do, you open yourself up to commodity priced competition. Your prospects will ask why they should buy their NetWare license from you if they can get it cheaper on the Web or through mail order. Don’t open yourself to a bidding war. That way of marketing is dated. It’s passй. You are much better off if you market what your computer consulting business can do for your client! Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consulting Blog. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Boost trade show traffic outside exhibit hall

To be competitive today, trade show exhibitors not only need to grab attention to their trade show displays inside the exhibit hall but also beyond the exhibit floor. More and more, creative trade show exhibitors attract crowds to their trade show booth by using nearby venues as a springboard. Attracting attention at neighboring hotels where the trade show visitors are staying or public places where attendees frequent, is a good start. This goes for neighboring restaurants, bus routes, cabs and local night clubs as well. Increasingly, instead of letting a custom or trade show diplay rental at the expo stand on its own, savvy marketers are adding value by identifying key places outside the trade show to tee up traffic to the trade show display arena. Event Marketer Magazine spotted three brands that successfully made the tie-in connection to their trade show booth from sites outside the exposition hall. The first was in Chicago. GE Healthcare launched their campaign, Healthcare Reimagined at the Radiological Society of North America trade show in Chicago in 2005. They were on the lookout for popular locations outside the trade show hall to enhance awareness of their trade show display presence. According to Sean Burke of GE Healthcare’s Diagnostic Imaging and Services, “We were looking for something different that would create word of mouth and buzz.” The trade show had over 60,000 attendees staying in Chicago. GE came up with the concept of all-white-clad “molecule people” that roamed Chicago sites before and after show hours, in nearby hotels and on the RSNA bus routes, as well as at neighboring restaurants and night clubs. Wearing branding for GE Healthcare, the all white molecule actors batted around giant inflatable molecule structures and used bubble machines to complete the look and feel of what they wanted to portray. They were able to visually and kinetically capture the health care aspect of GE Diagnostic Imaging. This played directly to the imagery created at their trade show exhibit. The second was at a consumer oriented show in Washington DC. A month before the Auto Show, Chevrolet started its awareness campaign at sites around the capital city. They set up mini tailgating parties out of the backs of Chevy Silverado Hybrids at construction sites, George Washington University, Home Depot stores and commuter rail stations. Consumers got to drink coffee and play Xbox 360 games. Chevy representatives gave out cards to visitors they could redeem at the trade show for a chance to win a Silverado Hybrid. Chevy wanted to drive traffic to the trade show display. It worked. The results were measurable and dramatic. Because the scan cards were handed out at dealers and at the tailgate parties, over 20,000 consumers visited the trade show booth or were able to scan their cards with Chevy reps in the convention main lobby. The scan cards brought in 1,900 dealer leads. The third one was in Las Vegas. That city is a natural for all types of trade show display marketers every hour of the day. At the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas in 2005, Yahoo! wanted to draw attention to a custom auto web site among car enthusiasts. So they decided to customize two Mitsubishis inside their trade show display booth. To complete their exposure they went outside to showcase their cars on the Las Vegas Strip. Yahoo! hit it big. Knowing that Las Vegas is always wide awake 24/7, they were able to shut down traffic on the Las Vegas Strip at 3 a. m. Even at that time, throngs of people watched their two custom Mitsubishis race down the strip. “We didn’t want to just do a booth and pass things out,” says Bennett Porter Yahoo!’s senior director-buzz marketing. Emulating Frank Sinatra, he continues, “We wanted to do it our way.” The above are just a few of the examples of how you can use outlying venues to tie into your trade show display. So let’s say your firm is in the electronics field and you want exposure for your upcoming trade show appearance in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the high tech industry so heavily concentrated in Silicon Valley, California, many of the high tech leaders live there. There’s Yahoo’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Apple Computer Inc. based in Cupertino, eBay based in San Jose, and Google headquartered in Mountain View, to name a few. You can focus on Silicon Valley executives and market to them within close access to Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, and the Santa Clara and San Jose Conference Centers. The hotels, restaurants, athletic clubs and other popular sites make them targets for high tech trade show tie in messages once the high tech trade show comes to town. It’s smart to think outside the trade show exhibit hall box to compound your trade show exhibit investment.

Tag line calisthenics

A terrific tag line sets you apart from other businesses and provides a memorable and appealing reason to choose your firm over other options. The tag line should trail your company name like a shadow everywhere - in ads, on your web site, on business cards and in on-hold telephone messages, to name a few places. Before assessing your own tag line, warm up by looking at a category of Yellow Pages ads or flip through your local business paper. First, you'll undoubtedly notice an epidemic of companies whose tag lines are missing in action. Rate those you do see from the viewpoint of a potential customer. Here's my ten-spot workout from looking at ads in BusinessWest, the twice-monthly paper covering Western Massachusetts business. 1. 5 points - honest. expert. driven This ad featured a picture of a vintage Cadillac, compounding my confusion about what kind of business this is. 5 points does not do car repair, however. It creates custom web-based applications. So thumbs down; the business name and tag line together should make it crystal clear what the company does. 2. Charter Business - The Way Business Works Not as misleading as #1, yet the tag line is just too vague to help the reader understand what line of business this firm is in, much less why one should select them over competitors. 3. Spa on the Green - Organic Skin Care & Body Treatments Nicely specific. I know what they do and how they differ from other spas. If they're not the only spa in the area featuring organic products, though, this tag line isn't distinct enough. 4. Richard A. McCullough, Inc. - Building Homes of Distinction Since 1953 We know this is a high-end residential builder with more than 50 years of experience. The tag line could have a little pizzazz to be more appealing, but it gets a passing grade. 5. Southbridge Savings Bank - Preserving the past, building for the future. Since 1848. Although there's a nice ring to this one, from the customer's point of view it's not clear why we should care about the architectural consciousness alluded to in the tag line. Preserving whose past? Its own? Downtown Southbridge's? Not quite on target. 6. PeoplesBank - Great relationships start here. Oh, so if I'm looking for romance, I should get a job at PeoplesBank? Do they have a matchmaking service? This tag line too doesn't narrow in enough on the types of images evoked. 7. Wolf & Company, P. C., Certified Public Accountants and Business Consultants - Insight and Integrity What a sad commentary on today's business environment, when a CPA firm feels the need to say that it has integrity. Even so, honesty and integrity are qualities that no company can ever credibly claim about itself. Only third parties can attest to an individual's or company's moral virtues. In addition, when you bring up integrity as an issue, you get customers thinking about complications you don't want them to be pondering while considering hiring you. 8. Mercy Medical Center - Our mission is to heal. Our passion is to care. Rah-rah! Mission statements should be used to rally your own troops, not to motivate customers. The people you serve don't care about your aspirations, only about the benefits you actually deliver. So for the target market, this tag line evokes skepticism. 9. Springfield Day Nursery - Early Care and Education at its Best... Since 1883 This tag line was so startling that I looked very closely to see if I had read the date correctly. I rate this tag line highly because as a whole, it sparks curiosity. As a potential day care parent, I'd want to know more about this place and how it's survived and updated its care for kids over such a long period of time. 10. Westbank - On your corner. In your corner. Finally, a winner. This tag line is crisp, snazzy and persuasive. It gives me a memorable rationale for choosing this bank over competitors. Now that I'm all warmed up from assessing tag lines, it's your turn!

Marketing without selling

I remember back in the mid 90s when I was "in between" jobs, in debt and broke. My "in between" job status at that time for a period of about one year was a car salesman. Now, I know what your thinking. Why? My answer.....hmmmmmmmm. Anyhow, it happened and as it turned out, it became quite a learning experience. What I experienced as a car salesman in my very brief career by choice, was rather disturbing. This is by no means an article on selling cars. This is what salesmanship is and is not. So I was in the car business, and was virtually taught the wrong way to be a salesman or salesperson. When it comes to shopping for a car, overall it becomes somewhat a rather unpleasant experience for all parties involved. Here is a typical day in the car business: You wake up in the morning to put on the shirt and tie for the day in the middle of July in Florida. Its about one hundred degrees with humidity. You get in the car and drive to work asking yourself, why......why..... because you know there is going to be an unpleasant experience waiting somewhere around the corner. You arrive at work and find yourself getting ready for the morning "meeting abuse" which always ends up that we are terrible salesman and we need to sell cars! Really? We need to sell cars? Ok. So, after the meeting we all leave the room with bruises and bumps and we are ready to practice the art of being a salesman. For those of you who do not know, when a person arrives on the lot to car shop, he is referred to as an "up" in the car business. Usually, all of the salespeople are lined up outside like vultures waiting for an "up" so we can swoop in and turn on the really lame salesman charm. Now, at this point, you meet the customer. "Hi, my name is Dave" (smile). Then, the customer replies, "Were just looking". Of course they are just looking. Not by the time I get through with you. By the time we get through with you, you might be running out the door and never look back. So, Im following the "We are just looking" people around the lot because if I don't, I will get yelled at by the powers that be. The potential customers that I am with do not want me near them at all at this point. And with good reason. Car shopping and or buying is the equivalent of going to the dentist. It can be a painful experience. Now I am asking the nice folks on the lot all types of questions, trying to create trust and learning something about them that will help me sell to them. This is an ok method for the car business, because this is the way it has been taught. Now the problem from the "get go", is that most customers back then were the old school. To them, car buying was rolling up your sleeves and get ready to do battle. That's really not the way I want to make a living, but that's what it was. So, what do you really have from this? You have uninformed people at all angles. First of all, customers come onto the lot thinking their "trade-in" is worth a fortune. And to there surprise, it's not. They did not do their own research on their "trade-in". Second, they don't know what they want. They want to spend no money on a car they can not afford to begin with. Again, they did not do their research. Now, another problem. As a salesman, if you are going to make it in the business of selling anything, you have to rise above everyone else and figure out a strategy that is going to attract people to you automatically without being annoying and pushy from the start. I noticed that most of the salesman on the lot were not doing anything but waiting for something to happen, and unfortunately I was one of them. Because I didn't know either. Now, when I could not close someone, here comes the sales manager thinking he's the be all to end all and that the "hammer them" into the car technique is going to work. You see the philosophy behind most selling in the car business, as an example, is if they leave here without buying from us, they will never buy from us. Well, maybe your right. But let's not forget. In the world of sales, let the salespeople do their job by giving there potential customers all of the information they need to make a well informed decision. And if they don't buy today, let them remember you and your salesmanship and whatever great strategy you came up with for them to make the buying process easier. Believe me, after they have been everywhere else, they will remember you. The "in your face" approach does not work anymore. (c)Copyright 2006.All Rights Reserved

Avoiding marketing money pits

Is your business bombarded by sales and other marketing professionals telling you that the products or services they are offering are in the best interest of effective and cost reducing methods to market your organization? Finding your way through the maze of offers, opportunities and avoiding potential money pits highlights the importance for all businesses regardless of size to have a strategic marketing plan that is implemented and followed. It is a tough market place for any small business and information is the key to making wise marketing decisions and for the survival of any business or organization. The relevance of a strategic marketing plan can not be under stated. It is unfortunate but all to common that people under the disguise of professionals in marketing and sales will boast their products and services as the most effective and cost reducing methods to market your business. Additionally, by writing articles or giving lectures for example, they attempt to give their claims a form of legitimacy. Beware of people making extraordinary claims, a true professional wants to sell you their product or service but also retains the integrity to learn your business and knows when the product or service is not a good fit. The benefit for this type of sales or marketing professional is your loyalty and trust in future business transactions. A strategic marketing plan helps a business to avoid potential money pits that waste valuable marketing dollars in expenditures that may appear to cost less but have minimal or no measurable results. Simply because something may cost less and other businesses are participating does not make it a solid marketing decision for your organization and certainly does not guarantee successful results. Regardless of the ticket price if it does not produce measurable results and drive business to your establishment it is a money pit. There are many good examples on the internet of people under the disguise of professionals boasting their products or services as sound marketing advice. One of these claims is that a business could inexpensively build brand recognition through the purchase of low cost promotional items with the organizations name or logo embossed on them; items such as pens, tablets, calendars, magnets, and much more. The problem is that this technique offers minimal to no measurable success in brand building, but more importantly does nothing to draw new customers into the business. In terms of simple math, if an advertising business were to spend the same money that would be spent on embossed promotional items in traditional media channels such as print, radio, or television for example with an expected 2% rate of return and a minimal exposure of 12,000 individuals gives the advertising business the opportunity for 240 customers for that expenditure. If only 30% of the 2% actually make a purchase that provides the business with 72 new transactions. A business can multiply its average transaction price by 72 to see the real potential income from this one marketing expenditure. Another benefit is brand awareness that would be gained through the advertisement and the opportunity to build customers for life. Furthermore, to entice repeat business and brand loyalty the organization can offer its customers coupons. This method promotes customer appreciation and can be a low cost marketing method. Moreover, with any marketing expenditure a business should always perform a cost benefit analysis in correlation with its strategic marketing plan. Simply, if it does not offer measurable results, drive new business, and build brand awareness it is a money pit.

Vintage posters as valuable investments

Advertising posters have first become popular in the 1800s. The method of printing known as stone lithography was first developed for posters in this period. This printing method was an exciting form of art that brought out colors for people to see. Today, posters are available in all forms and sizes and are used for many different reasons. At present, vintage posters are adorning the walls where fine arts used to hang. These posters, who have its roots in the later part of the 19th century, have been one of the most effective forms of vintage graphic design. They have been used in a wide range of fields from fashion and entertainment to advertising. Some people buy posters with a specific color scheme or subject matter but others look for the works of a particular artist. The price of a particular vintage poster will most likely depend on its condition, artist, and the image itself. Nonetheless, the size of the poster does not always determine the value of the poster; hence, the better the condition of the poster the higher its price. People usually buy vintage posters for a number of reasons. Some buy them to use as decorations in their living rooms and others, especially business owners, buy them to display in their lobby or in conference rooms and showrooms. This way they can create an atmosphere pleasing to their customers and employees. Restaurants and hotels also use them to improve the atmosphere in their businesses. There are several online stores today that sell original vintage posters. By original it is meant that if a poster reads 1920 it must have been printed in 1920. For a buyer, it is difficult though to determine whether the posters are really authentic original posters. The only thing you can do to be certain that you are indeed getting original prints is to buy from reputable and knowledgeable dealers. As the first modern advertising medium, posters that have survived the years have proven to be striking decorations or advertising tool that is aimed at delivering a punch to passers-by. Be wary though for forgeries. Remember that as opposed to lithographic prints, forgeries can be revealed through careful inspection. Thus, is you seek authentic original vintage posters always deal with vendors that you are familiar with. Keep in mind that vintage posters could be a wise investment and good collector’s items, so make the right choices and deal with the right people.

How to market effectively even if no one understands what you do

So how do you effectively market your product or service when one knows anything about them because you're in a new and emerging industry? How can you expect to get customers if no one understands what it is that you do? If this is your situation then a big part of your marketing strategy will need to be educating consumers about what you do. If yours is a field that is relatively new, or perhaps misunderstood, adopting an education strategy can help consumers understand the benefits you provide and feel more comfortable with the idea of purchasing your products or services. Educational marketing is best done through vehicles where you have space or time to fully explain your product or service and the benefits it provides. Or perhaps even to debunk some common misconceptions. Publishing a newsletter or Ezine, or writing a regular newspaper or magazine column are great ways to educate and generate positive awareness. Make sure your web site content clearly explains what you do. Provide free Special Reports so prospects can learn more. Conduct free seminars or teleseminars, or provide consultations so prospects can meet you and hear more about how your product or service can help them. Your marketing goal should be to get as much educational information out to your prospects as possible. Once they begin to understand what you do, they will be more open to your product or service. They'll also appreciate all the information you've provided. And, you will have earned their trust. People tend to do business with those they know and trust, or those who help them. So odds are if they are in the market for a product or service in your category you'll be the one to get their business. (C) 2005 Debbie LaChusa

Add internet marketing to your marketing mix

The importance of internet marketing is continuing to expand. Surveys of all kinds show a major shift in traditional marketing budgets to dollars being spent online to market all types of products and services. Internet Marketing Defined. Internet marketing is the use of the Internet to advertise and sell products and services. Within the definition of Internet Marketing you will find mention of pay per click advertising, banner ads, e-mail marketing, search engine marketing (including search engine optimization), blog marketing, and article marketing. Each of these subject areas is important to consider prior to planning your internet marketing strategy. Internet Marketing Provides Many Benefits. There are many advantages to having a fully executable internet marketing strategy. These benefits include measurability, flexibility, and affordability. Many online marketing tactics provide marketing professionals with the ability to customer acquisition costs. Moreover, marketing professionals are better able to track what marketing campaigns are working and quickly allocate their spending towards higher producing media placements. Internet Marketing Tactics. As the Internet has expanded, so have the opportunities for marketing online. Here we will take a brief look at each type of Internet marketing and explain the benefits of each. 1. Pay-per-click Advertising. Sites like Google offer pay-per-click advertising for anyone interested in getting their message in front of the right segment or prospective buyer. This method is highly targeted and offers one of the best and most popular forms of internet marketing. Marketers using pay-per-click advertising only pay a fee, based on the competitiveness of a keyword or ad title, when a link is clicked on. 2. Banner Ads. Once the king of Internet marketing, online banner ads have evolved to include animated and flash banners, but the premise remains largely the same. Marketers purchase a specified number of impressions to run on a single site or network of sites and are generally not guaranteed a specific number of clicks. 3. Email Marketing. Effective among current clients and prospects who have requested information form your company, email marketing is a well established means to communicate and marketing your products. However, be aware of CAN-SPAM requirements and contact preferences of those you plan to reach. 4. Search Engine Marketing. If you want web browsers to visit your site, than focusing on search engine optimization and search engine marketing is a must. No Internet marketing plan is complete without ensuring that your site is submitted and included on major directories like Google, Yahoo!, and DMOZ. The dollars spent on Search Engine Marketing of any type will pay huge dividends. 5. Blog Marketing. Getting mention of your site or information related to your products can quickly scale if you are able to effectively tap into the countless blogs that are being created everyday. It is essential that you focus your efforts on blogs covering topics relevant to your product or service offering. 6. Article Marketing. One of the most important aspects of Internet Marketing, is to improve the link popularity to your site and improve the awareness of your product or service offering. To do so, many companies are focusing on publishing valuable content and making available for other to post to their website’s. Regardless of the Internet marketing tactics you choose, be sure to consider an integrated marketing strategy. Be sure that your internet marketing has a specific goal and is supported with a definitive plan and budget. Lastly, be sure to pick up a book, conduct some research, or work with professionals to enhance your Internet marketing know-how.