Almost all of the articles on Internet marketing lack coverage on all the basics and all the avenues of Internet marketing because there is just too much information to cover in a few words. Here I am going for an attempt which will be an overview, not an in depth affair.
The most basic step in researching your market is to first have a “target.” There should be a clear picture in your mind about the target audience and you should treat them as your potential customers. This means you know who you’re aiming for (their likes, dislikes, general age group, income, business type, etc.) and have a general idea how to “hit” them. Sample target markets would include:
This includes the segregation based on
* Age group
* Qualification
* Per capita income
* Spending capacity
* Geographical location
* Business class
* Technocrats
Once you know who your target is – the more information the better – you’re ready to get into the nitty-gritty of market research. There are five basic ideas in market research: “Primary,” “Secondary,” “Combined” (all types of research) and “Qualitative” and “Quantitative” (ways of gathering the information). A quick definition of each:
Primary research is research conducted by the primary user of the information. Secondary research is gathered elsewhere and used by you (purchased, leased, etc.). Most small businesses conduct both of these types of market research – customer surveys for primary information and by researching free or paying fees for secondary information. This is called “Combined” research.
Qualitative research is usually exploratory and has a direction or goal. It generally aims at specific issues in the subject matter and gives you a better idea in which direction you should proceed. This type of research is “loose” and is geared more towards finding a market or narrowing your market than it is towards getting specific information on that market and where your product fits within it.
Quantitative is much more rigid than qualitative marketing. This research gets much more accurate statistical results and information and is best used when your target market is already narrowed and you wish to find ways to reach or explore that market as well as find specific information on your product as it relates to that market.
Conducting your own market research is time-consuming, but is very well worth it if you have a need for information or if you are spending any considerable amount of money on your marketing for specific products or services.
Search Engine Marketing
This has, for a long time now, been a “hot phrase” in online marketing circles. I’m not sure why, since while it is generally an important part of a presence online, it is not the end-all-be-all of marketing on the Internet . Search engines have become one of the most expensive forms of advertising on the Web, but have also become one of the most effective. Great search engine marketing (read: placement, strategy, etc.) is done by professionals and takes a lot of time to do correctly. There are two types of search engines to market towards: search engines/directories and pay-per-click (PPC) engines.
Email Marketing
Marketing online using email is a touchy affair and can easily lead to many problems. Despite this, it is by far the most effective form of advertising online – bar none. An email advertisement to a targeted and strong list of people can generate responses of close to 1/3 (1 response for every 3 targets). That’s phenomenal in ANY form of advertising.
There are three types of email marketing: SPAM/UCE, opt-in, and newsletter marketing.
SPAM/UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) is something that everyone, whether savvy online or not, has heard of. The word SPAM has risen from “questionable meat in a can” to “plague of the Internet” in the past three or four years. Despite its bad name – and any personal feelings I may have about it – SPAM is a very effective form of email advertising. If it weren’t, it wouldn’t exist.
Opt-In email advertising is extremely effective and carries very little of the weight of SPAM marketing. The idea is pretty basic: you create a list of email addresses and send marketing messages to them occasionally. The hard part is getting those names to start with. Usually other forms of advertising get your website going and this type propels it forward.
Newsletter marketing is similar to opt-in marketing, but includes useful information such as articles or insights. In fact, you’re probably reading this article through a newsletter that is being used to market a business of some type or another . Newsletters can be time-consuming, but are well worth the effort. Some newsletter publishers supplement their income by running advertisements in their publications (see “newsletter marketing” above).
If done right, a proper newsletter or opt-in list can greatly increase your success online. If you feel you don’t have the time or skill to publish your own newsletter, there are those who will do it for you.
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