There's a lot of really goofy information out on the internet about how bricks and mortar businesses, those businesses that are sometimes referred to as a Mom-And-Pop business should market themselves on the internet. An entire industry has grown up around the idea of, "Offline Internet Marketing." This is the idea that businesses that don't sell primarily on the internet should have a presence (website, blog, Twitter, Facebook and on and on) and do some marketing on the internet.
Goofy information on the internet? "No Way!" Uh,
Way.
There's a lot of really goofy information out on the internet about how bricks and mortar businesses, those businesses that are sometimes referred to as a Mom-And-Pop business should market themselves on the internet. An entire industry has grown up around the idea of, "Offline Internet Marketing." This is the idea that businesses that don't sell primarily on the internet should have a presence (website, blog, Twitter, Facebook and on and on) and do some marketing on the internet.
This is a great idea for one important and critical reason, 94% of people look for and research a business to buy from on the internet. So your presence on the internet could influence someone to come into your shop and buy from your business. Before you hire an Internet Marketing Specialist please read this article about the Egregious Errors that many of these specialists commit.
Egregious Error # 1: The primary job of an Internet Marketing Specialist is to drive traffic to a website and then improve conversion rates, (meaning converting the people that visit your website into buyers.)
Correction #1: The primary job of in Internet Marketing Specialist is to find out what your goals are. You may want a campaign that will enhance your image, OR make you the top of mind choice in your area OR get you more customers. None of these things may have anything whatsoever to do with driving traffic to your website or "conversion rates." Or any other mumbo-jumbo they spout.
Egregious Error # 2: Internet Marketing Specialists should write copy that closes sales.
Correction # 2: The best Internet Marketing Specialists in the world might not be able to write one word of copy that will close a sale. The best specialist will have a list of the greatest copywriters on the internet and be able to call one of these people to write you outstanding copy that will accomplish your goals. Again we go back to, "What is it that you, as the business owner want to accomplish?" You want more sales, I've got just a guy that can write your copy and accomplish that.
Egregious Error # 3: Enormous amounts of traffic must result in sales and revenue.
Correction # 3: Your object as a business owner, doing marketing on the internet, might be to gather the names and e-mail addresses of several thousand people and then develop a relationship with them. This very well could be the most "long-term" beneficial and greatest revenue producing strategy for your business. This has been proven time and time again to be a most excellent business building strategy.
Bonus Egregious Error: "With desire, drive, time and perseverance, just about anyone can become an internet marketing specialist." This is about the most stupid thing that's ever been written on the internet, and there are a lot of stupid things that have been written on the internet. Here's how stupid it is, "With desire, drive, time and perseverance just about anyone can become an... insert anything in the world here... example, 'brain surgeon,' 'pilot of a 747,' 'greatest heart surgeon in the world.' You can see just how really stupid that sentences is.
Do you really want to be a marketing specialist? (Please believe me, your Mother does not want you to be this.) Don't you really just want to be successful at your business? A dear and wonderful friend of mine says, "I don't want to know anything about marketing, I'm an Orthodontist. I just want to straighten kids teeth and make them feel wonderful."
Business Owners are Smart.
As a business owner you are one of the brightest, smartest and most astute persons on the face of this planet, truth. Please don't get suckered in by somebody giving you a list of, "15 Skills and Talents You Need to Be in Internet Marketing Specialist." What would your mother say if you suddenly told her, "Mom, I'm in internet marketing specialist." She would scream in horror and ask you, "What happened to your dream of being a wonderful business owner."
Whatever kind of business you run you can be almost 100% positive that an Internet Marketing Specialist is not going to have your skills, talents, and experiences and in no way could that specialist run your business and be successful.
But, and this is absolutely HUGE, unless you were an one of these specialists in a former life this person is going to be able to give you the most valuable marketing plans, tactics, strategies, plans, marketing tips, marketing hints, marketing help and marketing information you could possibly want, and again this is HUGE, to accomplish YOUR goals. The information they give you should help you get more customers, OR improve the image of your business, OR accomplish whatever goal on the internet OP off the internet that will benefit your business.
WHEN you choose the best specialist for your business, choose the one who asks, "What are YOUR goals?" If they don't ask you that question tell them, "Thank you but we're not interested."
The objective here is not to be an internet marketing specialist, the objective here is to accomplish the goals that are going to help your business be the most successful possible. Your business, your marketing goals, Your wildly successful business.
