Unleash the Power of the Internet...And Use It as a True Sales ToolPart I: Business and Market Analysis

You have a web site, and have decided to use the internet as a sales tool. But with as many online marketing portals as are available to use, where do you start? This is a good question, and actually one we faced ourselves, as the global internet can be a bit overwhelming. You want to jump in two feet first, but only want to spend time and money on things that will benefit your business, not distract from it, or waste your time and finances.

Where to start actually depends on your business. Many internet strategy companies have various "plans" that you can choose from where they will do such and such to your site. However, that "such and such" may not be applicable to your business, and bring you no return. For example, your main audience may not necessarily have the time or use Facebook for business purposes. Instead, they may be turning to different network and resource web sites for their professional answers. Why would you want to spend a significant amount of time marketing on Facebook, when your audience may not find you? It would thus be smarter to look into banner advertising opportunities on those resource web sites.

So first things first. You need to know what your audience is doing online, and what interactive methods are going to be most effective in reaching them. Do they respond to email? Are you in an industry where word of mouth/viral marketing could greatly benefit? Would people search YouTube or other video sites for information about your industry, service or product? How does your audience use the internet for business or personal purposes? Do they shop, research, interact, view, blog, read, play?

How competitive is your industry online? If you are in a business such as investment or real estate, the competition for Pay Per Click advertising can be as high as $50 a click!! That's an extremely high investment, considering you may spend thousands of dollars a month to only bring in 2 or 3 leads. Will those 2 or 3 leads bring back the money you invested to get them? Are there more cost effective means to finding the right traffic for your service or product?

This being said, you really need to think about what the most effective interactive plan would be for your business. If you are overwhelmed with the abundance of online marketing that is out there, consult an expert in the field - one that will look at your business and your market, and develop a plan custom tailored to your business. Not your business and 80 others.

Homework: Think about your audience and how they use the internet. How would they react to email, blogging, social media, video and podcast posts, resource articles, or pay per click advertising? Are there directories, or lead sites that users are finding their service or product providers? Is the internet saturated with your competition? And if so, where are those competitors spending the most amount of time and money to grab your audience? Are there other venues that your competitors are not using, but still reach your audience?

If you don't have the time to do this, or would rather have an expert develop your plan to make sure it is right from the start, consult an internet strategy company such as Boschel Interactive. We'll help you develop the right plan, analyze your online presence and business goals, and research for the right keywords to optimize your site effectively for search engines. This will help you get started in unleashing the power of the internet, and using it as a true sales tool.

How "Working" and "Mom" are Difficult to Combine

With the winter storms these past few days in the East, I've been stuck at home with my computer and an extremely slow internet, trying to get some work done. My husband has been home, as well, but has taken these last two days to do some more remodeling work in our lower level. Needless to say, my 18 month old son, Mason, has been upstairs with me.

For the most part, Mason is very good. He will occasionally come over to me wanting to sit on my lap and press the space bar, but I really can't complain. However, the fact that he doesn't need my constant attention doesn't mean he just sits on the floor and plays with his toys. Quite the contrary - he's curious. He wants to see, touch, and most often taste anything and everything. That being said, I typically get up every 10 minutes to see where he's at and what he's doing; immediately if I hear a door slam or a minor crash.

Just recently, I took a walk through our upper level to discover:
• Spices scattered over the kitchen floor (luckily they are plastic)
• Clothes out of the clothes hamper and all over our bedroom floor
• Toilet paper rung off the roll
• Paper plates and plastic forks all through the dining room
• A plastic tablecloth on the living room floor (surrounded by countless puzzle pieces, wooden blocks, balls, books, and "little" people).

And...here's the icing on the cake: Dogfood thrown all over the living floor, mixed in with the plastic tablecloth and little people.

All within a 10-15 minute time period.

I just stood there staring at the living room floor. After my initial shock factor, I really could do nothing but laugh. And think that the phrase "Working Mom" does NOT apply to the woman who is trying to work at the same time she is being a mom. It is extremely difficult to do both simultaneously - at least with an 18 month old.

It also made me think that I may just not be meant to be productive today. With my slow internet that is being slower than usual, a very curious son, and my maternal instincts not allowing my entreprenuer instincts to win, I think I'm just going to shut it down, take Mace outside, and enjoy a walk.

And then this evening, after he goes to bed, I will try to put this house back together!