Marketing - A Whole New Ballgame

When deciding upon how to approach writing an article on marketing, I gave serious thought to a couple different methods. I then decided I would use myself as an example. I wanted to show how this field has changed throughout the years. I feel it beneficial to review past advertising methods, comparing them to current methods. Very important, as well, is the cost factor. I am in my sixties, a former business owner. I owned a retail shop which sold various types of apparel. Along with the clothing, I offered several hundred transfers which could be applied to the garments. My business was in Garden Grove, Orange County. In Southern California. It was in a new strip shopping center, a great location. However, it was somewhat expensive as well. it was, of course, critical I create as much traffic as possible, overhead in the area being what is was. As all business owners know, the only way this can be done is through marketing.

Being on a budget, just as any other business, I had limited funds to market my business. My options were few. Because I was in one of the largest media markets, television and radio time was very expensive. Even ad space in newspapers ads caused a significant impact on what I could spend on advertising. At one time I had flyers printed, paying individuals to spread them throughout the area. I still have nightmares about them tossing the flyers into dumpsters and enjoying a few Margaritas with my money. In any event, I can't help but think of the options I could have enjoyed had there been an internet and I had invested in a website.

Internet marketing has changed business dramatically. Although many companies still make use of television and the printed media, much of an advertising budget is now ear-marked for the internet. There are still Marketing firms, but each of them have staff devoted to designing a plan for an Internet advertising campaigns. Where demographics once played a large part in the process of targeting future customers, the advertisers of today look at the various websites which will probably be visited by those who might be interested in purchasing a specific product or service. Once this is determined, ads are placed on these sites at a fraction of the cost experienced in conventional advertising.

Online marketing makes very effective use of what is termed as Social Networking sites. These sites are among the most frequently visited on the internet. In fact, Facebook has more hits per day than any other site on the web. Many major corporation, as well as smaller businesses, have pages on these sites which increases their visibility significantly. Ads place upon these sites are seen by more people, world-wide, than could ever occur through conventional advertising methods. Again, the cost of these ads are minimal. It is interesting to note, the most effective manner of advertising is also the least expensive. I just have to wonder what my business could have done online.


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Casey Trillbar is the editor of makeawebsiteguide.com, which is a website aimed at supplying a step by step guide on how to make a website. http://www.makeawebsiteguide.com