When you are ready to take your business on-line, the same marketing principles apply to internet marketing. It is the distribution channels that are different. In this article, I will discuss using the traditional off-line marketing mix, the 4Ps, in internet marketing.
Product. The internet marketer should find his ideal product or service to promote. The products or services should not only convert well, it should be something the online marketer is enthusiastic about. If you enjoy what you do, you will go the distance. You want to see your product or service fulfill a great need your customers have. The product or service that you sell depends on your target market or niche.
Price. As entrepreneurs and businesses become increasingly aware of the effectiveness of internet marketing, competition will increase in many market niches. In terms of pricing, you can either undercut your competition, or you can develop your unique selling proposition and sell at a premium price. Obviously the second option is preferred, because of the profits the internet marketer will make. Having a unique selling proposition is a substantial competitive advantage.
Place. In internet marketing, the place in which you sell your products or services is a website. Your website is your distribution channel. In your off-line business, getting your retail store noticed is one of your main focus. The same holds true for your website, you need to be able to communicate with your target market effectively. One way to do this is start an Affiliate marketing program, or set up an affiliate program in ClickBank.com which is an online retailer for digital products. When you do this successfully, you can have hundreds of websites promoting your products for you.
Promotion. Promotion is the activity of getting your products or services noticed. You can use pay per click advertisement or by utilizing search engine optimization. You can also put your links on other people’s website to promote your product. Your advertisement or links can be in text of in banner form. Your offer is made through your sales page, you add incentives and bonuses to entice your visitors to buy from you. To capture your visitors’ contact information, you use an auto-responder. This will enable you to communicate to your prospects for future product promotions. You can also conduct joint venture promotions with other marketers or business to explode your sales.
As you can see, online marketing uses the same marketing mix as you would in your off-line business. Internet marketing does not have to be complicated, you can make it as simple as it suits your business.