Marketing - Studying Online Consumer Habits

Internet Marketing Tools – How to Reach Your Customers

Once you know who you want to attract you can begin exploring some of the various tools available to Internet marketers to keep their customers interested:

• Build a Website: If you are going to tap into the Internet, your best bet is still to have a website (versus simply just having a blog). Websites offer features that are hard to duplicate in blogs.

• Start a Blog: Easier to update than a website, blogs are fast becoming an effective way to reach customers and start a business. Even if you use a website as the main thrust of your business, consider having a blog, too. One of the benefits of a blog is that it offers an easy way to let site visitors respond to posts and share comments, ask questions, and even self-promote; all of which increases the chance visitors will return to your site.

• Host Forums and Users Groups: Those who spend the most money on the Internet are generally those who spend the most time on the Internet. Offer forums, message boards, and user groups to keep your visitors on your site longer and coming back later to check any posted replies. Free social networks can be a great way to develop positive public relations.

• Write an Online Newsletter: A quarterly newsletter is better than no newletter. This is especially true if you are a nonprofit organization or your products and services are dynamic, or you wish to let customers know about special promotions and new products.

• Publish Press Releases: Even if you cannot afford to pay a press release service (shy away from cheesy free PR services) you can still have a feature on your site to post press releases. Writers and researchers often search website press releases to see if there is a story worth telling.

• Conduct Polls, Studies, Customer Surveys, and Questionnaires: Most people love a chance to give an opinion on anything – even something they know nothing about. Polls can be fun and clever, and surveys and questionnaires are a free way to conduct market research on how your customers perceive you, and what new products or marketing strategies might help your business grow faster.

• Online Banking, E-Commerce, Merchant Accounts: To maximize your business’ success you have to be able to take payments over the Internet. Even if you cannot afford a merchant account, or do not have the time or money to create a full-blown E-Store, you can still take payments with services like PayPal and Google Checkout.