Internet Sales: A Change of Paradigm

by Paulina Romero H Paulina Romero H | Jan 30, 2019 11:16:00 AM

 

internet marketing and sales


We live in times of change. Those of us who have been here for more than thirty years, had an internet-free previous life in which, if we wanted to buy something, we had to go to the store, take a look at the available products and close the deal with a salesperson/cashier. Publicity was limited to showering clients with ads to the point of exhaustion, using mass media such as television and radio, or with billboards. Companies couldn't know for sure how many customers arrived thanks to this kind of advertising, but it was still done that way, because it was the only way to do it.

But Internet arrived and rules changed. And while the younger generations, those who have used this network ever since they can remember, have no problem understanding this new communication mean and the huge marketing and sales opportunities that it offers, the generations that lived before the Internet came, somehow still struggle with this paradigm change. The latter are convinced that if they advertise in the "old fashioned" way, they have a great marketing strategy that will work. But that might not be true.

Let's see, it isn't that relying on TV or radio to advertise a product or service is totally useless, of course not, BUT we do have new means of communication that have brought us new ways of relating to our customers and that we just shouldn't ignore. Let's put it this way: people these days are increasingly looking for more and more information on the internet, that's a fact! Wouldn't it be wise to take advantage of this attention that customers already have and show by searching for a product or a service on-line? The answer is a no-brainer...

reasons to run a digital marketing campaign

What's changed?

1) Classic communication media, doesn't allow you to hold a conversation with a client. It's limited to repeating your offer again and again, to the point of exhaustion (literally). Internet-based communication media offer the great opportunity to engage in conversations with your customers, to answer their questions from the very moment they visit our website for the first time, until you close the deal. It allows you to provide relevant information to them, as part of a successful marketing strategy.

2) Both the way in which a client is seen, as well as the way a client sees us, has also changed. Before, winning the sale was the salesperson's goal, regardless of whether the sale ultimately favored the customer or not. And of course, the client was always a little suspicious, because nobody likes to "fall for it" and get something sold to us that we don't need. We'd rather buy what we really need or want. Under this new paradigm, it is the client who looks for information on your wen-page and your job (marketing and sales working together under the same strategy) is to give them the information that they need so that they can finally, in an informed manner, decide on your product or service . This radically changes the way in which you'll relate to your client: it's now a relationship based on trust that will also help (as a side effect) turning your clients into great promoters of your brand, since they might recommend your brand to their family and friends, based on the good service -of trust- that you you've given them.

3) It was very expensive to measure the impact that each campaign had with the pre-internet media. Getting these numbers was almost as expensive as the campaign itself! You had to hire people to run surveys and data analysis, which translated into a huge investment of time and resources, just to know if the campaign worked... Now, with internet-based campaigns, you can measure the impact that campaigns have with the help of softwares, in real time! Therefore, you can evaluate the success (or failure) of your campaign while it's still going on. This information allows you to:

  • Rethink the campaign itself, when there's still time to change what doesn't work
  • Continue to support those strategies that are proving to work
By doing this, you'll be investing the resources of your company in a more rational, goal-oriented way.

Should you go for this change?

It is up to you. If you are looking for a way to:

  1. Better manage the relationship you have with your clients
  2. Get your sales and marketing teams to work together in a more organized way
  3. Take advantage of the attention that customers already give to this new communication media
  4. Measure the real impact that your marketing campaigns have
  5. Increase your company's ROI
digital marketing agency

Then yes, it is time to update your campaigns and go for an Inbound Marketing strategy. Contact us and we'll be happy to give all the information you need. DataBranding is an expert agency in Inbound Marketing and offers many services, from consultancy, to working together and accompanying you throughout your whole strategy.

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