The business practices of the new millennium differ greatly from the ones established before. This is even more apparent when we look at the marketing.
The marketing of today is not a one-way relationship. It requires almost an equal amount of B2C communication as of C2B communication. Building a trusting relationship with your clients is much easier when there is a dialog rather than when the company just “tells” the client what to like or what to do. Big enterprises with long history have already made different paths through which their customers can reach them and communicate their opinions. Smaller firms, however, and especially new ones, often do not have the means- time, money, human resources and information- to reach all of their audiences via more traditional ways. Internet marketing for them offers the perfect opportunity to build relationships and create loyalty among their clients. Furthermore, it is not only the customers who can acquire more information about the company. The online technology allows the company to research and gather market related information on customers, competitors, and the industry as a whole.
Besides the two-way communication the web also offers more interactive form of relaying information to the consumer. Graphics, music, games, videos, forums, customization- all those and more provide for a closer experience with the product or the brand and make it more approachable and familiar for the potential buyer. Personalized marketing is very much a buzz word nowadays where the multitude of brands on the market and the increasing individualization of the consumer require the companies to thin-slice their target audiences and try to create a special bond with each client.
Moreover, as internet connection extends to more and more places around the globe an online-based advertising campaign can reach existing and potential customers across borders and at very low cost around the clock. This presents the smaller companies with an enormous competitive power. In fact, one the main advantages of e-marketing for the SMEs is that internet reduces the differences between the big and the small businesses. The web allows for a certain type of egalitarianism- everybody is more or less equal online as long as they are creative and willing to be close to and honest with their customers. The transparency of the company’s actions is a double-edge sword but if the business can prove to their prospects that the brand is authentic and ethical it becomes a very powerful reason for the consumers to associate with it.
Finally, the speed of today’s technology allows the companies to change and adapt their campaigns to the needs of their prospects again at a minimal cost.
It is obvious then that it is crucial for smaller companies to actively use internet to develop and further their marketing activities if they are to be competitive in the oversaturated market. Used wisely and creatively the web can be the most important tool for any enterprise to stay afloat in the 21st century.
