The results of the September poll (“What percentage of your marketing budget do you spend online?”) were very telling in that there was no real consensus. Here is a quick breakdown: 60% spend 10% or more and 40% spend less than 10%. The good news is that at the very least people are spending some money online. Based on this, I think it is important to discuss how you spend that money. Is there a magical formula? No, because every company and industry is different, but there are always a few things that make sense. Here is a list of ideas to get you started online if you’re just getting your feet wet or just a quick checklist if you have a decent amount of experience online:

1. Website – Make sure your website fits your brand and you take as much care in building it as you do a storefront, brochure, newspaper ad, etc. This is your real estate online and when people go to your site you want to make sure it conveys the right experience and message that they would find in any of your other touch points.
2. Customer Service – This is obviously crucial to your business as a whole, and if you don’t have the right customer service, you will feel it in the long run, but make sure it is as important online as offline. Be responsive to email inquiries, and make it easy for people to contact you. Essentially, follow good customer service principles and you will be fine.
3. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – This is a crucial aspect of any online plan. CRM is how you handle contacting your customers. From an online perspective it refers to the use of email, alerts, mobile messaging and other electronic mediums to communicate with your customers to increase sales, launch products or simply inform your customer. You should have guidelines set up on how frequently to engage your customers, and tailor your communication accordingly.
4. Search – This is pretty simple. When people are searching on a search engine for a product or service you deliver, there is no reason you shouldn’t be there. It is the best way to get front and center with customers who tend to be a little farther down the sales funnel.
5. Online Media – While search is crucial to and probably the foundation for most online marketing plans, it won’t reach its full potential without the addition of banner ads and other online media. Online banners can drive very strong results for your campaign and are very good at raising awareness. In combination with search or by itself, online media is a great way to reach consumers.
6. Social Media – We touched on it last week and needless to say it is definitely something worth looking into to see if it fits your brand. Read more here.