A recent small business survey found that over 90 percent of companies rate their website as their most valuable Marketing tool. The survey noted that the design and management of the company website, as well as keeping it optimized for the major search engines, was the single most effective marketing strategy currently being used.

Another interesting point revealed by the survey was the fact that businesses find Social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are excellent sources for driving website Traffic.

I know you’re probably thinking “yeah, so what, I’ve known that for years.” But the survey went on to find that, while companies recognize that their websites are their most important Marketing Tool, and they realize Social Media is a great way to drive traffic, they’re still not quite sure how to turn that website traffic into solid sales leads. Which is kind of ironic, because the majority of businesses surveyed also said that generating good, productive leads was their number one marketing concern.

So, the use of social networking is seen as an excellent method for creating and then developing sales relationships. The immediacy of the internet as a communication platform allows for prompt interaction with prospects that turns web traffic into potential sales leads. And, while the businesses being surveyed couldn’t quite pinpoint the exact number of leads that came through their social Media efforts, they still weren’t ready to abandon social media and website traffic generation.

After all, even a small increase in leads that are generated through the company website can have a big impact on the balance sheet. Even if these leads are entirely anecdotal.

Most businesses acknowledge that, with the proliferation of mobile devices, the trend for doing business online can only increase into the future, making web marketing strategies the most vital aspect to a company’s marketing. Not to mention that it is also one of the least expensive media for advertising that is available. Because websites are able to be updated easily and as regularly as is needed, the internet has an obvious advantage over the more traditional media.

So it seems that many small businesses are embracing the web and social media as a crucial marketing tool, and they realize the importance of having a web presence, even though their results are not definitive.

Does any of this sound familiar? You know your website is critical, you know you need to maintain a social media presence to get traffic to that website, and even though you can’t exactly account for the ROI, you just know you “need to be there”?

If that sounds like you, it might be time to create an online marketing strategy. There are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind when developing your strategy.

Most important is to focus on the customers and to make doing business as simple as possible for them. Make sure that you clearly demonstrate the value that your product or service has for potential customers and use the content of the website to generate leads by directing buyers straight to the information that they are interested in.

A good strategy will continue to adapt and evolve with its marketplace, making it vitally important to keep up with the latest internet trends and networking sites. Consider your typical sales cycle when planning to convert web traffic into actual sales and create a strategy that will move online prospects through that cycle on an automatic basis.

Finally, if developing marketing strategies and web design aren’t your strong points then don’t be afraid to get specialist help so that you can be sure that your company’s website and internet marketing is as effective as it can be. (Please feel free to contact us if you’d like to discuss how we can help.)

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