“Balance” is becoming an increasingly popular word. Instead of careers, some of us now pursue a work/life balance. Long ago, many of us ate what we pleased and suffered the consequences of not eating a balanced diet. There’s even Balance TV.
The word’s popularity is well justified; too much of anything is not good and balance keeps everything … well … in balance.
Marketing is no exception. Taking time to develop a balanced marketing mix will increase the payoff from your marketing budget.
The right balance is especially important for internet marketing. Unlike most other forms of marketing and advertising, there is no lag between message and action on the internet. In seconds, a web surfer can go from not knowing of something to owning it. The lack of mediating time between messages and customer conversion can make the consequences of unbalanced web marketing more severe than with other forms of marketing.
Fortunately, the secret to balancing your web marketing is simple – balance your web marketing goals. The ultimate goal of any marketing is to increase sales – no balance needed. On the internet, making a sale or generating a business lead results from completing a chain of three main goals:
First goal: To be found. Your company or product needs to be found when potential customers search for it. If your web site does not rank highly in search results, it is invisible to potential customers.
Second goal: To be chosen. Search results are crowded with competing messages. Customers will choose the result that addresses their needs most directly.
Third goal: To convert the visitor. On retail sites, a conversion is a sale. Your conversion may be different – provide a quotation, arrange a consultation or get customer information. Whatever it is, it is the ultimate goal of your web marketing.
Not keeping the goals of internet marketing in balance creates a weak link in the chain – and you know what they say about the strength of a chain.
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