Where Should You Invest Your Marketing Dollars?

              Many companies, especially in the early stages, may be wondering how to distribute and invest their marketing dollars. What areas will get the word out most effectively? Where will potential customers see your company name, and where will it be ignored? Should you evenly distribute your marketing efforts in print, web, and mobile? Or should one of these areas be a larger focus than others?

Print is still a valuable form of marketing. Sometimes, a physical, concrete document is the most effective venue depending on its purpose. If you want to put coupons in your customer’s bags when they check out, if you want to send them flyers and promotions in the mail, if you want to display signs and posters in and around your brick and mortar location, print is what you need here. However, when it comes to getting your contact information out there, reaching a wider audience, and handling time sensitive information at a fast pace, print is not the best or only option for you.

With the technology available in 2014, it is absolutely essential for a small business to a have custom website.  Companies without a website are virtually invisible online. 86% of customers search for companies online before going to the store. Believe it or not, there are as many companies who don’t have a website or have a poorly designed one as there are companies with a modern, highly functional, and easily found website.  Therefore, investing in a website that is has all the functions you need to get you find online and educate customers about your business is even more important than print. A well- designed website should have easy navigation, content that describes your products and services, keywords that will help the search engines find your website, calls to action, and contact information on every page. Your web marketing presence should also include social media, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Google Plus. Having a Google Plus page is one of the most valuable social media pages for your company as it will further help Google locate your site and get your company name out there. In 2013, 39% of companies increased their web marketing investment over other venues. Investing in the web should be a significant part of your marketing budget.

Another area of marketing to consider is the mobile web. It is not enough to have a desktop website that will open on a mobile device; you should have a mobile website or a mobile responsive website. With more searches being done on mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets than on desktops or laptops, investing in the mobile web is also essential. When your business is on the mobile web, potential customers will be able to find your site when they are on the go—at work, running errands, or traveling even when they don’t have a computer in front of them. The mobile web is probably your most valuable asset to online marketing and should be a significant part of your marketing budget as well.

Beyond Custom Websites will help you figure out where your marketing strategy is strong and what you may want to invest more time and money in. We can show you why it’s a good idea to invest more marketing dollars in the web and the mobile web than in print and help you find a good balance. Our team of web developers, SEO experts, entrepreneurs, and graphic designers will put together a custom website, mobile website, and connect your social media pages to your site. We will make sure your site gets found in all the major search engines and will offer customer service that will exceed your expectations. Make an investment in your mobile marketing with Beyond CustomWebsites..