Pinpoint Your Customer Base With Online Marketing
January 11th, 2010

As we have discussed on the Synergy Marketing Consultants Blog, effective marketing is everything when it comes to the success of your business. Some companies spend tons of cash on marketing their products and services only to find disappointing results.

Holly Berkley, the author of Limited-Budget Online Marketing for Small Business and owner of Berkley Web Strategies, a San Diego-based Web design and online marketing company, offers up reasons why this is sometimes the case. In her article, “Online Marketing Strategies To Promote Your Business”, Berkley outlines the differences between what she calls “pin point marketing” and “interruptive marketing”.

“Pin point marketing” refers to the type of advertising that delivers the appropriate message at the appropriate time to produce quick results. She cites the advertising of refreshments at a sporting event where the products are actually being sold.

“Interruptive marketing” on the other hand, is the type of advertisement that is not truly targeted because it does not speak to the needs of the consumer at that moment. Berkley provides the example of a car ad shown at a sporting event, that has little effect because it doesn't necessarily speak to the needs of the sports fans during the game.

Many radio and television ads, as well as billboards and other expensive modes of advertising are often examples of “interruptive marketing”, says Berkley. She suggests that businesses place a greater focus on online advertising as internet users are generally actively seeking a “solution to a problem”.

She writes: “If you can place your product in their path at the right time, you’ve made a customer. The most cost-effective way to achieve this is by combining your marketing message with important content that users are already actively seeking out.”

Not only is online marketing becoming more effective, insists Berkley, but it is much less expensive than going the other, more-traditional routes of advertising. She recommends to business owners that they start by submitting “how-to” or “industry news” type articles to relevant websites within their respective industries. Most companies are willing to trade free plugs with a company for informative, well-written articles.

Getting free links can be very beneficial to your company. A very inexpensive marketing tool, a website link can help to provide many quality leads and new customers. “In traditional media,” writes Berkley, “one positive sentence in editorial is worth much more than two paid advertisements. The same is true on the Internet.”