Offering online marketing services is certainly an opportunity to
consider if you are interested in starting an internet business
that will enable you to work from home. Internet business is
booming, no doubt, and there are many people venturing into
e-business who haven’t a clue how to go about marketing on the
internet. Online marketing services are not exclusive to
e-business; they can also be beneficial to brick-and-mortar type
retail or wholesale companies. Thus, there are many different
target audiences to choose from when offering online marketing
services. This enables you to identify and pursue a niche market.
There are a few things to do before launching an online marketing
services company:
1. Familiarize yourself with online marketing services
2. Conduct market research to identify a niche market
3. Decide which online marketing services you will offer
4. Become an expert
The next phase of launching your online marketing services
company involves:
1. Preparing your business plan and marketing plan
2. Developing your policies and service procedures
3. Marketing your online marketing services
4. Providing exceptional customer service
5. Building a base of repeat customers and referrals
for your online marketing services
With the internet, it is easy to review online marketing services
and to find out about your competition. A competitive analysis is
essential to differentiating and positioning your online
marketing services company. In your review of online marketing
services, you will get some great ideas about what services you
can offer and how to professionally present them.
Market research is the key to identifying a niche market to
target for your online marketing services company. For instance,
you may market your services only to attorneys, only to wholesale
grocers, only to work-from-home moms, etc. With an online
marketing services company, truly the world is your playground.
However, by narrowing the scope of your target market by finding
a niche to market to, you’re advertising will have a stronger
impact as you can become known as an expert in online marketing
services for whatever field or niche you choose to market to.
Once you have reviewed other online marketing services, analyzed
your competition, and identified your target market, you are
ready to decide which online marketing services you wish to
offer. This is another opportunity to define a niche. For
instance, you may offer only pay-per-click management services
and you can position yourself as an expert in that area which can
be credible if that is the only service you offer. You can also
offer a whole menu of online marketing services with various
mixes in package deals which can be appealing to clients.
Whichever online marketing services you choose to offer, if you
are presenting yourself as an expert, make absolutely sure that
you are one before you take on your first customer. The
reputation of your online marketing services is at stake. If you
present yourself as an expert in search engine optimization for
instance, and you cannot achieve good ranking for your clients,
your credibility will be lost and this can frequently result in
your reputation being ruined via discussions about your company
through online marketing and business forums.
Preparing your business plan and marketing plan should be a
first-step before you launch your online marketing services
business. Writing a business plan just makes sense because it
helps you to put your ideas down on paper, to set your goals, to
think through issues and to define your budget. Your marketing
plan is equally important as it will serve to keep you focused on
the important aspects of your online marketing services business.
For suggestions about what should be included in a business plan
and marketing plan, visit the website for the Small Business
Administration . There you will find excellent guidance for
business planning.
Policies and service procedures are important for two reasons.
One, to protect your business; and two, to ensure that you
provide excellent service to your customers and that they
understand up front what your services entail. When marketing
your online marketing services business online, you should at a
minimum have a terms-of-use policy and a privacy policy. Through
your terms of use, it is a good idea to disclose your policy
regarding refund requests or your service guarantees as well as
any limitations to your service.
Taking customer service a step further, your service policies
will govern how you do business. Your systems will enable you to
provide the services. Starting out, you don’t necessarily need
anything fancy, but as your company grows, automating some of
your sales and service features is a good idea. An example of an
automated customer service tool is an autoresponder that confirms
you have received an order. Repeat customers will come to you if
you offer excellent online marketing services.
It is easier to retain a customer than to get a new one, so
always keep that in mind when working with your customers. Happy
customers are also extremely valuable to an online marketing
services company because they will refer you to their friends and
associates. To encourage referrals, you may offer your customers
some type of incentive (like a 10% discount) if they refer a new,
buying client to you.