Spend on Internet Marketing grows

UK businesses plan to increase their marketing spend on the internet rather than on more traditional marketing activities, according to a recent survey conducted by The Chartered Institute of Marketing.

But Institute member Jenny Cainer, a director at recruitment agency Marketing Professionals (UK), has issued a warning to businesses:

They should treat the internet as just one part of the marketing mix and shouldnít prioritise it over other activity unless they have established its worth and value to their particular business.

They also need to establish where their customers actually go to shop before investing further in internet marketing.

If a company has experienced anything over a 5 per cent increase in sales directly from the internet over the past couple of years then, yes, they should treat it as a valuable sales channel and invest appropriately in internet based activity - which could be anything from an enhanced website to expanding the range of products and services offered on it.

In fact, the internet is fantastic for building customer loyalty, something that the survey revealed is of utmost importance to 31 per cent of UK businesses. Offering a unique product or service over the internet will benefit from repeat business, so itís well worth thinking about exactly what you want to offer.

But Cainer says the internet is not a panacea:

The downside of the internet is that for all the genuine leads it generates, there will be an equivalent number of tyre kickers who take up time and resources.

Companies should also remember that personal contact is still very important and they should always enable internet customers to email or speak to a real, living person if they need to.