Many businesses both large and small have been suffering in the current economy, and as a result they are having to think about cutting back.  My husband works for a huge company and is still seeing evidence of cutbacks at work, such as limits on overtime and hiring.  At the same time, I know of many small companies — local companies, such as handymen who work on hot tubs and spas — who are having to reduce their employees’ hours and end contract projects.

At the same time, though, companies can’t cut ALL costs, or they risk going belly-up.  One activity that may cost money, but that companies still need to be sure they do, is marketing.  Marketing is how you continue attracting customers and survive, so this is one expense you cannot afford to cut.

That’s not to say that you can’t reevaluate some of your marketing costs.  This is where Internet marketing really comes in handy.  Marketing your business just isn’t as costly as marketing via traditional (such as printed) methods.  It costs a lot of money to print and send direct mail advertising or to buy advertising space in a print publication, whereas online you can choose from a wide variety of advertising options.  You might choose to run ads, work on link building, optimize your website for search engines, write and distribute press releases and/or articles, spread the word via social media, or all of the above.  All of these are less expensive than traditional methods, but you can minimize the cost even more by taking the time to do certain things yourself rather than paying someone else to do it.

Another advantage of Internet marketing is that it enables you more tracking options, more focus, and therefore more control.  In other words, you can make sure you are spending your advertising dollars where they will make the biggest difference, maximizing the cost benefits of your investment.  For instance, if you have a website where you sell two person hot tubs, you can experiment with several marketing methods, track visitors to your site to see which methods bring the most visitors and the highest conversion rates — and focus your money on the methods that work the best.

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