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Internet business marketing has become an increasingly large part of most business marketing plans. But just what does it mean to have a business marketing plan? What is internet business marketing?

An internet business marketing plan can simply be defined by creating an epresence — more commonly known as an electronic or internet presence. Business can market their presence on the internet in a number of ways including web sites, blogs, email, articles, and various forms of advertising and brand awareness. Why would a business worry about creating an epresence?

The most important reason is that the internet marketplace is growing in both size and scope. Every day there is a larger number of people who do their shopping, and information gathering before shopping, via the internet. No business can afford to miss that opportunity to grow their customer base. In addition, the web offers a wealth of advertising and marketing opportunities that can be adapted to any market and any product to create a unique marketing message for your company.

Another important reason is that internet marketing and internet advertising is often cheaper that most print or broadcast marketing alternatives — and sometimes its even free. Many forms of internet marketing also offer long-term benefits that make the initial expense even more cost effective. Some internet marketing campaigns can work weeks, months or years longer than the initial effort.

A final reason is that internet marketing allows you to adapt your marketing efforts to your specific audience and product which will better allow you to target your specific niche market better than any other form of advertising or marketing available.

Establish an epresence is an important part of the modern business marketing plan today because it is more cost effective, more adaptable, and more specific than other forms of advertising and marketing available.

Deanna Mascle
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/internet-business-marketing-what-is-an-epresence-and-why-do-you-need-one-124618.html

We are looking to enter a agreement with a firm who is going to assist us with breaking into new markets with high level contacts, and provide some marketing and sales support. Normally they would look to have a large monthly retainer plus a percentage of sales they bring to us.

We have built a great relationship and are looking to go beyond this model. We are entertaining a scenario (for 90 days) where the retainer would be minimal (next to nothing) and compensation would include a higher percentage on business they bring in plus some equity options that we could enhance or benchmark on performance.

Is there any standard for these percentages (on sales and equity in our company) for this type of arrangement? I want to make sure the agreement is fair and makes sense for both of us, as well as scaleable after the initial 90 days. Is there a model I can mold for this situation?

my girl friend left me

Not a straight forward question.

And I imagine that the person who gave you a precise % in the answer above mine is full of hot air as your question cant be answered that way.

You use the word ‘expect’ but surely you mean ‘aim for’. Even then context and strategy mean the % can vary hugely.

Eg it would be a smaller number if you have many competitors locally who actively try to lure away clients with discounts for the first job.

It would be a smaller number if you didnt focus on excellence in customer service and have good retention strategies in place.

It would be a bigger number if your clients were companies with complex marketing needs who would be reluctant to switch to a competitor due to the costs/risks involved in having to start over.

It would be small if your clients tended to be people who use a marketing firm for rare special projects.

I hope these simple examples give you an idea of the issues behind your question.

Why do you need a %? If you explain that you may get more useful answers.

It’s a fact that most businesses – online or offline – fail in their first year. I’ve also seen that many online businesses start but never really get off the ground. They simply sputter along until the owner forgets to renew the website registration, but no one is the wiser.

Instead of letting your business get the best of you, take the bull by the horns and make the decision from day one to build your business for success! Expect success from your business and you will be more likely to succeed!

How do you expect success and build your business to succeed? Here are the steps you can take to make sure that you’re always in growth mode:

1. Identify obstacles. It’s naive to say “don’t let obstacles get in your way.” Frankly, obstacles will get in your way; that’s what makes them obstacles. It’s much more realistic to say, “don’t let obstacles stop you.” The best time to identify obstacles is proactively before they occur. This involves some brainstorming to determine what MIGHT spring up in the course of the next month or business quarter that could cause you problems. However, even if you wait until an obstacle presents itself, it’s not too late. You can still deal with it. When an obstacle presents itself, identify what it is. For example: If you’ve noticed that business is flagging, is it because the competition is truly offering better service? Or has their service remained the same and yours has gotten worse?

2. Brainstorm ways to solve them. The best success is creative success because it breaks out of the mold of “the way things have always been done.” When we decide to get creative, we’ll find new, fresh, and affordable ways to solve problems easily.

3. Seek help. Don’t be afraid to find people who are good at what needs to get done and ask them for help. If necessary, hire them or form partnerships that will lead to mutual benefit. Business is stronger when we have allies to help us.

4. Create a Marketing Plan. Don’t just blindly wade into business. Create an outline or action plan with a step by step approach to point you to tasks you need to do.

How to Create a Marketing Plan:

Many businesses start out with a really strong business plan. If you’ve started your business with one, then you should be congratulated. A solid business plan is a great foundation to helping your business increase its chances of success.

But now what? Perhaps it’s been a few months or a year. Periodically you may check to see how your business plan is doing, and over all you may be doing okay.

I’d like to recommend to you that you also commit to a regular marketing plan. Marketing should be the primary task of any online business owner in the early years of the business. And a marketing plan will help you do just that. Most people find that marketing plans are a little more fun to do because they’re less formal than a business plan and you can do it on the back of an envelope if you want. Ask yourself:

Income questions:

* What are your income goals for the year?
* What are your income goals for the month?
* What are your income goals for the day?

Customer questions:

* What customers do you have?
* What customers do you want to keep?
* Will those customers help you achieve your goal?
* What is your shortfall?
* What is it about those customers that you like?
* What customers do you want to get rid of ?
* What is it about those customers that you don’t like?
* How many customers do you need?
* Where will you find those customers?
* Where will you find customers like the ones you like?
* How can you avoid customers that you don’t like to deal with?
* Where do your favorite customers hang out?
* Is there a way you can got your favorite customers talking about you?

Marketing questions:

* How are you going to market your services this year?
* What worked?
* What didn’t work?
* What is your competition doing this year?

Once you’ve looked at your income, customers, and marketing, you can begin to creatively develop a few ideas that will help you market for the coming year. I like to consider this marketing plan a little “check-up” to help keep on the path to success.

5. Don’t forget to implement your plan. Make sure that you’re actually doing what you said you would do in order to make your business a success.

Jude Wright
http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/build-your-business-with-a-marketing-plan-93846.html

I am looking for ways to grow our business. We operate 3 agencies in one county and each agency is in towns that are very small, less than 2000 people each. What are some ways to grab the attention of local, small town people who don’t like change but do want something better and who wants an honest, reliable agent?

In our little town… Many years ago an insurance agent used to walk the town asking people if they had adequate insurance coverage. He was very personable and built a huge business there. He had his wife work with him and was an independant agent of Life, Health, Auto, and Homeowner’s Insurance. He continued to do so until his death. His son now runs the business and has been quite successful in it. He is also very personable but does not conduct his business in that manner any more. His father built a strong business that continues to flourish because of his diligence and caring for people in the community. I believe that in such a town, YOU can do the same thing by teaching your agents how to treat people and how to meet and talk with them about their family affairs. Have a great holiday!
Eds (Life agent)

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