Only if you get smart about internet advertising says Daniel Jupp…

The UK is the largest internet ad market in Europe, showing just how much the way in which consumers source products and information has changed. Follow the masses online and there’s suddenly a whole new word of potential clients.

Of course, traditional sales techniques continue to work as they always have. But newer, more technologically-savvy sales performers can steal a march on their archaic rivals simply by talking the consumers’ language.

Used correctly, online marketing is a ticking time bomb. It’s more efficient, less time consuming, more accurate and requires less man hours than other, well-trodden sales paths. Big name brands like Bose, Direct Line and BT have been quick to jump on the bandwagon, scaling up their online sales pitches and giving an emphatic vote of confidence to the new media approach.

Sceptics can cite the loss of human contact and telemarketing’s refusal to roll over and die but it’s hard to dismiss favourable returns on digital marketing. Auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers proved this in no uncertain terms with their 2006 online advertising first quarter revenue report, which  unequivocally shows internet advertising revenues reaching a new record of $3.9 billion, up a massive 38% on the same period in 2005.

As retailers wake up to the fact that online advertising is shaping the sales landscape, more and more marketing pounds will find their way into the internet cash cow. Those who take the time to learn how to engage this new breed of sales-savvy and mature consumers via internet means are likely to reject old-fashioned methods in favour of a greater return on investment and the more easily controlled costs inherent to online advertising. They’ll also find that internet marketing drives up brand awareness and purchase intent.

The beauty of online marketing lies in the fact that it connects consumers with retailers at the exact moment in which they are searching for products and services. Amanda Armstrong of Grape Entertainers signed up for pay per click in a bid to promote her web site and see how online sales leads differed from the volume of sales generated through more traditional methods. “Since using pay per click, we have had sales and bookings that we wouldn’t have had previously," she says. “We’re still playing around with keywords and things so I am expecting that to improve even more."

Online marketing is unquestionably more efficient. Taking advantage of the internet as a sales tool turns the tables as leads can initiate contact with you via an email, pay per click advert or web contact form, eliminating the need for initial sales calls.

Business to business outfits are also finding surprising results online as internet use becomes more widespread amongst those controlling the purchasing purse strings. Mark Guirard of business to business company, Towers and Sanders says, “The internet gets the thumbs up all the time for us. We get ten times the amount of work through the internet than with other mediums like the Yellow Pages. It’s a lot easier and less time intensive because if something isn’t working, you can change it easily. Online marketing isn’t as unforgiving as other forms of selling."

Big brother is omnipotent online, making for recent negative headlines about invasion of user privacy, but easy and (ethical) monitoring of consumer buying cycles. One e-newsletter can be sent simultaneously to thousands of leads – both current and archived- and create enough data to follow up months later. Interest groups can be created from the tracking data at the click of a button, making for simple follow-up.  

Comprehensive, real time performance reports like this offer unbiased feedback, which in turn gives greater sales flexibility. If a pay per click advert isn’t working, you can change ad text and keywords, adapt the geographical targeting and set the advert to show only during specific business hours. Safe in the knowledge that once set up, the advert can be left to run automatically, specifically targeting your intended client base without the need to invest man hours while the job is being done. Online selling works 24 hours a day for no extra cost – a performance level not even the most dedicated of salesman can hope to achieve.

Cheaper and more dynamic than print advertising and less expensive than telesales and cold calling, pay per click advertising is emerging as the frontrunner in the online sales arena with good reason. You can cast a broad net and target leads all day long but you can also focus on specific cities and regions, at specific times and change approaches for every campaign, leaving the computer to do the hard work and businesses to go about the important task of looking after existing clients.

About Daniel Jupp: Daniel is the founder and managing director of leading pay per click management consultancy, Top Position. Top Position offers Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing account management, specialising in reducing costs by as much as 40% while increasing internet visibility and optimizing account performance.