Is Online Marketing Outpacing Traditional Marketing?

Online accessibility has completely revolutionized the way people shop, and traditional advertising methods no longer justify the cost. Savvy Internet users can research products, study companies’ reputations, and find goods and services more quickly. Even people who shop locally check the Internet to find local businesses that carry the products they want. Credit card sales offer tremendous convenience for retailers, and online ordering allows companies great cash flow benefits. Interactivity gives companies feedback on new products, polls customers through surveys, and creates loyalty with quizzes, public service information, and trivia games.

Companies get many advantages from online marketing such as interactive features, 24/7 marketing, and the ability to target consumers more efficiently. Software connects warehouses and sales departments to improve customer shopping experiences. Managing the complex processes, however, could present some companies with problems. Fortunately, web-based solutions include multichannel marketing, advanced database technologies, and Contract Manager software which offers flexibility to manage mobile applications, a variety of hardware devices, informational access points and customer service.

Systems such as Click-2-Talk allow customers to contact companies by phone when websites fail to give them the answers they need. Tailored advertising campaigns let companies offer coupons on their sites designed specially for each viewer. Contract management software helps organize responses, handles inventory and contracts, and saves time during business negotiations. Company representatives can create contracts with simple templates that cover standard terms and unique arrangements. Owners can limit authority to change contract language, and easy mobile accessibility allows negotiators access to company resources, libraries, and existing contract terms and specifications.

Contract management allows executives to keep contracts in one place, and timely alerts warn representatives when existing contracts expire or conflict with new business initiatives. The Internet has made the greatest impact on marketing within the past century, and social media allows direct participation between consumers, manufacturers and retailers. Direct website marketing has replaced mid-level distributorships, and sales forces have cut back on staff in all types of industries.

The Internet marketing model makes salespeople accountable for their time, but the system also replaces many traditional duties of sales representatives. Historically, sales reps spend a great deal of time cultivating relationships, delivering information, and handling customer service issues, which online applications now handle with greater accuracy and efficiency. Contract software solutions give marketing teams easy access to a vast amount of data, and salespeople can concentrate on presentations that convert to returns on investments.

Social media networks can move products and services automatically. Online marketing allows companies to reach people globally, craft interactive campaigns that respond to customer input, and offer details about customers’ buying habits. Online services manage repeat orders, order tracking, information requests, financial reporting, and routine sales quotations. Contract manager software tracks compliance, makes contract creation simple, and allows company sales forces to make higher profits with fewer staff members. Global marketers can research cultural differences and update their websites to make them more friendly for conducting foreign business. Companies that fail to create Internet strategies will inevitably lose business to their competitors in the electronic age.