Businesses have been using technology for many years, but the Internet created a flood of new and exciting ways to provide benefits to the customer. These opportunities create lots of questions you must consider. How can your business leverage the Internet to maximum benefit? How much commitment should you make to eMarketing campaigns? Is your market online?

eMarketing is traditional marketing using the Internet. eMarketing affects your traditional marketing campaigns in a couple of ways. First, it increases productivity in your existing marketing functions. Second, eMarketing transforms many of your marketing strategies. The transformation can create new business models that add customer value and/or increase revenue to the bottom line.

There are many tools available to the eMarketer... websites, microsites, email, newsletters, postcards and other mailers that direct to the web, contests and other web-based features - too many to mention. If you are thinking of a website and haven't thought about all of the other possibilities, think again. Your website is just the beginning... the foundation. We recommend a complete eMarketing plan that is incorporated with your regular marketing plan before you decide on any one eMarketing tool.

It is important to carefully select an eMarketing partner. The firm you select should have an understanding of what eMarketing really is and that it is not just about a website or eMail marketing. Even credible insitutions such as the SBA describes eMarketing as eMail marketing, which does not provide the whole picture.

Why eMarketing?

Buyers, not sellers, are now in power.
This is probably the most important change as a result of the Internet. The days of holding one's attention for 30 seconds in front of a television are coming to a close. First it was channel surfing with the remote control, now it's about the click of the mouse. Consumers and business customers are more demanding than ever because they know they are just one click away from your competition.

Distance is no longer a factor.
Where a business is located is no longer a factor when interacting with vendors, partners or customers. This 'death of distance' allows people to bypass traditional business channels.

Time isn't an obstacle.
Thanks to the Internet, time is no longer a factor. Online stores are 'open' all day, every day. Rain or shine. People can shop when their schedules permit.

Your customers, vendors and partners expect it.
We live in a 'connected' world. You can check your email, participate in an important conference call, check stock quotes, upload data and almost anything else you can think of... away from your desk. Your customers, vendors and partners will expect to be able to communicate with you in a variety of ways.

Results.
One of the biggest advantages to incorporating eMarketing into your traditional marketing strategy is the ability to effectively measure results of a campaign. Traditional marketing campaigns are difficult to track. With eMarketing you are able to measure the effectiveness of a campaign by running reports on sales, traffic, electronic responses and much more. You will know which campaigns to run again and, more importantly, which campaigns are losing money.

About the Author
Frank Cowell is a Certified eMarketer (as certified by the International eMarketing Association) and President of Cowell eMarketing. Cowell eMarketing provides website and eCommerce solutions, eMail Marketing services and Search Engine Marketing services.