TABLE OF CONTENTS The market is a place set apart where men may deceive each other.
Diogenes Laertius
Your new website is up and running, it s time to inform the purchasing public. Marketing a web-based business is just as important as marketing a brick-and-mortar business. Even though a marketing plan is probably one of the most important elements of a successful business, it is usually the least thought of aspect of any new business. Formulate a strategic marketing plan. A properly instituted marketing plan gives your website an acceptance level far above the average website by providing a rational direction for your marketing activities.
Creating a good marketing plan is the best thing that you can do to help assure a new web-based business s growth. Your marketing plan should be your guide on which you base your marketing decisions and it will help to ensure that everyone involved in marketing your website works toward the same goals. A properly drawn up and instituted marketing plan not only provides a guide for the growth of your web-based business, but also how to spend your promotional dollars. Optimally a marketing plan and its budget (which is an integral part of your business s overall budget) should cover promotion and advertising for 6 to 12 months.
Don t forget to include in your plan s budget a sizable allotment for market research. What you know about your target market and the information gleaned from marketing research will give you the basis for your marketing strategy.
