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View Full Version : Offline or Online? Where do you find your customers?



dvduval
06-15-2005, 05:08 PM
I'm curious whether you spend more time in marketing to customers online or offline. I am finding that many of the more successful web development companies in my city are the ones who go out and market face to face. Do you believe this to be true?

James
06-16-2005, 07:48 AM
It all depends on how good you are at selling, and whether you're better at convincing people not only to trust you, but also that you're the right person face-to-face, or from 1200 miles away. It's really not a matter of them being more successful because they go face-to-faces, it's because of how good they are at selling themselves, and the concept that they're the right people for the job(s).

Westech
06-16-2005, 10:16 AM
For highly saturated markets like web development or web hosting, you'll do much better when focusing on your local market than trying to target the entire internet (assuming that your local market is large enough.) Some customers simply prefer to do business with someone in their area, and you'll have much less competition for those customers that you will for the ones that are shopping around on the internet. You can generally charge higher prices too, since you're not competing with thousands of other online businesses.

When targeting your local market, both online and offline advertising can be beneficial. Offline would include such things as phone book, newspaper, tv, radio, billboards, etc.

The trick with advertising online to a local market is narrowing down your audience so you don't waste your money on advertising to people outside of your target local area. You can do this by using PPC services with geotargetting (such as Adwords), or by advertising on popular local websites.

ivan doe
07-08-2005, 09:48 AM
actually, it doesn't matter. whether it's online or offline, it will only depend on how good your marketing skills are. you also need to know your target audience. know their needs and demands so that you'll learn how to approach them effectively. gud luck to you and your business! :)

ogito
07-10-2005, 03:07 AM
yes, als Webdeveloper is much easier to find customers offline ...

yellowbell
07-21-2005, 01:59 AM
I'm curious whether you spend more time in marketing to customers online or offline. I am finding that many of the more successful web development companies in my city are the ones who go out and market face to face. Do you believe this to be true?

Yes I do believe that web site owners still requires to have offline advertising. Just think of yahoo its a big site and yet it has its own television ads. And for those who may not have a big advertising budget, business cards are great means of inviting people to visit your site. Its affordable and easy to carry and it can be easily transferred from person to person. :D


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