Consumers turn to the Web to battle stress over the economy

April 27, 2009

Despite a lackluster economy, consumers are still scouring the web looking for deals, product reviews and information. Are you missing out by sitting idle with your website and online marketing efforts? A recent study says yes.

A study performed in January 2009 by comScore confirms people are cutting back on spending while using search engines to hunt for bargains and better pricing.  No shocker there, we are all feeling the crunch to some degree and the Web is typically a great research tool.  Except if shoppers can't find your business through the search engines or your website fails to impress once they get there.

According to comScore, 52% of those surveyed "Surf the Internet" as a method of dealing with stress over the current economy.  Whether purchasing good and services for home or business, shoppers are being more savvy and doing their homework before making a purchase.  67% feel seearch engines are very important in terms of level importance while shopping.

So what does all this mean to you as a business with a website?  Marketers can't just hope and pray shoppers will find your site and are instantly fall in love with what you sell or do.  If purchasers are being selective with their spending, shouldn't you be doing as much as you can to earn that sale?  Nowadays, a website is the way many shoppers are introduced to your company as well as your products and services, who works there and what you have going on as a company.  Shoppers are hitting your website to learn more, looking for a reason to buy what you offer and begging to be impressed.

If your current online effort is deilvering limited sales or leads, its probably because the strategy is flawed, the look and feel isn't impressive and/or the content is lame. Sounds like a good time to reevaluate your strategy and attempt to generate an additional revenue stream through the Web that you previously gave minimal thought.  You may not know what you are missing.

Search marketing matters...too many businesses are being out performed by lesser competitors because they ignore this marketing niche and are never seen by shoppers looking for what they are selling.  Don't fall into the trap of doing nothing or throwing a few dollars at pay per click advertising and think that will make the magic happen.  A lot more to search marketing than that.

How much confidence do you have in your current web strategy to lure in those prospects surfing the web and turn them into customers or clients?

Why not blow their doors off with a solid, well conceptualized and professionally designed, functional website with meaningful content that gives a person a reason to do business with you?  Seems like an easy answer but not sure many business owners or decision makers are looking at it that way. 

Delaying the investment in your Web strategy may be a huge mistake.  If done right, a website can be one of the most economical, efficient sales generating tools in your arsenal.  An outstanding web presence & strategy can create distance between you and your competitors, perhaps only secondary to your actual product or service.

Just like anything else, the success of your online presence directly correlates to what you put into it.  Don't expect to set the world on fire by throwing a cheap website up and think you can kick back & wait for the business to roll in.  It won't happen, especially in the current economic climate with everyone competing for the small pool of money available.

Tags: search marketing, economy, investment, strategy, professional web design