Online and Offline Marketing
September 25th, 2008
To be truly successful it is important to have both a plan for marketing online through SEO and offline through events and advertising.
Art is a tricky product to sell online without an established amount of trust from consumers. They can’t feel it or really see it to make sure it is as high quality as I say it is. That is why events such as consumer tradeshows are so valuable at this point in time. They allow me to show my products in a setting where consumers can see the vibrant colors and feel the high quality canvas before ordering it online.
Last weekend I participated in my first consumer tradeshow. I had the opportunity to share a booth with a very talented and successful interior designer and online retailer. We built an impressive space complete with drywall and fully furnished. Red Koala art hung on the walls to show consumers how they can have that one special piece of artwork in their child’s room that is personalized just for them. I distributed brochures with a 10% off coupon on the back and encouraged consumers to go to redkoala.com to see the rest of our products. In addition to the art, I also had on display Halloween wall hangings that are perfect for the front door and a growth chart. The consumer feedback on these two new products was great! Even though my website isn’t exactly where I want it to be just yet, I’m excited about the branding opportunity and the increase in traffic generated from the weekend.
I have struggled in the area of developing an online marketing plan. There is so much literature on the subject and so many different opinions on the best way to do it, that I just get overwhelmed and find something else on my list to do instead. I typically try to do things myself, but in this area I’ve decided to ask for help. Scott Smigler with Exclusive Concepts, Inc has come to my rescue. My site was designed by Fast Pivot and they did a great job building a beautiful site, but now I need help with making it more functional and easy to navigate for the customer. That’s where Scott comes in. He is an expert in website marketing. He has walked me through my site and shown me where I probably lose customers because of confusion. All of his suggested changes have made total sense. Once we finish making all of the changes, he is going to help me develop a game plan for moving forward into the wonderful world of search engine optimization. He has gone out of his way to help me and I appreciate everything he has done. My suggestion for any body with a website is to hire an expert to evaluate the functionality and have it optimized for closing sales. The difference between a designer and an online marketing expert is pretty clear and both are valuable.
Keep watching at www.RedKoala.com as we continue to make changes to improve the site and grow the company.
