Boom for Online Advertising

For the first time in history, 2010 will prove to be the first year that online advertising will top print ads. The statistics for retail sales alone are staggering. This year there will be roughly 175 billion dollars spent on retail merchandise. This does not include the travel and tourism industry which will top 130 billion by itself.

Online advertising will be one of the keys to successful marketing and will reach new heights in 2010. In the past decade we have seen a steady shift in the amount of online advertising compared to print advertising. Researchers estimate that online sales will grow by more than 22% this year, an increase of nearly 4% from last year. With a steady incline of online business, more companies are putting their advertising dollars into the online pool of advertising. Success in the global market is sometimes difficult to achieve, and the edge will go to those companies that have the vision to advertise online.

WebTech Strategies is a full service online marketing and advertising firm. We specialize in navigating your business through the maze of the internet in an effort to reach as many customers as possible. Despite the current economic downturn, small businesses can thrive in this economy. Online advertising is the key to opening the doors to success. At WebTech Strategies, we understand this and work with you to build your business and provide you with the tools you need to grow. Marketing and advertising dollars do not go nearly as far as we would like them to. We realize that companies are operating on less and trying to do more. We have simple solutions that yield high impact results. By creating your affiliate program, we are able to drive business to your site resulting in more visitors, and potential sales. Sales are the ultimate goal and without the proper tools, sales will remain stagnant, or non existent. We provide these tools and build a site that is designed to market your business for optimal results. We realize that your success is our success. We have the experience to create your site to achieve maximum results. With a brilliant technology department, professional staff, and advertising consultants, we are there with you every step of the way. We aren't satisfied until you are. We encourage you to contact us, and let us work for you.

Going Against Economic Trends

TNS Media Intelligence conducted a study that observed different brands and their resistance to recessions from 1985 to 2005. Results: companies who cut their ad spending lost more of their market share to private labels both immediately and in the long run. Companies who did not base their advertising budget according to the economy, maintaining or increasing their general ad spending only lost a minuscule amount of their market share to private labels.

Going against the economic trend is very nerve racking, but in the end will pay off in the form of shares in the stock market. Research shows that companies who lost shares to private labels in past recessions have yet to recover those shares. In a time where cuts are required you might want to rethink where the cuts are made, and how those cuts will affect your business in the long run.

The Marketing Formula

An effective marketing approach can be the difference between solid business and missed opportunities.

With the current economic struggles faced today, one size fits all marketing does not cater to your needs. The marketing might seem sound, and look like your marketing team has done their homework, but they are not considering your business needs. One size fits all marketing solutions are a composite of current marketing problems paired with solutions. A good marketing firm will take the time to sit down and listen to your business' issues. Then they will do their research, and devise a solution that will address your issues.

WebTech Strategies values your business. We want to work with you. Your success is our success.

WebTech Strategies is constantly working to improve current marketing solutions and is always developing new marketing solutions to improve your campaign.

WebTech Strategies dedicates time and money to the latest research to make sure we can reach your target audience.

WebTech Strategies price tag is very reasonable for the work and dedication that goes into creating each campaign.

WebTech Strategies has developed marketing programs that produce a sizable return for our clients.

Online Advertising

Last year $25 billion was spent on online ads, that number is expected to grow by 4.3% in 2009. With the troubles that newspaper, Yellow Pages, and direct response advertisements are facing there is a total of around $125 billion ad dollars that will be headed towards the Internet.

One form of online advertising that continues to give positive results is email. Email is an engaging advertising method that provides measurable results. The low cost of email and high ROI are very attractive; however, the email that utilize personal touches that will appeal to their audience receive a significant increase in their response rate. Email is a staple in many digital marketing campaigns.

The Online Audience

As traditional media is slowing down, digital media is beginning to pick up advertisers. The Internet is now a mainstream medium, with the US Internet population estimated to reach 200 million users this year (eMarketer). Nearly 65% of Americans use the Internet today, in 2013 approximately 70% of the population will use the Internet. Women make up around 51.8% of the Internet population, however men stay on longer than women.

Americans spend an average of 14 hours a week on the Internet. When online, 6 out of 10 US Internet users are active on user-generated content websites. In 2008 sites that saw the most viewers were blogs (54%), social networks (41.2%) user-generated video sites (36%) and wikis (34%). These numbers are expected to continue to grow in the following years, making the Internet an excellent way to reach your targeted audience.

One Man's Misfortune Is Another's Opportunity

Despite massive layoffs, bankruptcies, and the collapse of financial institutions small businesses can thrive in this recession.

Headlines in all forms of media carry dismal reports of the dwindling economy, the natural reaction for small business owners is to tighten their budgets, prepare for the worse. However, it is the small business owners who can help pull America out of this economic downfall. The average recession in the post-World War II era lasted an average of 10 months, followed by an average of a 50 month growth cycle.

Now is an ideal time for the local business owners to take action. Why you ask...

Small businesses have an advantage over larger businesses - their ability to make quick decisions. The result: plans can be brought to action rapidly with results seen in weeks, unlike large businesses who have a long decision making process that takes months before any action is seen. The recession has provided more advertising opportunities for the small business owner. With large companies cutting back their advertising budgets the media is in need of new advertisers. The cost of advertising has dropped making it feasible for the small business to advertise in new mediums. Logistically those who put the time and effort into their products/services will prosper during this tough economic disturbance.

E-commerce Sales Will Increase At A 9% Compound Annual Growth Rate From 2008 To 2013

Even with the gloomy economy eMarketer is forecasting that the US retail e-commerce sales will reach $133 billion this year (excluding travel sales). It is being predicted that as the economy improves online sales are expected to reach double digit growth. Growth will be provided by the online shopper, affluent or otherwise, who have stifled their shopping during the economic slump.

Online Spending Increases With Gas Prices

It is August, which means students, and their parents, all over the nation are realizing the approach to the school year. According to Consumer Affairs, the combined $54.2 billion spent this year for back-to-school and back-to-college will rank second only to holiday spending. Elementary and secondary schools are realizing the importance of technological literacy, thus making more electronics a requirement on back-to-school supply lists. Total spending on electronics or computer-related equipment, such as home computers, laptops, PDAs, or calculators, is estimated to increase by more than $1.5 billion this year.

Students living at home are spending far less than those heading to college, who have both their own money and their parents' to spend. The fourth annual NRF 2006 Back-to-College Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, found that college students and their parents will spend $36.6 billion returning to campus this year, up 6.3 percent and more than double what parents of K-12 students will spend on back-to-school.

The biggest driver in college spending this year will be in electronics. College students are expected to spend 27.5 percent more on electronics purchases ($10.46 billion) as the category expands to include flat screen TVs, XBoxes, iPods, and notebook computers. "Today's college students were using computers before they could write, which explains their gravitation toward electronics," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. "As consumers remain concerned about gas prices, they are more inclined to scale back on the number of stores they visit," said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch. "College students, who are some of the most technologically-savvy shoppers, will likely use the Internet to look for prices and research merchandise before setting foot in a store." As in previous years, freshmen will spend the most this year with the average first-year college student spending $1112.62, largely on electronics and dorm furnishings.

Stimulus Checks Increase Sales On Internet

Forrester Research has analyzed recent survey results that show more people are shopping online and they are spending more on Internet purchases, possibly due in part to the federal tax refund.

The buying public spent an average of $270 per person online in July, according to the Forrester's Online Retail Index, which measures the growth and seasonality of online shopping. Most families take trips in the summer, and Internet sales agree. With gas prices so high, more Americans are choosing to fly. Leading the big-ticket purchases this month were typical vacation expenses: airline tickets, accounting for $746.2 million; and hotel rooms, racking up $445.2 million. Car rentals were fifth with $188.6 million in purchases.

Total U.S. spending on online sales stood at $3.9 billion in May. It dipped to $3.2 billion in June and then climbed back to almost $4 billion in July, a one-month rise of 25 percent. The number of households that shopped online also grew from 13.1 million in June to 14.7 million in July, a 12 percent increase.

Retailers Heading Online In Hopes To Find Their Missing Shoppers

When times get tough for retailers, retailers go online. In most cases, they find their missing shoppers clicking online.

According to Forbes, despite the bum economy, Internet retail sales will rise 16.6% in 2008 to $204 billion, about the same rate of growth as in 2007, according to the latest annual study by Forrester Research. That's way above the 3.5% growth in overall retail sales predicted for 2008 by the National Retail Federation. The biggest online categories: apparel (due to rise by $3.9 billion, or 17%), computers (up $3.2 billion, or 15%) and autos (up $2.5 billion, or 15%).

Driven by convenience and high gas prices, nearly all retail categories are expected to sell a higher percentage of goods over the Web this year, including event tickets (to 31% from 27%), toys and baby products (22% from 19%) and home furnishings (11% from 9%). Also look for sizable percentage jumps in jewelry (19%), office supplies (21%) and sporting goods (17%), even as those categories each remain under $10 billion in annual online sales.

Let WebTech launch a marketing campaign to help your business keep its customers during this recession.