Is Your Web Address Everywhere?

MoreVisibility - July 3, 2008

I was driving home from work the other day and as luck would have it the radio station I normally listen to was playing commercials. I was interested in the commercials to see how many of the businesses advertising on the radio mention their web address. Now, I am a workaholic so I am always thinking about things like this, but more so this particular afternoon because of a conversation I had with a client right before I left the office.

We were discussing ways in which to expand their marketing initiatives by leveraging what they were already doing to advertise their business. I asked them if they put their web address in all of their offline “traditional” advertising. I was surprised to find out they rarely mention their website unless it is a pure internet marketing campaign. Sure, with their Pay per Click campaign we manage for them their website address is prominently displayed in their ads on Google, Yahoo, and MSN search engines for example. But they spend advertising dollars (and large amounts I might add) on local radio and cable television. While they make an effort to provide their physical business address, the areas they service, and their main telephone number, they didn’t mention their web address. Of course, my first recommendation was to add their web address to all marketing copy no matter what the platform. Just because a potential customer is not in front of their computer while watching TV or driving their car doesn’t mean they won’t use the internet to research a company before they decide to do business with them. In fact, many studies show customers will usually go to a website after they heard an ad on the radio or saw a television ad to get more information. According to Dieringer Research Group, as reported by eMarketer, US consumers spent $137.6 billion offline after first getting product or service information online. The survey also determined that 25% of consumers have changed their opinion about one or more brands after having seen some form of online marketing. This data further suggests that getting people to your website is an important aspect of your overall marketing strategy, regardless of where you put your advertising dollars!

Let’s face it, you can only provide so much information about your company in a 30-45 second radio or television spot! Your website, on the other hand, can be a wealth of information for a potential customer and you are not limited to the time restrictions of a radio or television ad. You have their attention now…make the most of it!