Member Article

North East Businesses buy in to online marketing

The rise in the adoption of online techniques as the primary marketing channel for smaller businesses in recent years has been spectacular.

This is unsurprising as, when done well, the immediacy and cost effectiveness of online marketing provides a platform where small/medium businesses can punch above their weight.

Whether online marketing is used to manage relationships with existing customers, attract new customers or a mix of both the return on the business investment can often produce extremely good returns.

NBSL are supporting over 1,000 North East businesses a year with funding towards the costs of a range of business improvement projects and as a result we get a strong insight into where small/medium sized companies are choosing to invest to grow their businesses.

Over the last year, through our North East Business Support Fund, we have seen the number of online marketing projects rise from 350 a year to over 500 as more small/medium businesses become increasingly aware of the benefits of using online channels to reach and nurture customers.

The development and enhancement of quality websites has long been a significant area of investment for smaller businesses but we are now seeing a wider range of online marketing investments. There is an increasing trend for businesses to invest in social media strategies,

development of film and animation materials, Search Engine Optimisation consultancy and the design of e-marketing campaigns.

We keep in touch with all the businesses whose projects we have funded to see how well they’re doing and the evidence over the last 18 months has shown that investing in good quality online marketing is producing strong results even in a difficult economic climate.

This trend towards increased investment in online marketing is one that shows no sign of changing as more businesses seek innovative and cost effective methods of keeping and attracting customers.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by NBSL .