The Evolution of Marketing: From Yellow Pages to Search Engines
As Google AdWords puts it, “online advertising helps your business reach the right people, in the right place, and at the right time.” — the essence of this sentence not only illustrates how the Web has changed the world of marketing and PR, but also businesses, both large and small. The advent of Web is often described as a game changer in the marketing discipline. It has made possible for a lot of small businesses, like mine, to reach their target audience, without geographical boundaries, and most importantly, at low cost.
In the tea industry, trade shows and other traditional forms of advertising, such as direct mail and newspaper, used to be the only way for businesses to reach their customers and introduce their products to the market. While this may work for established tea companies like Teavana or David’s Tea, it’s not a sustainable marketing strategy for small businesses. Traditional marketing is like casting a wide net to reach a broad audience. While you have the attention of many, it is untargeted, expensive, and not to mention the uncertainty if your marketing message even gets delivered. Take, for example, direct mail versus email. For my business, if I were to send a piece of direct mail to one of my customer, it could take as many as 10 weeks. Whereas with email, I can get it delivered to my customer’s inbox in seconds and practically costs nothing. Email, after all, is not just a blessing for tree huggers, but businesses as well.
When talking about revolutionary changes that the Web has brought to the world of marketing, people often like to compare the Yellow Pages with search engines. While most of us think the Yellow Pages are for old timers, 40% of Americans still consult one at least once a year, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
As Mark Perlman of Oracle said, “the Web is an enabler”. It enables brands and businesses to reach consumers directly and publishes information without boundaries. It has brought people (virtually) closer together and in a way, becomes part of people’s lives. Connecting with consumers is no longer restrained by just a few lines in the Yellow Pages. Today, the Web makes resources available 24/7 via blogs, websites, forums, and social networks. Consumers now go to search engines to look for businesses and answers. Now you don’t dial numbers, you “Google” things, or better yet, ask Siri.
In a highly competitive market like loose leaf tea, there’s no question that the Web is where you need to be as that’s where your customers are, that’s where they search for answers, and to find businesses. In the World Wide Web, businesses are no longer restrained by boundaries, customers are within your reach.
