Online Marketing & eCommerce....It's the Rule!

The age of paper marketing and communications is rapidly giving way to Online marketing and communications as well as digital media. Get your message online! The reality is it's faster, more efficient, and if used properly, far less expensive than it's predecessor. Now you can be talking to a client, while at the same time, they can be perusing your site getting the additional information they need to make a decision. In the past, this would require the initial phone call, a brochure being sent out and waiting several days for it to arrive and for them to find the time to read it, and a follow up phone call to accomplish the same result. This is just one way you can benefit by having a strong Online / eCommerce marketing strategy.

Business Requires an Online Marketing Strategy

Having a strong web presence is no longer a luxury, it is the rule. Think about it, the World Wide Web hit the scene 1994 and in it's first decade, it rose to heights no one could have imagined. Just look at email, it started as a novelty, just  another way  to communicate. Now if one's email server goes down, panic is the rule of the day. There are now multi-billion dollar eCommerce businesses that operate exclusively over the Internet. Just look at the commercials on television. Drug companies have websites not only for their companies, but for each product as well, and they are not the only ones!

The second decade of eCommerce will be marked by innovations that will make online shopping easier and more engaging. This will boost US online retail sales from $172 billion in 2005 to $329 billion in 2010, according to a new forecast by Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR). The increase translates to a solid 14 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years.

"Businesses are debating their online strategy. Many believe they became too focused on sales. Now they're looking at their Web sites as a way to drive in-store traffic and increase their engagement with customers," says Forrester Research Vice President Carrie Johnson. "This is a huge shift in philosophy as eCommerce enters a more sophisticated phase. But it's also creating tension as CEOs demand ROI for expensive Web sites with hard-to-define metrics such as loyalty and brand."

The Forrester report includes a five-year forecast (with graphic) that breaks out online sales across 15 retail categories, including travel. Some highlights:

   -- eCommerce will represent 13 percent of total US retail sales in 2010.

   -- Travel remains the largest online retail category, growing from $63 billion in 2005 to $119
       billion in 2010.