QT Creative director Clare Quartermaine examines online marketing

Nov 2 2010 by Henryk Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

SO we’ve heard in the news lately that Britain leads the way in online trading – worth £100bn a year and larger than the construction and transport sectors.

Well, its nice to know we’re good at something! But is online trading really better than bricks and mortar?

I think many business people would view the jungle of online marketing with some trepidation. Like the depths of the ocean, you never know what’s going to turn up next!

This is the place where the consumer has more control over your brand than you do and has the power to force even the big names like GAP to abandon their new logo and revert back to their original one after widespread derision on social networks.

The internet is a newer frontier, slightly anarchic in nature, that gives the new kids on the block a chance to jump the success queue.

It gives potential entrepreneurs, whatever their background, gender, culture, the opportunities to invent, explore and create without necessarily having to invest large sums of money or join the old boys club.

It marks a new levelling of the playing field.

I like that. All the old theories are being blown out and replaced with frantic, frightened companies scrambling to get a piece of the action.

But what is the clue to success in online? Money? Skill? I honestly think it’s ‘time’.

Making your site/online shop successful is more than just setting up a sponsored link with a “popular search engine”, it’s finding the people to recommend you, to discuss your great, innovative products, it’s producing something new and it’s spending time making those connections.

This all takes your time, hours of it, to ensure your company or product is being mentioned as often as possible on as many sites/social networks as possible.

The internet is viral in style – many Facebook groups bumble along with about 20 members and then before you know it, 20 are joining per day!

This is a time when clicks are becoming more important than steps! How many times have we been in a shop, seen something and thought “I’ll check if I can get it cheaper online’?

Is this the decline of the high street? Probably not, but I think the internet is a very good thing for the consumer.