Small business owners sometimes find fault with an online marketing solution simply because they don’t understand it.

They’re used to doing things the old way.  And they measure success by overall company sales.  It takes effort to understand the impact of any advertising campaign, including initiatives with online marketing.

The best thing to do is look at how you’re advertising today and compare that to how you advertise online.  What performs better?  And I would caution against looking at the lowest cost per lead as a sign of success.  Why?  The source in the nature of a lead will dictate the true value.  In other words, your cost per lead for one product may be $50 and you can bring in $10,000 and revenue.

Leads for another product could average $80, but maybe the revenue reaches $30,000 – all because of the market you target it and the leads you received.

I remember one executive who missed the mark with ROI.  In his situation, I suggested a 700 percent ROI.  He was less than thrilled at that prospect.  He recommended 2,000 percent.  After all, his business had grown a lot the last year and he wanted  the company to continue to grow at a good clip for each of the next five years.

As it turns out, he did not have a good handle on the ROI of his current advertising efforts.  His success and projections were based on sales he generated from existing customers.  I guess that’s advertising.  But the comparison certainly wasn’t fair.  Online marketing isn’t easy.  And yes, there are many risks.  But often you will find that online marketing can cost less than the other two forms of advertising.  Give an online marketing specialist a shot and see what difference it makes for your business.