What is an effective Internet sales strategy for an established gourmet food brand? This is a great question! Developing a successful online marketing strategy requires a comprehensive understanding of your business. It's important to find a professional internet strategist that will help you consider your online marketing objectives, budget for reaching your goals and the specific processes that will be carried out to reach them. Smart business owners realize the value of assessment and planning in order to determine the desired outcome of a marketing plan. That same principle holds true for internet marketing. An independent initial marketing assessment can make the difference between a mediocre marketing plan and a dynamite one. There are four steps to developing a quality Internet Marketing Strategy. 1. Evaluate Your Online Presence Before you know which direction to move forward, you need to know where you're starting. A trained professional will review your website, blog and online presence and will let you know what you're doing right, what needs to be adjusted and where the gaps are. 2. Assess Your Competitive Landscape In order to have an effective internet marketing program, you need to integrate competitive strategy with your existing marketing plan. A professional will ensure your tarket market and niche are clearly identified, and work with you to identify what the competition is doing right, doing wrong and what you will do differently. 3. Situation Analysis A professional will help you establish your major objectives and key strategies, analyze current vs. desired internet strategy and determine what platforms and services you need. 4. Develop a Strategic Plan A professional will help you set SMART goals and measurement metrics so that you can assess the effectiveness of your investment. Once you have your Internet Marketing Strategy, it's important to find someone that knows how to implement it using industry standards and best practices. Businesses that demonstrate a profitable outcome from their internet marketing efforts do the following: • Set clear objectives, • Have a strategic internet marketing plan, • Execute the plan RELENTLESSLY, and • Measure, track and analyze data and adjust their practices accordingly. That said, one strategy that is often overlooked (and that I have found to be especially effective in the food brand market), is developing strong partnerships and brand advocates. This takes a lot of time and effort, but can amplify your impressions significantly. I also find that the value of quality, engaging graphics, photography and images cannot be underestimated. I hope this is helpful!