Video, mobile & Internet marketing are keys for business survival in the 21st century.

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Doing business in the 21st century is quite a bit different than how we did it in the 20th century. Consumers’ tastes are always changing, and businesses have done a good job of changing along with them to meet demand throughout the decades. However, the 21st century has seen more than just a change in what consumers want; it has also seen a dramatic change in how they choose to get it. The Internet and mobile technology have created a Technological Revolution that one could argue rivals the importance of the Industrial Revolution in its time.

Since my company, Morrison Video Productions, specializes in corporate video production and Internet marketing, I obviously try hard to keep up to date on successful marketing trends. This requires constant vigilance because changes come rapidly. While I don’t expect every business owner and decision maker to be well-versed in all areas of marketing, I continue to be surprised at how many I encounter who know very little about mobile and web marketing. What’s more, many of them are actually resistant to employing these strategies because they’ve adopted an attitude of “If I don’t regularly use the Internet or a smart phone, myself, then these things must not be relevant to my business”. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It’s important for business owners  and managers to remember that their marketing efforts need to be focused on connecting with customers and prospects in the places where they are most likely to be found. One does not have to read a lot of research (although there is plenty out there to be found) to realize that most consumers now rely on the web and mobile phones for information about the products and services they want. If it’s difficult or impossible to find your business using these technologies, chances are it is seeing a steady decline in sales. If you continue to ignore them, then you’re virtually guaranteeing that your business will not survive over the next few years.

Does all of this mean that your entire marketing budget should be spent on mobile and Internet marketing? Absolutely not. It simply means that you need to find a good balance between the types of marketing you do, and that will vary depending on your type of business. Keep in mind, however, that you simply cannot find that balance without having mobile and web marketing on one side of the scale. And, since video continues to dominate all other forms of online marketing in terms of its effectiveness in reaching customers and improving search results, it’s imperative that you add this to your scale as well.

If your business has been suffering in the last few years, don’t take the easy way out and blame it all on the economy. Take a hard look at how you’ve been marketing your business and ask yourself if what you’ve been doing has been a realistic approach to reaching customers. The results of your marketing should make the answer clear to you. If you see the need for improvement, then make a commitment to start turning things around now! After all, the world will not change to accommodate you, so you must learn to adapt to it to survive.

If you have comments or questions about this article, please direct them to Ken Morrison, Managing Partner of Morrison Video Productions, LLC in Graham, NC, at info@morrisonvp.com. Morrison Video Productions serves the cities of Burlington, Chapel Hill, Mebane, and Greensboro as well as Alamance, Guilford and Orange counties in North Carolina.