Should You Advertise Online During Crisis?

I got a barrage of questions from a former colleague earlier about advertising online. His exact question was, "Why should I advertise online even during crisis?"

The answer is easy.

Because advertising online (especially pay-per-click ads) is the most cost efficientmedium of advertising.

"Are you sure?" he said.

"Of course!" I answered back.

Before the advent of the internet our parents used the yellow pages (or the directory) to find suppliers they need (they still do!). They open up the book, find the right category and start calling the supplier they need. The same way we do online. We go to Google and search. Right?

You only search based on your needs. Be it to purchase something. Canvass. Do Reviews. Find a store. Compare. Or just simply because they are curious. You don't really search for something you don't really need right? 

The internet has a wealth of information and that's how a lot of people find info nowadays. Being there as relevant links or text (or even display ads) also helps because it may end up tickling the fancy of the person in that page. 

Anyway, in a more formal note, Piper Jaffray & Co. in their study “The New eCommerce Decade: The Age of Micro Targeting” found out that the most cost efficient way of acquiring customers is via search at $8.50 per customer acquired, the yellow pages follows second at $20 cost per acquisition. 

Makes sense doesn't it? And during crisis every centavo counts. 

So have you searched for your product online lately?