iProspect and JupiterResearch have just published the results of a study that looked at offline influences on Internet searches. Some of the results are available at iProspect’s homepage in both HTML and PDF formats.

Some of the highlights of the study include:

• 57% of respondents said search had become a more important part of their Internet experience over the past year
• 54% of respondents performed at least one search per day
• 2/3 said offline exposure prompted Internet searches
• 37% searched in response to television ads; 36% searched in response to word-of-mouth
• 68% said a company’s name was the first thing they searched for when responding to offline influences
• 39% of online searches prompted by offline content resulted in online sales
• 30% said print ads drove them to online purchases; 30% said word-of-mouth drove them to online purchases

So what can you take from all of this? The main point here is that offline content is a huge influencer of online purchases. Television ads and word-of-mouth got folks searching… print ads and word-of-mouth influenced decisions to purchase. This is important to know for two reasons:

1. If your company - and thus your marketing - is online only, you’re missing a huge opportunity to drive sales
2. Even if your sales are offline, people are going to be searching for your online. If you don’t have an online presence (and rank for your company name), you’re missing a huge opportunity to drive sales

It also goes to reinforce what many in the Internet marketing world have been saying for years - diversification is the key. People don’t just live in one world or the other (offline/online). They live in both. If you’re not reaching out to people in multiple mediums in both worlds, there’s no telling how many people you’re missing. The more times you get your brand and your service in front of people, the more quickly your company will spring to mind when it comes time for them to buy what you’re selling.

Remember last week’s study? Nielsen//Netratings found that people only spent about 5% of their online time doing searches. They spent almost 50% looking at content and 15% shopping. So not only do you need to have an online presence for people to search for, you need to have some sort of content for them to look at.

Take a look at your marketing plan and how it relates to your online presence. Are you maximizing your full potential?