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Marketing products and services has always required an unique approach which balances the need to communicate the message, while at the same time maintaining an image that presents a high degree of
professionalism. The twin objectives of most company's marketing campaigns have been to attract new customers and increase the revenue opportunities with repeat customers. While the objectives are the same when marketing on
the Internet, this new media requires that you put everything you know about the marketing process on the shelf for a minute. In the world of the Internet, some concepts seem to work in the reverse of traditional marketing
concepts. The more successful Websites encourage interaction rather than presentation, value rather than vanity and inclusion rather than differentiation.
Interaction Rather Than Presentation As an example, printed brochures and data sheets are the mainstays of the traditional marketer's arsenal of sales tools. However, online promotional
material is very different from traditional printed brochures. With embedded linking, Internet users can electronically "page" through your Website content, examining in detail those elements which most interest them.
Embedded links make it possible for the user to access an infinite supply of additional information about your services, and even interact directly with your staff asking any questions they might have.
Think Interactively For any direct marketing campaign to be effective, an outcome must be the collection of detailed information in a database of qualified prospects. The most cost effective
source of direct marketing information related to prospects and customers can be provided within a highly interactive Web site. Without interaction, qualified prospects may visit your site, collect the information they need and
silently leave. This doesn't give your company the chance to turn a prospect visit to your site into a new customer relationship. Companies employ a number of techniques to capture prospect information. These include
requesting that the visitor participate in an online survey or make entry in an online "Guest Book".
Take-Away Mentality As you plan your interactions with visitors, develop a take-away mentality. Offer a special report, a planning checklist or some other valuable item to visitors who give
you their opinion and their contact information. Visitors will more readily participate in a survey or make entry in a Guest Book if they receive something of value for their efforts.
Value Rather Than Vanity While it may be quite exciting to the staff to see pictures of the company's executives or owners on the Home Page, always ask the question first: "Does this
element of our Website leave a perception of value or vanity in the mind of a site visitor"?
Prospects Vs Customers The value needs of a prospect vary considerably from those of an existing customer when they access your Website. When a prospect visits your Website, they perceive
value when they leave convinced that your company can meet their personal or business needs at a price they find acceptable. With a prospect, the image your Website presents is often as important as the substance it provides.
An existing customer, on the other hand, finds value primarily through a continuous stream of new answers. Each time they access your Website, they want specific and valuable professional information to help them with their personal
or business needs. When customers visit your Website, they look for:
- Customer service
- A sense of community with the company
- A sense of community with others having similar issues
- Timely, relevant professional information
Dynamic and Evolutionary To insure appeal to the new visitor and renewed appeal to the repeat visitor, your marketing message must be both dynamic and evolving. A dynamic Website will be
updated as often as practical, in some cases weekly or even daily updates of existing information may be appropriate. A calendar of events may be most appropriately updated on a monthly basis, however, news alerts should be
incorporated in the Web site content within days of their announcement if they are to be considered by customers to be timely. As dynamic as your Website may be, the Internet is also changing and evolving so rapidly that new
products, methodologies and standards are appearing on a daily basis. Your site, too, must continually evolve to remain relevant and these new components should be considered for inclusion in your site. A planned schedule of
update and enhancement will help insure that new components are part of the overall Website's "look and feel" and that they work smoothly and seamlessly with your existing Web site content.
Inclusion Rather than Differentiation In the traditional marketing setting, companies attempt to differentiate themselves from others offering the same services. On the Internet, users have
access to an unlimited selection of information, most of which is totally irrelevant to their immediate needs. All of this information is available to any one of the company's competitors who also have a Website. The
company which locates, screens and presents all the most relevant sources of information for its prospects and customers will perform an invaluable service for them - one that will keep them coming back for more.
Hot Site Linkage Creating links to valuable information provided in other Internet locations is a sure way to encourage both customers and prospects to use your company's Website as a Home Base
for directed Internet exploration.
Implicit Endorsement Another form of "inclusionary thinking" relates to advertisements. By including a "Download Netscape" or "Download Adobe Acrobat" button on
its Home Page, a company will benefit from the implicit endorsement of such leading edge software providers as Netscape or Adobe. Another twist on this advertising technique is the use of co-marketing messages. A well-crafted
link to a respected professional research site or an industry-related association demonstrates an implied endorsement of these organizations and the professional standards which they uphold.
Site Announcement Let the world know that you are out there. Become as visible as possible by announcing your company's Website to all the major search engines and directories.
Services such as Submit-it! or Register-it! will help make this task easier by packaging the process - presenting your announcement in the proper format to a large number of search and directory organizations at one time. Make sure
to pay close attention to the title of your Home Page and selection of keywords which can be included within your Website and used by a search engine to locate your company's Website.
Internet users are overwhelmed with choices of where to look for professional information and advice. No company has a corner on providing this information. Much like the TV remote in this modern
time of 500 television channels, the message must be compelling, focused and represent substantial value in order to hold the viewer's attention and prevent channel surfing. Surfing past a Website on the Internet is a similar
risk to companies that don't invest the time and consistent attention necessary to fully exploit this marketing vehicle. Armed with an understanding of the dynamics of this new media, companies can reap tremendous benefits in
terms of new business opportunities and enhanced customer service.
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