| |
| |
|
Internet Marketing Information |
|
|
|
E Is for Everything?
Just this week, a member of my audience asked me the following: "Why would a local company, with a large investment in trained, professional sales people need a Web site?" Great question! And you might be thinking the same. . . Maybe you already know many or all of your potential customers, maybe you have very defined processes and production cycles that don't change very quickly, maybe you're suspicious of the Internet "hype" - especially now that so many e-companies are falling by the wayside. But we also know that the Internet isn't going away. 407 million people are now estimated to have access - that includes 167 million in N. America, and 113 million in Europe. Younger people increasingly spend more time online than watching TV. And the April edition of this magazine has an e-commerce focus . . . The true challenge now - which personally I also see as a great opportunity, is to understand all the ways in which using the 'Net can help your business, and from this to strategise the best investment of time and money. So if it's here to stay, how can the Internet benefit your business - and what's currently going wrong? There are some key elements that prevent many Web site owners from maximizing the potential of their Internet-based activities: 1. Tunnel vision on sales and new business: it takes at least five times the time and expense to acquire a new customer as it does to keep a current one. Your Web site can be a great tool for providing ongoing customer service and support - and achieving significant cost savings to boot! Most people access the Internet for information on products and services that they either use now, or are considering buying. So, your Web site can be a great place to provide ongoing customer support for your products. If you're worried about giving away trade secrets to your competition, place these in a password-protected area. The best way to build your content is to compile a list of questions that your customers most often ask. These may be sales related, but can also cover operations, quality assurance issues, etc. If you don't already know the questions, have your receptionists and sales people keep a note pad for a week. Then, put the questions, together with the answers, on your site. This provides a 24 hour a day, seven day a week availability of service for your customers, whether your office is open or not. And, it can save significant costs in terms of telephone support time. 2. Not "asking for the business": I know this sounds obvious, but how many sites have you seen where it's quite unclear what the site wants from you? Every page of your site should have a strategy, and be clear about inviting visitor interactions to achieve your goals. Many times when a new client comes to me for e-business strategy consulting, I ask them a few seemingly simple questions: "Who are your markets? What do they want from you?" and "What do you want from them?" Sounds easy enough. But often, there are visitors to your Web site that may be different from your traditional customers - and sometimes, you either currently offer or could create new products or services that they'd buy. Thinking through all the possible audiences for your site, and all the ways in which you might interact with them is really crucial in creating your Web strategy. Then, so is knowing who you expect to be looking at each page of your site, and what you want them to do. This might include requesting a catalog, asking for technical support, signing up for a newsletter, etc. Include clear text links and invitations to the visitor - and make it really easy for them to contact you. Too many pages online provide great content, and then just tail off into nothing. Don't let yours be among them! 3. Under-utilising e-mail: e-mail is a powerful tool when used appropriately (and an awful one when not!) It can be used for marketing, customer service, public relations, in-company memos, business research . . . and much more. Look at your real-world communications - could e-mail save you time and expense? E-mail marketing can be done without the costs of design printing, and postage associated with traditional direct mail. It's almost free of charge! It can be used to send notices of new products, or upgrades to existing ones. It can keep your customers informed of news and events in your company, and around the industry. If it's offering brief, valuable content, most of your contacts won't object to receiving it - although of course if they do, you must take them off your mailings. But, with a few subtly embedded links to key pages in your Web site, it can be a great traffic generator. Your own database of your customers, prospects and other contacts is the best place to start - and take every opportunity to nurture that. Ask visitors to your Web site to sign up for your newsletter, product alerts, or other materials. If you buy any lists, be very careful that they're bona fide and you won't be accused of spamming recipients. And whatever you do, answer your e-mail! Lack of e-mail response is always one of the biggest customer service complaints around e-business. So, consistently mine your customer list. Send them targeted, relevant e-mails, and grow your business relationships electronically! Let's say it again - the Internet isn't going away. Today's challenge lies in understanding how to use it to maximise your market reach, optimise the efficiency of your operations, and achieve the best overall return on your online business investment. This article was originally published in three installments in the "Foundry Trade Journal", 2001. About The Author Philippa Gamse, CyberSpeaker, is an internationally recognized e-business strategist. Check out her free tipsheet "Beyond the Search Engines" for 17 ideas to promote your Website: http://www.CyberSpeaker.com/tipsheet.html Philippa can be reached at (831) 465-0317 or mailto:pgamse@CyberSpeaker.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Internet-Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Road Map to Internet Marketing Success Today, the internet has become part of our life. We communicate, trade, and find entertainment over the internet. Why You Must Have More Than One Niche Sites Have you heard of diversifying your investment portofilio?No? Well, it's extremely famous in financial planning.Those financial planners will tell you that in order for you to minimize risk of lost, you should have different types of investment to generate multiple income streams. The Ugly Side Of Internet Marketing, What The Gurus Wont Tell You! Did that headline grab your attention?I have experimented with many different headlines on my sites and found that you can take the same sales letter yet your sales will increase or decrease depending on the headline you are using.That's nothing to sneeze at! Your headline can literally make or break your advertising campaign. List Building Through Cooperative Partnerships.... This is a little tip I got from Alex Sampson, a true marketing master.Fact#1:The ownership of an optin list of subscribers is the #1 thing you can do to promote your product or services, you cannot succeed online without one, so don't even try. E-Psychology: Increasing Your Sales On-Line As any successful entrepreneur knows, there's more to generating on-line sales than owning a web site. To produce sales, your web presence must be effective, easy to navigate, and properly marketed - all of which require a well-rounded understanding of your target client. At Last, A Plain English Guide to Internet Marketing Have you ever been horrified and intimidated at the convoluted, jargon-reliant information about Internet marketing available on the Net?Often it results in many companies becoming confused and therefore reluctant to put into practice what would be a valuable and simple business resource when understood and applied correctly.Market Research consultant for Inteltab, Gordon Goodfellow, who is also an English literature graduate, decided it was time for a change. Marketing Your Web Site Congratulations! Your Web Site is finished! Now what? Your first instinct is to submit to every search engine possible and leave it up to them to bring traffic to your site. Despite what you may have been told, it doesn't happen quite that way. Top 3 Free Marketing Techniques If you have zero budget then this is the article for you. In this article I will discuss the best ways to market your website for free. 10 Search Tips for Internet Marketers From kids to the old, everybody searches and search engines provide search tips to help searchers get more relevant result.But how many of those search tips are you using? There are some tips very useful especially for Internet marketers and web masters. Your Personal Fortune Is In Your Words! What is the most important skill you can possess as an Internet Marketer?Your words!The words you choose to use in your ad copy, in your sales letters and on your website will determine your success in sales!Improve your "word" skills daily. Read the ads that come to your mailbox (spam) and learn what words others are using to SELL their product. My Dog Ate My Website I am really fascinated by the world of on-line marketing. I spend more and more of my time on the net, make more of my purchases from on-line suppliers, but I seem to find out about new about new products on TV, radio, or even mail. Ask Questions? To Help Find The GOLD Here's another great idea that the gurus are using to create high profit online products.It's called an 'ask page' and is designed to let the potential customers tell you what they want to buy. Book Yourself Solid Key Number 2: Choose Your Ideal Clients The Book Yourself Solid article series continues withKey Number 2: Choose Your Ideal ClientsYour clients are an expression and an extension of you. When I first started out on my own, I would work with anyone who had a heartbeat and a credit card. A Day in the Life of an Internet Marketer I have been working on the Internet since 1998 and I often get emails from people that think that working online is an 'easy ride' and won't involve them in much work. Don't get me wrong, working online doesn't have to be hard and it is possible to earn a good income for a few hours work each day. Free Marketing = Effective Marketing According to Google.com there are over three billion web pages online today. How To Increase Your Online Sales Anytime Hold a discount sale on your web site. Use the sale to get rid of excess inventory, gain new or repeat customers, and increase your sales. Know The Fundamentals To Success Internet Marketing is right for everyone. Unfortunately, not everyone is right for internet marketing. The First Steps In Ideal Internet Marketing The first steps in defining your ideal marketing plan determining what your site is to accomplish. Make sure you know how to measure success before you start implementing a plan. Raising Your Rates Can *Increase* Your Business How many times have I heard literal horror stories from Internet business startups? Too many times to count! I get emails from those who just simply can't seem to make a living online. They've tried everything (according to them) and are still struggling to make ends meet. Classified Ads - What Works & What Doesn't Do classified ads really work? Should you include an email address or fax number in them? How about a call to action?Questions like these are often brought to the attention of OhioHelp.net, an Ohio-based company specializing in helping businesses worldwide with their marketing, public relations and freelance writing services.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
