| |
| |
|
Internet Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Marketing Objectives for Your Web Site
Do you have marketing objectives for your Web site? With objectives to help overcome your main online challenges you can work smarter, not harder. Think of your Web site objective as the "big picture". It is the basis for a marketing plan and, in general terms, answers the questions: "How can I use the site to overcome my business's main Internet related challenge?" and/or "What is the purpose of my site?" When setting marketing objectives, keep your site's business model and customers' decision-making stages in mind. Business Models The business model defines how your Web site fits into your business - how it will help your company grow. Direct revenue is a popular Web site business model, but it is not the only one. Some business models include: - Direct Revenue / e-Commerce Some of the most known Web site objectives relate to e-commerce or other types of direct revenue from the site. That is, the objective is to establish a direct source of revenue from orders or advertising space. - Build Brand Image A long-term marketing objective for your site could be to improve sales by building an image for your product, brand, and/or company. Increasingly, this is an explicit goal for large companies with ample budgets. Small-budget companies can follow suit on a more affordable scale by building an image during the natural course of marketing. You can do this by consistently presenting similar design elements and "personality" at each point of contact with the world - whether that contact be virtual or physical. - Enhance Customer Service Your site can increase revenue indirectly by improving customer service. When customers are more satisfied, they tend to spread the word about your products as well as buy more often themselves. Customers often do product research on a Web site then later place orders via catalogue, telephone, sales representatives, a physical retail store, mail, and/or fax. In all of these cases, a Web site indirectly contributes to building the business. - Lower Operating Costs A Web site can help your business by lowering costs. Automated customer service functions - Web-based FAQ, order status reports, product specifications, etc. - can lower the number of customer service calls, reducing customer service labor costs. A Web presence can also lower operating costs by streamlining communication with your business partners. Business-to-business companies can create secure Web space to communicate and collaborate with customers. It is even possible to have individual, private sites for major clients. A central "meeting place" that archives communications and other customer-specific information can cut down on administrative costs related to "phone tag", inquiries, and/or the need to consciously keep all players "in the loop". On the supply side, you could reduce costly business disruptions by giving key vendors Web-based access to your inventory or other real-time information. Customer Stages: Awareness, Interest, Trial, and Repeat When setting your marketing objectives, it may help to think in terms of awareness, interest, trial, and repeat. These concepts are often used in marketing to explain the stages a new customer (or site visitor, in this case) goes through on the path to becoming loyal to your business. The potential visitor must first become aware of your site. Once aware, you must spark an interest with the potential visitor, motivating her/him to trial, or respond to a call to action on your site. After (s)he visits your site, that person becomes loyal by revisiting in the future. You may be able to most effectively build your business by focusing on one or two of awareness, interest, trial, or repeat visits, then changing your focus over time. If your site is brand new or known to very few people, for example, your plan is likely to concentrate on ways to increase awareness and interest. A focus on interest and trial may be in order, however, if you get an above-average number of "window shoppers" - visitors who never purchase (or do not respond to some other call to action). Additionally, if you sell multiple products or a product that needs replenishing from your site, focus on repeat purchases may be more effective. Setting Your Marketing Objectives While there are different approaches to setting objectives, my preference is to develop a single objective for a site that may encompass more than one approach to business building. In the marketing plan, I include separate strategies and tactics to address each approach suggested in the site objective. I also like to note in the objective both the customer stage(s) and business model(s) I will focus on in the marketing plan. This makes it easier to decide upon the most effective marketing strategies. Another approach is to address the customer stages separately, in a summary or write-up. With either approach, you should view your marketing plan as evolving over time. As the business environment and situations change, your focus should change as well. Once you get past the launch stage of a new site, for example, you are in a better position to evaluate site traffic, so your plan may shift from focusing on awareness and interest to building trial and loyalty. Similarly, a better understanding of site visitors may lead you to adjust your business model to more closely address your company's and Web customers' needs. About The Author Bobette Kyle draws upon 10+ years of marketing/executive experience, marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. She is publisher of the ecommerce information site http://www.Take-Payments-Online.com. Bobette is also proprietor of The WebSiteMarketingPlan.com Network, http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com. Copyright 2002, 2004 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.
MORE RESOURCES:
Internet-Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Paradigm Shift of Internet Marketing There is a trend going on in the world of internet marketing. If you truly open your eyes and pay attention to everything in the internet marketing world, you will notice this specific trend that is rapidly invading our email inboxes from every internet marketing guru out there. Internet Marketing - Advantages and Disadvantages Everyone seems to be jumping on the internet marketing bandwagon lately. In the race to get their business online, many successful businesses forget to ask themselves some tough questions about what they are doing, what their expectations are and what their plan is to meet those expectations. Make Money With A Business Opportunity Online There are so many business opportunities these days that promise to help you make money online. What should you do to choose one? Here are some tips to help you with your decision. Stitching Up a Niche I am a great admirer of businesses that serve and market to one or a small number of niches. It's such a great business model and one of the fastest ways to grow a business. Can You Really Make Money While You Sleep? If you've been utilizing the Internet for any length of time it's likely you have been bombarded with junk mail claiming you can make money "while you sleep." Most sensible people are bound to ignore such claims of easy money. What Does Success Look Like? While we are well into the 21st century too many are still thinking about their business as they did in the 1990's.The face of business has changed and the Internet is a BIG part of that change. The Internet and Network Marketing After years of gut wrenching work and stress the home based business building process has finally been chopped down to size. The casualties from this type of business building are horrendous and rightfully so. Niche Marketing - How to Find Your Perfect Niche Market If you don't find a niche market for the product or service you offer, you will have a difficult time being successful. Most newcomers who wish to do business on the Internet often market to everyone they can find with the expectation that everyone will do business with them. What Great Online Advertising Really Is! Many business people have a distorted view about the distinction between sales & marketing. The common view looks something like this. The Long Sales Letter: Should You Use it In Your Advertising? If you're a web marketer and you've done your homework, you've probably come across the Long Sales Letter in your internet travels. Top web marketing experts like Yanik Silver, "The Copy Doctor" Michel Fortin and countless others use it to pitch their comprehensive instructional kits. The Tao of Web Marketing A few months ago I was watching a stream meandering back and forth across a flat plain in a high mountain valley. The stream reached it's destination - a small lake - but only after dozens of loops and curves. The 9 WORST Internet Marketing Mistakes Have you ever wondered how can you possibly figure out how to market your Internet business when you're bombarded with so much conflicting information? Lots of "how to" advice applies to many online businesses.But avoiding common marketing mistakes will work for EVERY business. 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. 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. How To Make A Lot Of Money On The Internet Doing Nothing "You can make a lot of money on the Internet doing nothing!" That's the number one Internet marketing myth.It's an urban legend, of course. Online Network Marketing 101B - Basic Must Steps to Follow to be a Successful Marketer In my earlier article, "Online Network Marketing 101A", I wrote the first three things that you have to do in order for you to start your career to be a successful marketer.We are going to about some of the actions that you can do to enhance your experience of being a successful marketer. Online Sales: How To Use Customer Feedbacks To Generate More Sales Communication is the engine that powers business.It is an important online sales skill that you must polish until it shines like the sun. Developing Your Export Import Business Using Internet - Part I Since most of the businesses throughout the world have access to the Internet, many astute entrepreneurs and trading companies are using the Internet as one of the primary means for developing their import and export businesses.Already a big slice of global trades are taking place through the Internet. Think Outside The Box: Home Internet Business Ideas Imagine never having to leave your home to work. Not having to deal with traffic, office politics, annoying co-workers, or pretentious bosses make excellent arguments to working out of the comfort of your own home. How Can Multimedia Work For You? Multimedia here and multimedia there. Is it just a flashy thing you don't need or the reason why your competitors are getting ahead? Today's reality is that people live on a fast pace so their time is important.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
