7 Pc marketing Internet MktExecutive SummaryToday marketing is
one of the primary concerns of the organization. The question is
that hich type of marketing i!! "e "eneficia! for that
organization. Today there is !arge scope for marketing fie!ds and
most profita"!e marketing channe!s. Internet marketing is one of
such marketing medium. My pro#ect is a!! a"out Internet Marketing.
Today in the era of g!o"a!ization every "usiness tries to reach out
g!o"a!. They ant to sho their product$ service or idea to the or!d.
Internet marketing gives them such a"i!ity and accessi"i!ity. My
pro#ect exp!ains ho this marketing is important in today%s or!d of
"usiness. It ansers of the fo!!oing important questions.&. 'o
internet marketing is important in today%s or!d(&. 'o it shou!d
"e designed(). 'o to carry "usiness on internet(*. +hat are the
various strategies for internet marketing(,. 'o #oint ventures he!p
in internet marketing(This pro#ect tries to cover a!! the aspects
of internet marketing.1I-.E/Sr.noContents Page No.17 p's of
marketing on the internet082Understanding the internet
customers113The information super highway 134 Brand ui!ding on the
internet1""Traditiona! marketing #s$ internet marketing20%Bui!ding
an effecti#e sa!es we site&217'ffecti#e sa!es copy288 (rdering
processes and payment types 402)Using the power of
e*mai!4710+uto*responders"311Use of search engine "712 ,tarting
in*demand news!etter%%13-oint #entures in i*marketing701"
.onc!usion73347 P's of Marketing on the InternetThe four P's -
Product, Price, Place and Promotion hae long
!eenassociated"ithmarketing, !ut thingshaechangedontheInternet.
#oalong "ith a change in the nature of the four P$s there are three
ne" P$s"hich are releant to the internet marketer.1.
ProductontheInternet usuall%changes formonline,
andtheusere&'eriences it electronicall%, in the form of
te&t, images andmultimedia. Ph%sical goods
areusuall%'resentedintheformof adetailed online catalogue that the
customer can !ro"se through.Technolog% allo"s the user to irtuall%
touch and feel the 'roduct ontheInternet -rotateit, (oominor(oomout
andeenisuali(ethe'roduct in different configurations and
com!ination.Contentandsoftwareare t"o aatars of digiti(ed 'roducts
that can !e eendistri!uted oer the Internet. )n the Internet,
*-marketing "ill !e !asedmore on the 'roduct +ualities rather than
on the 'rice. *er% com'an%"ill !e a!le to !ring do"n the cost of
its 'roducts and hencecom'etition "ill not !e on 'rice. It "ill
rather !e on the uni+ueness
ofthe'roduct.To!ea!letoattractthecustomersandretainthem, thecom'an%
"ill hae to 'roide nouelle and distinct 'roducts that forcesthe net
users to 'urchase and come !ack for more.2. Price has !een
drasticall% changed oer the Internet. It lets the !u%erdecides the
'rice. ,lso it gies the !u%ers information a!out multi'lesellers
selling the same 'roduct. It leads to !est 'ossi!le deal for
the!u%ers in terms of 'rice. , "e!site named Priceline.com is
e&tremel%-'o'ular as its com'ares the 'rice of man% airlines
and offers the least'rice to the !u%er. Pricing is d%namic oer the
Internet. 3. P!ace reoles around setting u' of a marketing channel
to reach thecustomer. Internet seres as a direct marketing channel
that allo"s the'roducer to reach the customer directl%. The
elimination of theintermediate channel allo"s the 'roducer to 'ass
the reduceddistri!ution cost to the customer in the form of
discounts.4. Promotion is e&tremel% necessar% to entice the
customer to its
"e!site,astherearecurrentl%morethanone!illion"e!'ages.
Promotinga"e!siteincludes!othonlineandofflinestrategies.
)nlinestrategiesinclude searchengine o'timi(ation, !anner ads,
multi'le 'oints ofentr%, iral marketing, strategic
'artnershi'andaffiliate
marketing.Presentl%,thec%!ers'aceisalread%cluttered"iththousandsofsites'ro!a!l%sellingsimilar'roducts.
.orthecustomerstokno"ofthe/om'an%$s e&istence and to garner
information on the kind of 'roductsor serices that the com'an% is
offering, 'romotion has to !e carriedout. There can !e traded links
or !anner adertisements for the same.,lso the traditional mediums
like 'rint, outdoor adertising andteleision can !e used to s'read
a"areness.0-. Presentation The 'resentation of the online !usiness
needs to hae aneas% to use naigation. The look and the feel of the
"e! site should !e!ased on cor'orate logos and standards. ,!out 123
of the 'eo'le readonl%223of the"e!'age. Therefore,
the"e!'ageshouldnot !ecluttered "ith a lot of information. ,lso,
sim'le !ut 'o"erfulnaigational aids on all "e! 'ages like search
engines make it eas% forcustomer to find their "a% around.0.
Processes /ustomer su''orts needs to !e integrated into the online
"e!site. , sales serice that "ill !e a!le to ans"er the +uestions
of theircustomers fast and in a relia!le manner is necessar%. To
further enhanceafter sales serice, customers must !e a!le to find
out a!out their orderstatus after the sale has !een made. .or e.g.
.ed*& 4""".fede&.com5,the oernight /ourier /om'an% allo"s
its customers to kee' track ofthe 'arcel and the% are "ell informed
a!out the 'resent "herea!outs oftheir 'ackage. 7.
Persona!ization6sing the latest soft"are from7road-8ision
andothers, it is 'ossi!le to customi(e the entire "e! site for eer%
singleuser, "ithout an% additional costs. The mass customi(ation
allo"s thecom'an% to create "e! 'ages 'roducts and serices that
suit there+uirement of the user. , customi(ed "e! 'age does not
onl% includethe 'referred la%out of the customer !ut also a 're
selection of goodsthe customer ma% !e interested in. .or e.g.
9ahoo: 4""".%ahoo.co.in5entered the Indian c%!ers'ace and started
its 'ersonali(ed serices. ,registered user of 9ahoo can no"
'ersonali(e the front 'age "ith the allthe information he needs. ;e
can read the ne"s of the "orld, add a ta&7calculator, see the
"eather forecasts of his cit% and listen to his faoritesongs and
all this simultaneousl%. 6nderstanding the Internet /ustomerse! as
an entertainment mediumof ast !reath and 'otential and "ant to
e&'lore the medium !efore themass gets there. DirectedBuyers=
The%"ant to!u%something-no".The%aresure"hat the% re+uire and ?ust
log on to the >e! to 'urchase the item.1The Pur'ose of Internet
usage inIndia.The volving !alue "ropositionsThe alue 'ro'ositions
of goods and serices offered in the 'h%sical "orlddiffer
'ointedl%fromthoseinthedigital "orld. Theultimateaimof theuniersal
marketer is to 'roide a com'lete end-to-end
consumere&'erience---right from the 'romise to satisf% his need
to its delier%. 7ut the'h%sical "orld offers onl% @Point #olutionsA
"hich is !asicall% a solution ofhis needs in terms of functional
!enefits. , credit card, for instance,
allo"sconsumerstosatisf%theimmediatenecessit%ofsettingatransaction.
7uttoda%$sconsumersarealsolookingfor
'rocessandrelationshi'!enefit---!ook referrals at no e&tra cost
or e-mail reminders. The 'h%sical "orld is nota!le to delier these
!enefits !ecause of ga's in time, s'ace and memor%. The"e!, on the
other hand 'roides all of these and more 4@reerse marketing,
fore&am'le, "here consumers seek out endors rather than the
other "a%aroundA5 !% giing the com'an% the o"nershi' and control
oer allinteractions "ith the consumer.BThe Information #u'er
;igh"a% Thereis areasontheInternet has !eendeemedCThe
Information#u'er;igh"a%C D the entire medium is !ased on the
conce't of instant access toinformation: *er% da% there are
millions of us online e-mailing friends and!usiness associates,
seeking financial serices, looking for medicalinformation, checking
real estate listings, chatting on ne"sgrou's, looking for"eather
forecasts, researching 'roducts and serices... the list is endless:
Itsno"ondertheInternet
isreolutioni(ingthe"a%"euseinformation:)'en24/ 7da%sa"eek,
theInternet has!ecomeakindofInformation/onenience #tore "here "e
can instantl% find "hateer "e need "ith er%little effort. .or
instance if "e are selling a !ook sa% EInternet Marketing$ 'riced
at F-2"hich costs us a mere F3 and still the customer is 'a%ing for
it. )ur
customersarenot'a%ingfortheCalueCofthe!ookitselfDthe%are'a%ingforthealue
of the information "e 'roide: Information 'roducts hae the
follo"ing adantages=Information products are easy to produce#There
are almost no costs involved in pu$lishing an informationproduct#
Information products can $e delivered electronically#12Delivery is
instant#%e can automate our $usiness entirely through
e&commerce# If wearesellingaproduct that re'uiresphysical
delivery( thenourgoalshould $e to minimi)e the associated pro$lems
so that they $ecome a non&issue for the consumer when they are
making their $uying decision# %e can do this $y:
*fferingfreedelivery+"erhapswithpurchasesoveracertaindollar
figure,- *ffering a wide variety of delivery options including
overnightcourier and economical .snail mail#.nsuring that our
product is delivered in a timely fashionDo /*T run out of stock
& this is 0ust $ad $usiness# The !ottom line is that "hen "e
are 'roiding a serice the "a% "e can !eahead of the com'etitors is
!% 'roiding something 0E/T12%. That E*&tra$can !e some free
item, additional serice, discountG or an%thing, "hich can!e useful
to our direct customers. 11 7rand 7uilding on the Internet.or the
/om'an% on the c%!ers'ace, their "e! site is their most
im'ortant!rand. The seen P$s of *-marketing mentioned earlier not
onl% hae to tr%andmake!usiness successful !ut
alsodo!rand!uildinginthe'rocess.,ma(on.comnot onl%sells
'racticall%eer%thingunder thesun!ut alsoconsciousl% aims to !uild a
strong !rand. The im'ortance of haing a strong!rand hardl% needs
em'hasis as the >all #treet has made most
dotcom-ers,!illionaires. The success formu!a is /01(2U.T3 4 5'6T1+7
Starting our Own Hot Product or Service idea: The ke% 'arameters to
!e considered "hen coming u' "ith our o"n 'roductor serice are=
%hat are we interested in, %hat are we passionate a$out,12 %hat
su$0ect or topic do we have a lot of knowledge a$out, %hat are
people always coming to us for advice a$out, Some of the product
ideas are as follows: &. .eve!op a ne product or service !%
researching 'otential com'etitors inour area of interest to find
out "hat their !est-selling 'roduct is... and figureout a "a% to
im'roe on it:). 3heck out the nesgroups$ discussion "oards$ and
chat rooms "here ourtarget market hangs out and accordingl% ask
their o'inion a!out theire&'ectation from a 'articular 'roduct
or serice. *.If"ealread%haeane&istingcustomer!ase,
"eshoulddoane4mai!survey5 #ure%s are not onl% a great "a% to im'roe
on an% e&isting 'roductor serice "e ma% offer, the% are also a
great "a% to discoer fresh 'roduct orserice ideas.Infact(
statisticshaveshownthat ourcurrent client $aseis&agoldmine###
and that as many as 123 of the people who have $ought somethingfrom
us previously will $uy again if we have something similar to
offer#,. 3heck out consumer revie e" sitesto find out what people
like anddislike 4 a$out our competitors4 products#Some of these
we$sites
are:http:55www#consumerreview#comhttp:55www#consumersearch#com13http:55www#epinions#com5.JoinanAffiliateProgramandpromotesomeoneelse4s
product for areferral fee# The advantage is we don4t ever worry
a$out###Collecting the money"ackaging the productShipping the
productCustomer service... or an%thing else for that matter: >e
?ust do the 'romotion and collect ourreferral fee from the
resulting sales: 6. 3ompi!eacertaintypeof
informationandthenpackageit as ane7ook.7. 8neof theeasiest p!aces
to!ookforproduct ideas is inouronindustry. 9es it is "e "ho are the
!est "ho kno" a!out our o"n industr% andcan right reall% useful
data for others to refer regarding our industr%..or e&am'le, if
"e "ere in the cellular 'hone industr%, "e might kno"that ne" #ales
'eo'le reall% need a +uick-reference training manual that listsall
of the features and !enefits of cell 'hones.
9.,notherreall%'o"erful'roduct ideaistolocatea'ro!lem...
andthendeelo'a 'roduct or serice tosole it )Hinother "ords
conducting0-I3'E M21:ETI-; 8- T'E -ET% indo"s B- 4or higher5 and a
sound card. &=. 2 nes!etter is a great ay to earn a !arge
income very quick!y. Infact,
ifourne"slettercoersanin-demandto'icand"e!uildu'alargesu!scri!er
!ase, "e could 'otentiall% take adantage of numerous streams
ofreenue including="aid su$scriptions6dvertising"roduct
promotionsSelling our customer data$ase &&. 3reate a
>Tip4of4the4.ay> -es!etter. If we have valua$le information
that will solve a pro$lem or fill a need( thenwe may $e a$le to set
up our very own .tip&of&the&day. newsletter( sharing
a'uick tid$it of information with our su$scri$ers every day## for a
small fee( ofcourse# .or e&am'le, if "e are a stock!roker "e
could "rite an @Investment Tip of the .ay? ne"sletter. )r if "e are
a real estate agent, "e could set u' a ti' of the da% ne"sletter
called CIncreasing )ur Pro'ert% 8alueA, each da% giing 'eo'le ne"
tricks and ideas for increasing the alue of their home.1- &).
Se!! unique or hard to find products on auction e" sites. Eg: %e
can sell some of the anti'ues( which are availa$le easily in our
area$ut are hard to find elsewhere and command a good price#
&*. 3reate an on!ine community and se!! mem"erships and
advertising. Eg:www.harrycool.comis acool sitefor funlovingsurfers
onthenetstarted 0ust in 7887 and having a customer data$ase of 7888
hits every dayand managed $y a single individual with )ero
investment#T12.ITI8-2@ 2.A. BT2C I-TE1-ET 2.A. BI2C T, is static.
It is d%namic "ith multimedia- su''orting te&t and gra'hics
ideo sound all together. #'ace is not a restricting factor #'ace is
a 'ro!lem, as regards si(e of the !anners etc. The 'ro'ortion of
adertising to editorial is high sometimes -2=-2. , "e! 'age "ould
!e B13 editorial and B3 adertising. Loes not eoke immediate action.
Inokes immediate action as %ou at-least need to click on the ad.
Hes'onse to the action is not immediate. .irst res'onse is
immediate as "hen the user clicks, the 'erson is directed 10to
other "e! 'age "ith more details. ,dertisements are 'assiel%
receied. The user has high attention leel and concentration "hile
using the net, and hence the% notice the ad. 4'lease refer the
cha'ter5 ,dertising does not al"a%s target a much focused audience.
This can !e much focused. ,dertisements are u!i+uitous.
,dertisements catch users "hen the%are on the lookout for some
thing. .or e&am'le the search is for trael on a search engine
there are ads of trael agents on the net. Lifficult to track the
e&act num!er of 'eo'le "ho sa" the adertisement. This is +uite
'ossi!le "ith Internet adertisements. ,ds are gra'hic intensie and
aoid co'% oerload. 7oth co'% and gra'hics are restricted !% the
!anner si(e s'ecifications. The costs "ould !e 'rohi!itie to reach
a glo!al audience. There are no such constraints. 7uilding an
*ffectie #ales >e! #ite:17 If "e "ant to do !usiness online,
then "e need a "e! site. )ur "e! site "ill !e our adertisement, our
storefront, our customer serice re'resentatie, our sales 'erson,
and our cash register. )ur "e! site is our !usiness: #o no matter
"hat Internet marketing techni+ues "e choose to em'lo%, our"e! site
"ill ultimatel% !e our ke% to success online. The 'hrase
>surfing the -et? suggests ho" isitors to our site a''roach
theInternet in generalM the% come in, sniff around, and moe on. If
"e don't snag them immediatel% "e "ill lose them foreer. That's "h%
it is so im'ortant that "e 'a% careful attention to eer% as'ect
ofour "e! site deelo'ment. If customers don't stick around, to !u%
"hat "e areto offer !ecause our "e! site loads at a snail's 'ace...
it's too cluttered... toohard to read... or difficult to naigate,
"e "on't get a second chance: , "ell-designed "e! site is an
integral 'art of a successful sales 'rocess. Choosing a Web Host:11
>e sim'l% cannot afford to do !usiness "ith an un'rofessional
"e! hostingcom'an%M it "ill cost usc!ients$ revenue$ and
credi"i!ity. )nce "e'e lostthese three essentials, "e hae nothing
left... nothing !ut a massie headachethat is:>e need to do our
research and find a relia!le hosting com'an%. Kust thinka!out ho"
man% hundreds of thousands of dollars it could cost us if... )ur
site goes do"n for ?ust 2-3 hours a month >e are forced to s'end
da%s chasing their technical su''ort stafffor an ans"er to a
critical +uestion There is a hard"are failure and "e lose all of
our informationincluding our site content ... and the list goes on
and on. It can literall% cost us our !usiness: ,nd remem!er...
oure" host is responsi"!e formaking thatvita!connection "eteen us
and our customers, so !e sure that "e take the timeto get to kno"
them "ell !efore signing an% contracts or agreements. Purchasing 2
.omain -ameD1B Therearethreekeyreasons"h%"eneedto'urchaseour
o"ndomainname= 15 )ur "e! host cannot hold our hostage: >e can
easil% moe our domainname to another host. 25
#hould"e!eforcedtomoeour "e!sitefromonehost toanother,customers
"ill still automaticall% find us !ecause our domain name has
notchanged. 35 If "e hae a CslickC domain name, it can entice
'eo'le surfing the "e! toisit our site !efore someone else's. .or
e&am'le, let's sa%"e'erformedasearchfor
theke%"ordsCInternet!usiness marketingC in a search engine, and
receied the follo"ing results=
htt'=JJ""".nm!msinternetcomhtt'=JJ""".internetusage.comhtt'=JJ""".internetmarketing.com
>hich one "ould "e go to firstN )!iousl% "e'd head
tohtt'=JJ""".internetmarketing.com. The domain name lets us kno"
that thissite is definitel% related to our search. >e need to
get our o"n domain name and get it +uick.-. The% are
goingH*,II9.,#T: It isgettingharder andharder
tofindreall%goodones.22,!out --0 %ears ago, "hen the Internet "as
still er% ne", a fe" 'eo'le sa"ano''ortunit%.Hel%ingontheideathat
theInternet"asgoingto!ecomemassie, the% started !u%ing u' domain
names. >h%N #o "hen the Internetdid !ecome huge - and the large
cor'orations decided it "as time to
ca'itali(eonthisne"marketingmediumDthe%couldturnaroundandsell
thesedomain names for 1,222 times the 'rice the% 'aid:
Imagineif"ehad'urchased""".m'3.comor""".gam!ling.com"henthe% first
!ecame aaila!le: >e "ould !e a millionaire toda% "ith almost
no"ork or inestment on our 'art. The domain ."usiness.com recentl%
sold for F7.- million: ."ingo.com sold for F1,222,222:
.a!!Street.com also sold for F1 million dollars ... and the list
goes onand on. .o It Eourse!f vs. 'iring 8utD Prepare to do
everything yourse!f5 7ecause "e "ill initiall% !e testing man%
different ideas on our "e! 'agesandchangingour
site+uitefre+uentl%,"eshouldmakeaneffort tolearn;TMI. That "a%, "e
"ill e "ill !e forced to "ait until our >e!master has a
s'aremoment to make the changes for us. 25 >e cannot make the
+uantit% of changes "e "ill need to. If "e hae to askour "e! master
to make these changes each time, then "e "ill not !e a!le tomake as
man% ad?ustments as "e "ould 'ro!a!l% like. 35 >e cannot
e&'ect the changes to !e made the "a% "e 'ictured !ecause
the'rogrammerma%haeadifferent understandingof"hat
"earetr%ingcoaccom'lish. 45 It's reall% e&'ensie to do !usiness
this "a%: These changes "ill cost us an>armanda!eg?-andall
for"orkthat "ecouldhaedoneourselffor.H**: Iearning;TMIiseasier
thanit might sound. 6nlikelearning.renchorother language, most of
it is self-e&'lanator%. >e can use a lot of ;TMI editors,
and these t"o are !% for the !asic
.reameaver""".macromedia.comJsoft"areJdream"eaerJ +e" Site .esign
Strategies for The Serious Entrepreneur 22;ere are a fe" rules that
"e should follo" "hen deelo'ing and maintainingour "e! site=&C
It must "e fast !oading.)C3o!!ect e4mai! addresses andmake
agooddata"asesoas tomaintain regu!ar contact ith our customers*C
@imit our visitorsF choices on the main page,C -ever inc!ude !inks
to re!ated sites on our main page.GC It must "e simp!e to
navigate.6C 7e consistent.7C 7e ise hen using co!ored text.9C 7e
carefu! hen choosing co!ored "ackgrounds. our e" site5
))C'yper4!ink to our sa!es message5)*C:eep our purpose in focus at
a!! times5*ffectie #ales co'% .ar too man% hen "riting %our sales
co'%, direct %our "ords to"ards one s'ecific 'erson. 6se "ords like
C%ouC and C%ourC rather than CthemC or Ctheir.C >rite as if %ou
are s'eaking "ith ?ust one'erson -- one on one. >rite to
'ersuade, that's the !ottom line.20*. Hse the fo!!oing advertising
formu!a hen riting your e"site sa!es !etterD, - ,ttention - 6se a
'o"erful headline that demands attentionI - Interest - Intrigue
interest and create curiosit%L - Letail - Proide details a!out %our
'roduct or serice, - ,ction - /all for action ,. 7ui!ding Eour
3ustomers Trust Man% Internet users are a''rehensie "hen it comes
to making a 'urchase on the Internet. 9ou must 'ut their mind at
ease !% dis'la%ing %our full name, com'an% name and contact
information. In addition, %ou must com'letel% remoe their risk.
Proide %our 'otential customers "ith a solid, no risk, mone% !ack
guarantee. This "ill 'ut their mind at ease !% !uilding their
confidence in %ou and %our 'roduct. In addition, include some of
%our testimonials "ithin %our sales letter. Make sure %ou don't
create a se'arate 'age for %our testimonials, as the% most likel%
"on't !e read. Place %our testimonials throughout %our sales letter
to ensure their isi!ilit%.G. 2nser the Juestion$ >+hat%s in it
for me(>Oiller salesco'% doesn't focus on the features of our
'roduct or serice. It focuses on ho" the isitor "ill !enefit from
these features. This is asu!tle difference that 'eo'le regularl%
miss "hen "riting their salesletter. Iet me gie an e&am'le that
"ill illustrate this 'oint.27 )ur friend ,nil has decided to scan
marketing his office chairs online. ;e !uilds his "e! site and
'osts a salesletter that sa%s= F'iF e shou!d "uy my office chairs
"ecause they are the "est in the industry. My chairs are made from
soft !eather$ theyFre rea!!y sturdy$ and theyFre easy to ad#ust.
They on!y cost KG==$ so "uy one today5> e'll sigh "ith relief
the first time "e sit do"n and settle !ack against the silk% soft
leather... ,nd "e'll !e thrilled "ith the eas%-to-ad?ust height and
!ack su''ort that make !eing comforta!le incredi!l% eas%: This
+ualit% is un'aralleled in the industr%... ,nd the ama(ing 'art is,
our chairs cost F122 less than our ne&t closest com'etitor: #o
not onl% do our chairs sae us mone%... the% hel' "e aoid the
e&cessie discomfort of !ack 'ain caused !% sitting in an
uncomforta!le chair: Thanks to our chairs, "e can no" leae "ork
each da% feeling read% to en?o%our eening off. Plus, "e'll sae time
using our eas%-to- ad?ust height and 21!ack su''ort- >h% "ould
"e "ant to struggle "ith a"k"ard leers that don't reall% do the
?o!, "hen "e could !e sitting !ack, rela&ed in one of our
chairsNC ;ere "e see, ans"ering the +uestion, > +hatFs in it for
me(? is all a!out informing 'eo'le ho" our 'roduct or serice could
sae them time... sae them mone%... reduce #tress in their lies...
hel' them to im'roe their relationshi's, etc.... *m'hasi(e !enefits
and sole 'ro!lems: Make this the focus of eer%thing "e "rite, on
eer% 'age of our "e! site. Lon't tr% to #*II isitors the 'roduct or
serice... ;*IP them: 6. Educate 8ur Aisitors7% taking the time to
educate the consumer, "e are !uilding credi!ilit%. >e are
'resenting ourself as an e&'ert in our field - someone "ho is
kno"ledgea!le and trust"orth%: ,nd once our isitors trust us, the%
"ill !u% from us:.or e&am'le, if "e "ere selling an
e&ercise ideo, "e "ould "ant to e&'lain to our isitors
e&actl% ho" using our 'roduct "ould im'roe their lies. >e
"ould also "ant to let them kno" "hat makes our ideo !etter than
the others that are currentl% on the market. Perha's a s'ecial team
of doctors 2Bdesigned our e&ercises, or 'erha's our ideo
contains motiating, current music instead of old sho" tunes. 7.
Esta"!ish 3redi"i!ity and .eve!op 1apportHa''ort is er% im'ortant:
Part of "hat "ill dra" our isitors through our co'% is the 'ersonal
relationshi' that "e deelo' "ith them. The sooner "e esta!lish
credi!ilit% and deelo' ra''ort, the sooner our isitors "ill !egin
to trust and acce't "hat "e are telling them. >e see, !% !eing
u'-front "ith our isitors a!out "ho "e are, the% "ill feel more
comforta!le doing !usiness "ith us. The% "ill !e less likel% to
think that "e are hiding something from them or that there must !e
a CcatchA. 9. :no our 2udience BMarket SegmentationCIt is
criticall% im'ortant that "e hae a clear idea of "hom "e are tr%ing
to sell our 'roduct or serice to. Ono" our target market: >hat
do the%needN >hat do the% "antN >ho are the%N ;o" old are
the%N >hat kind of education do the% haeN >hat are their
re+uirementsN >e should kee' our target market in focus at all
times "hen "riting our salesco'% >e can't sell to eer%one, so
should not "aste our time and mone% tr%ing.32 hen "riting our
salesco'%, "e should !e sure that "e transfer o"nershi' to the
reader !% using the "ords ''%ouA and C%our.A This makes our "riting
muchmore 'ersonal:.or e&am'le, "e should sa% things like,C9our
"idget "ill !e deliered in - da%s...C32C9ou "ill learn...CC9ou "ill
receie...C&,. Make 8ur Sa!es Message ExcitingMake our co'%
e&citing !% using Cglamour "ordsC that 'i+ue the reader's
interest.#ome e&am'les of "ords that motiate 'eo'le to !u% are=
Ioe, #afe, e'e all !een !urned !efore- - - and eer% time it
ha''ens, it !ecomes harder for us to trust an%one. Suarantees hel'
to alleiate an% an&iet% the customer ma% !e feeling a!out
ordering from us. If "e are marketing a +ualit% 'roduct or serice,
then "e should not !e afraid to !ack it u'.34 &e "ant our
customers to !e a!le to sli'through our order form like a greased
'ig on a "ater slide. The first thing that a isitor "ill do "hen
the% arrie at our "e! site is scrolldo"nthe'age.
Ifthe%seeanorderformatthe!ottom, thegameisoer.>e'e ?ust told
them that "e're a!out to tr% and sell them something. Peop!e come
on!ine to research$ not to "uy5 #o"e"ant our salesletter toa''ear
likeanarticlefull offreeti'sandinformation... not a hard-core
Csales 'itchA.37 ,t the !ottom of our salesletter, "e should
include one link to our order form.It should !e su!tle and
incons'icuous in nature. .or e&am'le= >3!ick here no" to
receie this s'ecial offerA If "e "ant to capture the "usiness of
every "uyer "ho arries at our orderform, then "e need to offer a
"ide assortment of 'a%ment o'tions. /oer allof the !ases !%
including= &C .irect on!ine ordering via a secure server.)C 2n
9== num"er avai!a"!e ), hours a day$ seven days a eek ith
!iveoperators.*C 2n order form hich customers can print out and fax
or mai! in. &. 2utomation 4 'o does it ork(>eshouldhae a
com'letel%automateds%stem"hichcan'erformthefollo"ing tasks.15 The
credit card is a''roed in Creal timeC "hile the customer "aits for
afe" moments. 3125 The mone% is de'osited to m% merchant account.35
The order is e-mailed to a fulfillment com'an% "ho shi's the hard
co'% ofthe !ook. 45 The customer is sent a confirmation of the
order !% e-mail. ). 2ccept 3redit 3ards 4 8r our 7usiness +i!!
Suffer 7% acce'ting credit cards "e gie our !usiness a measure
ofcredi!ilit%D"e"on't a''ear likesome>heretoday$
gonetomorro>!asement o'eration.
,cce'tingcreditcardsonline"e"illactuall%makeour
#o"aho!e!oteasier... >e"on't needtomakeas man%tri's
tothe!ank!ecauseeer%thing is de'osited electronicall%.There is "a%
less 'a'er"ork to do. >e "on't need to "orr% a!out !ounced
checks D credit cardsare almost e+uialent to cash. Tracing orders
for customer serice is reall% eas%. The most 'rofit is made from
online orders !ecause "e're not'a%ingfeesfor
lieo'erators"iththe122num!er... or "asting'recious time 'rocessing
the manual order-form orders. ... and muchmore:3B 'o To ;et 2
Merchant 2ccount(15 Set
ouro"n8isaJMaster/ardoran%otheraccounts"ithalocal!ank.25Set
8isaJMaster/ard or an% other accounts through a !roker.35;ire a
fulfillment house and use their credit card accounts.*. 2dding
Shopping 3arts to our site M Types$ 2dvantages So$ +hat Exact!y IS
a Shopping 3art( , irtual sho''ing cart is a lot like the metal one
at the grocer% store P "ith a"holelot offeaturesaddedon. Theirtual
cart collectsthe'roductsthatisitors to our site hae an interest in
'urchasing, and sho''ers can CaddC orCremoeC items as the% 'lease,
?ust like "ith a real sho''ing cart. )nce the sho''ing cart hears
!ack from the merchant account, it... &C Senerates a customer
recei't and e-mails it to the customer, then)C#ends us a fa& or
an encr%'ted e-mail that contains the customer detailsand order
information.... ,nd at that 'oint, "e can fill the orders.
42.ifferent :inds of Shopping 3arts
Thereareliterall%hundredsofsho''ingcartsaaila!lefor"etochoosefromM
ho"eer, the% all t%'icall% fall into one of the follo"ing
threecategories= &.
2SPsB2pp!icationServiceProvidersC'roidethesho''ingcart asaserice to
us. The ,#P hosts the cart on their serer and gies us eer%thing"e
need to run it. #igning u' "ith an ,#P is like 'a%ing someone to
take careof the "hole 'rocess for us. ). Shopping cart softare is
?ust "hat it sounds like - soft"are that "e 'a%a flat fee to
license. In this case, "e are res'onsi!le for installing and
hostingthe a''lication ourself. *. 3ustomized shopping carts are
ones that "e !uild ourself. In m% o'inion,there's noneedto"riteour
o"nsho''ingcart soft"areunless "ehae8*H9 s'ecific needs and T)e can
com'are the e-mail address to the IP address. If the% are from
different sources, "ecan!e sure that somethingis not right
andinestigate. >hen"ereceie a numerical IP address, "e can check
it using such 'rograms as># Ping. )f course, there "ill !e times
"hen "e do not get a matchingsite name. >hen this is the case,
tr% 'honing etc... 11.Place anti4fraud notices on a!! of our on!ine
order forms. 12.Hsethefree +hois@ookup
Too!athtt'=JJ""".!etter"hois.comJtodetermine "ho o"ns the domain
and "here the% are located. 13.3a!! the customer. 14..onFt "e
afraid to get the authorities invo!ved436sing the Po"er of *-mail
*-mail gies us the 'o"er to contact 'eo'le again and again,
'romoting our'roducts, our serice, our "e! site, "hateer "e like...
for .H**: This is impossi"!e off!ine5 6nfortunatel%, too often this
'o"er goes to the heads of ne"!ie marketers. This is "here the
trou!le !egins... and their !usiness ends: , 'oorl% designed e-mail
cam'aign is a dangerous thing. >e can enrage B23of our e-mail
list... "e can !e !om!ed, flamed, or een sued !% thousands of'eo'le
4er%, er% rare though5... "e can !e accused of s'amming and our
I#Pcan cancel our account... and the list goes on: The key e!ements
of a successful e-mail marketing cam'aign are= Three *-mail
Marketing #trategies &C >e can e-mail our
salesletterdirect!y to our customersandinclude link to our order
form.44)C>e can use the >to4step> approach that inoles
mailing aletter toour customerscontaininginformationthat "ill
!eofinterest tothem... andthendirectingthem"ithalinktoouractual
salesco'%.*C>e can e4mai! the "usinesses on!ine that dea!
direct!y ithour target marketto discuss 'romotingJselling our
'roduct ontheir sites. @ink Partner Pro can assist us !% gathering
targetede-mail addresses and names from related "e! sites, giing us
the'o"er to e-mail them a!out 'ossi!le ?oint entures or links.
Leelo'ing a #uccessful *-mail Marketing /am'aign >hateer method
"e choose, there are some ke% ste's that "e need to follo" if "e
"ant our e-mail cam'aign to !e successful. The ste's inoled are=
Step &D E4mai! a >targeted> !ist of peop!e ho i!! "e
interested in our offer )ur ?o! is e should focus our energ% on the
'eo'le "ho do: Those "hohaeo'ted-intoourmailinglist,
ourcustomersandleads,
andindiiduals"hohaere+uestedinformationfromour autores'onder areall
e&cellent'ros'ects:4- Step )D Persona!ize each and every e4mai!
Peo'le are more likel% to read 4as o''osed to delete5 e-mail that
isaddressed s'ecificall%tothemand that 'resentstheir e-mail address
intheCTo=C field There are a fe" 'rograms aaila!le that "ill take
our customer data!ase ande-mail each address indiiduall%,
'ersonali(ing our letters so that "e receie amuch higher res'onse.
There are t"o of these 'rograms that I highl% recommend= Mai!!oop
and MyEmai! Manager.These e-mail and !usiness automation o'tions
allo" us toautomateall of our e-mail chores, sothat "ecanfocus
ongro"ingour!usiness rather than maintaining
it.htt'=JJ""".marketingti's.comJmailloo'htt'=JJ""".M%*mailManager.com
Step *D 8ur su"#ect !ine is key40 Soodsu!?ect
lines4andheadlines5makethedifference!et"eene-mail that
automaticall% hits the trash !in and e-mail that is o'ened and
read.The ke% here is to em'hasi(e !enefits. #ome e&am'les of
good su!?ect lines might !e= 89earn how we can safe!y !ose 30
pounds in 4 weeks&8 8:et etter rates on our mortgage using this
secret trick&8 The headline>+hatFsinit for
me(>It'sthe!est 'ullingheadlineJsu!?ectline !% far - it "orks
like "ildfire: Step ,D Summarize our entire sa!es pitch ithin the
first paragraphThefirst 'aragra'hshouldmakereferencetoour headline,
!uildingfurther e&citement and motiating our 'otential customer
to continue reading.Kust !ecause"e'econincedthemtoo'enthee-mail
"ithacom'ellingsu!?ect linedoesn't meanthat "e'rehomefree...
>eneedto!uildmoree&citement and make them curious a!out
"hat's to come: 47,gain, the ke% is to focus on !enefits: Step GD
Test our e4mai! on a sma!! percentage of our opt4in !ist>hen
tr%ing to increase the res'onse to our offer, "e "ant to test
theheadline or o'ening 'aragra'h, our offer, and our 'ricing.
Testing our offerandoursalesco'%isthechea'est andmostefficient
"a%toma&imi(eoursales 'rofits: In fact, this should !e an
ongoing 'art of our !usiness. Instead ofsending our latest
'romotional letter to our entire customer !ase, tr% sending itto a
small test grou'. Loing a trial run "ill allo" us the o''ortunit%
to ironout an% kinks, saing "e time, mone%, and hassle: Building An
Opt-n !-mail "ist41 )'t-ine-mail
istheo''ositeofCs'am.C>hen'eo'leoluntaril%sign-u' to receie our
electronic messages, the% are Co'ting-inC to our
mailinglist.7ecause the% hae actuall% re+uested information from
us, our messagesare not considered to !e ?unk mail, s'am, or
unsolicited e-mail.,ll online !usinesses can !enefit from haing an
o't-in mailing list of somekind: )'t-in e-mail lists generall% fall
into 0 categories....1. ith an ad like this, it doesn't look like
"e're selling an%thing at allM it?ust looks like "e're giing a"a%
alua!le information for free: #o "e can !esure D de'ending on ho"
man% classified ad sites "e su!mitted it to D thatthis ad "ill
increase the num!er of 'eo'le "ho are re+uesting
ourautores'onder... and !ecoming familiar "ith our !usiness and
us:-2 +hat to @ook Lor In an 2utoresponder15>e must hae 'ersonal
control oer our autores'onder documents.25 The autores'onder must
!e user friendl%.35 To kee' things sim'le, "e must use an
autores'onder that "ill send as'ecific message45 >e must !e sure
"e kno" ho" fast our serer "ill set u' additionalautores'onders if
"e need them.-5>ill the autores'onder ca'ture and log the e-mail
address of eer%'erson "ho re+uests our informationN -36se of #earch
*ngineStatistics have repeated!y shon that anyhere from )=P to 9=P
of our visitors i!! find our e" site via a search engine.;o"eer,
"eshouldalsokno"that statisticssho"that most >e!surfersneer
search !e%ond the to' 32 results the% receie. >ith that in mind,
it'sclear that a to' 'osition should !e the goal of an% sa% site
o"ner. >e should take adantage of the search engines no", !uild
our traffic !ase,and make the connections that "ill gie our
!usiness an adantage oer ourcom'etition. The traffic that "e !egin
to generate oer the ne&t fe" "eeksandmonthscould!e"hat
allo"susto"!oourcompetitionoutoftheater in the years to come5
+hatFs a search engine(7asicall%, search engines are 'rograms that
use s'iders to Ccra"lC the "e! and automaticall% inde& our "e!
site 4i.e. check it out and record "hat's there5 !ased on
algorithms 4mathematical formulas5.-4#ound confusingN >ell,
search engines can certainl% get com'licated:Particularl% "hen "e
start tr%ing to learn ho" each search engine's algorithms"eigh the
different as'ects of our "e! site to determine our ranking. Some of
the types of Search EnginesD &.
MET2SearchEngineDThesearesim'l%'rograms that gather searchresults
from multi'le search engines simultaneousl%. The 'osition of our
"e!siteiscalculatedusingourcom!inedrankinginalloftheincludedsearchengines*&am'le=
""".metacra"ler.com, """.dog'ile.com. ). Specia!ty Search
EngineQ.irectoryD#'ecialt% search engines anddirectories offer
analternatietothema?or searchengines. The%deotethemseles to !eing
CtheC online resource for a 'articular su!?ect or
niche.*&am'le=""".findla".com,"""."omen.com,""".s'ortsearch.com,""".u!l.com
Lactors considered "y search engines to rank a siteD --&C
@inkpopu!arityD,lta8ista, *&cite, I%cos, andthe"e!'ages
search'ortion of 9ahoo use a ranking s%stem that inoles measuring
and rankingthe num"er of !inks that are directed toards a
particu!ar e" site.This means that link'o'ularit%is
no"a"eight%factor insearchengine ranking. ;o"eer, it's not ?ust
link 'o'ularit% that's !eing measured Dthe qua!ity of the !inks is
"eing considered as e!!5 )C 8ur .omain -ameD Lomain names rich in
ke%"ords "ill rank higher
insomesearchengines!ecausesearchenginesloe6HI'sthat
aresaturated"ith ke%"ords: 7rainstorm ke%"ords and ke% 'hrases for
our 'roduct or serice andthen use them to create a catch% 6HI... or
load the domain name "ith our!est ke%"ords to get ranked higher in
the search engines.This is a reall% hot techni+ue: ,nd "e can no"
register domain namesof u' to 07 characters, so it's eas% to im'roe
our search engine ranking "itha ke%"ord saturated domain name. *C
:eyords and :ey PhrasesD>e "ill find that an% discussion of
searchengine 'ositioningeentuall%comes !acktoke%"ords
andke%'hrases.>h%N 7ecause it doesn't matter if "e'e used the
most cutting-edgetechni+ues to su!mit our "e! site to the search
engines. If "e'e...-0,5 )'timi(ed our site using the "rong ke%"ords
)H75 /hosen ke%"ords that are too general or highl% com'etitie
i.e.7usiness. Internet, soft"are5 ... our target market "ill neer
find our "e!site:)ur ke%"ords are "hat the search engines look for
in our Title Tags,our Meta Tags, and the !od% of our te&t "hen
ranking our "e! site. The%'realso "hat the search engines "ill
ultimatel% use to categori(e our "e! site: ,C :eyord .ensityD
Oe%"ord densit% refers to the num!er of times that
ourke%"ordsa''ear throughout our "e!siteascom'aredtoall
oftheother"ords. .or e&am'le, if our ke%"ord"as Cdog,C andour
"e!'age "ascom'rised of the single sentence,CI loe m% dog,C the
ke%"ord densit% ofCdogC "ould !e 2-3.Oe%"ord Lensit% V Total num!er
of times the ke%"ord a''ears diided!% total num!er of "ords.
Oe%"ord Lensit% V 1 instance of dog diided !% 4 "ords V 2.2- V2-3
)ur ke%"ord densit% is a factor that is heail% "eighted !% man% of
the ma?orsearch engines, so it's im'ortant that "e design "e! 'ages
that make strategicuse of our ke%"ords "ithout crossing the line
into Cke%"ord stuffing.A -7GC MET2 tagsDM*T, tags are messages that
are coded intothe ;TMI ofour "e! 'age, !ut neer dis'la%ed on "e!
!ro"sers or seen !% isitors. The%are onl% eer seen !% the search
engines that isit and inde& our 'age. >hat are the% used
forN >ell, some search engines "ill use our M*T, tags asour 'age
descri'tion... and some "ill use them to determine our site
content. M*T, tags tell an% s'ider that isits ho" to catalogue our
"e! site !ased onour 'referred descri'tion and choice of ke%"ords.
>ords contained in M*T,tags are gien a lot of "eight !% some
search engines, so this is another greato''ortunit% to use our
carefull% chosen ke%"ords. 6C Tit!e tagsD )ur title tags are of
'aramount im'ortance "hen it comes to securing a to' s'ot in the
search engines: Title tags are sim'l% used to dis'la% the title of
our "e! site in the to'of our isitors !ro"sers. >e can easil% do
this !% 'lacing our "e! site title"ithin the WTITI*XWJTITI*X tags
of our source code. Too often, site o"ners underestimate the
im'ortance of their title tagsand 'ut title thought into them. The%
use ineffectie tides such as Cm% home'ageC or Cgar%l2232.AThis is a
'ro!lem !ecause= -11. 8isitors "ho !ookmark our site cannot
remem!er "hat the site is all a!out2. Lescri'tie titles that
incor'orate ke%"ords are faored !% the search engines "hich is not
in this case. Search Engine Su"mission There are a fe" different
"a%s to su!mit our "e! site to the search engines= &C Hse of
free su"mission serviceD >e hae alread% encountered one of
thesesericesduringour "e!traels. The%'romisetosu!mit our
"e!siteto!et"een 1 and 12 of the to' search engines 4sometimes as
man% as -225... for.H**:#ounds like a 'rett% great deal, rightN
>ell, it's not: >e should not getfooledor get
distracted!%the"ordC.H**C. 7ecause, if "euseafreesu!mission serice,
"e'll 'a%: It "ill cost us traffic and sales that should hae!een
ours: 7luntl% 'ut, to' ranking 'ositions are e isit each search
engine se'aratel%, and manuall%su!mit the information for each "e!
'age "e "ish to hae listed. 7% doing this, "e "ill ensure that "e
hae met the s'ecificre+uirements for each of the indiidual engines,
a ke% ste' in the o'timi(ationof our ranking. ;o"eer een this has
certain disadantages like= It can "e very time consuming and !a"or
intensive02 There are no professiona!saaila!le to look oer our
ke%"ords andtitles, erif% that "e are using the most u'-to-date
search engine tricksand techni+ues, and then dou!le-check our
choices and test theireffectieness. ,C Hse a professiona! search
engine consu!tantDThese are e&tremel%effectie and "orth
considering if "e can afford it. #earch engine consultants"ill
educate us and "ork hand-in-hand "ith us to ma&imi(e our
e&'osure ineachsearchengine. The%kno"all of thelatest
tricksandtechni+uesforsecuring a to' s'ot, and "ill sho" us
e&actl% "hat "e need to do to o'timi(eour "e! site for the !est
'ossi!le ranking. The% ealuate our "e! site, hel' design ke%"ords
and content, gieti's and 'ointers, and design a search engine
su!mission cam'aign. Then, "henthe%start
su!mittingourinformationtotheto'searchengines, the% "ill not onl%
ma&imi(e eer% single field in the search enginesu!mission
forms, the% "ill also su!mit multi'le "e! 'ages from our "e!site.GC
Hse su"mission softareD#u!mission soft"are mostl% 'erform the
sametask as free and lo"-cost su!mission serices doM the% su!mit
the same set ofinformation to all of the search engines... so our
site is never optimized ande never secure the top ranking e need.
;o"eertherearesomesoft"are$s, "hichusethetutorial formtosu!mit our
"e! sites much like a tailor-made one. Thus the% 'roide us
"ithdifferent o'tions to list our "e!site online.01 Monitoring our
1anking BMonitoring competitive positionC It can take some search
engines as long as si& "eeks to numerous months toinclude our
su!mission in their data!ase, "hereas others ma% onl% take a da%or
t"o. It is im'ortant that "e checkthemregularl%tomake sure
oursu!mission gets included in at least the to' eight search
engines. #u!mittingour "e! site to the search engines is onl% half
the !attle: e should not underestimate the 'o"er of a free
su!scri'tionne"sletter Dit can!e ahigh!yva!ua"!e
marketingtoo!5Peo'le "hosu!scri!etoour ne"sletter "ill
!ecomeer%lo%al customersif"esho"them that "e are honest, credi!le,
and that "e reall% do kno" "hat "e aretalking a!out. The% "ill not
onl% !u% "hat "e are offering no",they i!!a!so "uy entire!y
different products that e offer in the future !ecause "e"ill hae
esta!lished our credi!ilit% and deelo'ed a ra''ort "ith them.
03)CPaidSu"scription-es!ettersDIf"ehaeinformationthat'eo'leare"illing
to 'a% for, then a 'aid su!scri'tion ne"sletter is a great "a% to
earnhuge 'rofits "ith relatiel% little e&'enditure. The
nes!etters shou!d "e of qua!ity information +e can rite artic!es
that inc!ude such information as... Industr% ne"s or u'dates Info
related to the 'roductJserice "e are
marketing,rticles"ehaecom'iledfromother sources4"ith'ermission,
ofcourse:5 #'ecial ti's , com'iled list of interesting "e! sites to
isit e can include the !est com!inationout of these contents to
make the !est of our ne"sletter. Lree 3ontent Lor The Taking If "e
are er% ne" to "riting articles or 'ro!a!l% don$t hae the time to
do so.>e can take articles directl% from the net. There are a
num!er of "e!sites that'roide for free articles onl% on the
condition that the details of the author are "ritten at the !ottom
of the article and to gie himJher due credits "hereer 'ossi!le.
#ome of the "e!site that 'roide "ith this serice
are=htt'=JJlist-resources.comhtt'=JJ"""."e!-source.netJ"e!J.reeZ/ontentJhtt'=JJe(inearticles.comhtt'=JJ""".ideamarketers.com
0-7% 'roiding our su!scri!ers "ith the e&act information the%
need, "e "ill&CEsta"!ish our credi"i!ity as an industry
expert)CIncrease our traffic "y making our e" site
>sticky.>*C'ave a !egitimate reason to contact them over and
over again5 Lormatting our -es!etter R)ur first im'ression is our
last im'ressionA. #ome of the things that "e haeto !ear in mind
"hile formatting our ne"sletters are= ;ae a ;eader and .ooter for
our ne"sletters ,dd a Ta!le of /ontents 6se of Teasers "hereer
'ossi!le so as to kee' the reader engrossedand interested in our
ne"sletter. 6se of diiders to se'arate the different sections
Placing of the adertisementJsof our s'onsors Make It eas% to
unsu!scri!e /arefull% choosing a su!?ect Iine so as to catch
attention ;o" of the ne"sletter is to !e sent00 /hoosing the length
of the ne"sletter Koint 8entures in i-marketing Koint 8entures is
all a!outre!ated "usinesses teaming up andcom"iningski!!s$
products$ services$ and resourcesto createne streams of incomeand
profit.'o 3an 2 Ioint Aenture 7enefit our 7usiness( >e can enter
into ?oint enture deals !oth on and off the Internet: *en if
"edon't hae a 'roduct to sell... een if "e don't hae a serice to
sell... een if"e don't hae an esta!lished customer !ase... "e can
still ?oint enture usingthe Internet e&'ertise and marketing
kno"ledge "e hae. In fact, if "e are strategic in our alliances,
?oint entures can !e a 'o"erful"a% to dramaticall% increase our
income in very !itt!e time ith very !itt!eexpense "ecause...15
Koint entures area'o"erful "a%tostrengthenour
e&istingrelationshi' "ith customers and su!scri!ers !% offering
them increased alue.25Koint entures are a great "a% to offer ne"
'roducts and serices toour e&istingclient andsu!scri!er
!ase"ithout thee&'enseof ne"'roduct deelo'ment and
distri!ution. 0745
Kointenturesallo"ustoincreasetheres'onse"ereceie!%asmuch as 4223 !%
using third 'art% endorsements.-5 If %ou're a re'uta!le !usiness,
then it should !e reall% eas% to findother com'anies to 'artner
"ith. ;o" do "e #et u' a Koint 8entureN >e can sim'l% follo"
these eas% ste's, and setting u' our o"n ?oint entures"ill !e a
!ree(e... &C Persona! contacts ith potentia! partnersDThis is
one situation "herean e-mail ?ust isn't going to do the trick. ,
'ersonal 'hone call or meeting "ill!e far more effectie. >e'll
!e taken much more seriousl%, and "e'll !e a!le toans"er their
+uestions right on the s'ot Plus, it's much more difficult to
sa%Chile it's im'ortant that"eclaimas muchof the'rofits for ourself
as "ecan, if thedeal isn'tfinanciall% a''ealing to 'otential
'artners, it's going to !e nearl% im'ossi!leto get them to sign on
the dotted line. 7C Make it extreme!y easy for them to doD7e
're'ared to do the ma?orit%of the "ork ourself, if not all of it.
The more "ork "e do, the easier "e makeit for them. ,nd the easier
"e make it for them, the easier it "ill !e to dosethe deal. 7est of
all, though, !% em'hasi(ing ho" "e're going to do almost allof the
"ork ourself, "e make it much easier to c!aim a !arger percentage
of0Btheprofits.The%'ll !emorelikel%toacce't asmall
share!ecause"e'emade it so eas% for them an%"a%. The
3onc!usion7enefits of i4Marketingi-marketing is a hot to'ic
es'eciall% in these da%s of instant results. The reason "h%
i-marketing has !ecome so 'o'ular is !ecause the% 'roide three
ma?or !enefits to 'otential !u%ers=1. /onenience= /ustomers can
order 'roducts 24 hours a da% "hereer the% are. The% don$t hae to
sit in traffic, and a 'arking s'ace, and "alk through countless
sho's to find and e&amine goods.2. Information= /ustomers can
find reams of com'aratie information a!outcom'anies, 'roducts,
com'etitors, and 'rices "ithout leaing their office orhome.3. .e"er
hassles= /ustomers don$t hae to face sales'eo'le or o'en themseles
u' to 'ersuasion and emotional factorsM the% also don$t hae to "ait
in line.i-marketing also 'roides a num!er of !enefits to
marketers=1. Uuick ad?ustments to market conditions= /om'anies can
+uickl% add 'roducts to their offering and change 'rices and
descri'tions.2. Io"er costs= )n-line marketers aoid the e&'ense
of maintaining a storeand the costs of rent, insurance, and
utilities. The% can 'roduce digital catalogs for much less than the
cost of 'rinting and mailing 'a'er catalogs.723. Helationshi'
!uilding= )n-line marketers can dialogue "ith consumers and learn
from them.4. ,udience si(ing= Marketers can learn ho" man% 'eo'le
isited their on-line site and ho" man% sto''ed at 'articular 'laces
on the site. This information can hel' im'roe offers and
ads./learl%, marketers are adding on-line channels to find, reach,
communicate, and sell. i-marketing has at least fie great
adantages. .irst, !oth small and large firms can afford it. #econd,
there is no real limit on adertising s'ace, incontrast to 'rint and
!roadcast media. Third, information access and retrieal are fast,
com'ared to oernight mail and een fa&. .ourth, the site can !e
isited !% an%one from an% 'lace in the "orld. .ifth, sho''ing can
!e done 'riatel% and s"iftl%.The Internet is a 'o"erful tool for
strengthening relationshi's. 7% offering customers content and time
alue, *-Marketing has o'ened ne" istas for marketers. The greatest
feature of the digital econom% is that it ena!les the *-Marketer to
eradicate man traditional !arriers !efore entering ne" markets.
These !arriers include economies of scale and geogra'hic
'ositioning. The innate strength of an *-Market comes not from the
seamless flo"s of goods and serices from the 'roducer to the
customer !ut in the geometricall% increasing returns from conerging
ideas and technological change the strength of online communities
has neer !een so great, and com'anies hae used them to deelo' ne"
markets.