5.1. Relationship Marketing Via the Internet. The Ability To Target People. Cost Effective Database

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1 Previous Menu 5.1 Technology Series Relationship Marketing Via the Internet FOCUS Key considerations in using the internet for relationship marketing. By Rodger Stotz, CPIM, Maritz Inc., and Bruce Bolger, CPIM, Selling Communications, Inc. Many of the advantages of Relationship Marketing offered by the Internet simply aren t available through traditional media. These include the following: The ability to target people A low cost way to build a database An exceptional ability to communicate regularly World wide reach The Ability To Target People The internet provides the ability to target people precisely and reach them when they re in a purchasing mode, day or night, 365 days a year. With traditional media, organizations have to pay to reach thousands of people who have no interest in their product or service. That s great for brand building but bad for day-to-day sales. Also, with traditional media, there s no way to target people interested in your category of product or service, other than by analyzing audience research and making a guess. Cost Effective Database The internet offers a low-cost way to build a database of people specifically interested in what your company sells. When your Web site works, people voluntarily provide your company with information about themselves in a format that s automatically added to your database for future communication. These are the people you really want to know: prospects or customers keenly interested in your company or in your product or service category. 5.2

2 Communication Costs The internet provides an exceptional ability to communicate regularly with customers and prospects at a fraction of the cost of traditional direct mail or print and broadcast advertising. Once your Web site is up, the cost of distributing information is far less than anything you ve ever seen. Reach The internet is the cheapest way to sell worldwide. The Internet reaches the far corners of the world and can generate a source of immediate online revenue. Major bookstores, such as Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, have already discovered this. For the first time, companies can reach customers and prospects inexpensively all over the world when they re ready to buy and then communicate with them over time to spur repeat business. Getting Started Start by making sure you understand what makes the Internet different from other media: the ability to target people in a planning mode and build a relationship with them over time. If you view the Internet as a target-marketing tool, you won t mind that relatively few people visit your site compared with your traditional marketing programs. With a well-conceived Internet strategy, you ll find that most of the people who visit your site are serious about your product or service. Here are tips for setting up an effective site: Identify A Strategy What is the business goal of your Web site? Is it simply to have an electronic brochure, or would you prefer to conduct online sales, identify people interested in your company or your product/service category and devise a low-cost way to maintain a relationship with them? Develop Content That Gives People A Reason To Visit And Come Back If you want them to buy your products and services, that s relatively easy. Many sites have easy-to-use shopping services, including Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, CD-Now.com, Dell.com, Cybershop.com, to name just a few. These companies not only conduct transactions at low cost but also get the names and addresses of people interested in their product. 5.3

3 Provide Useful, Objective Information About Your Product Or Service J.P. McHale Pest Management Inc., a pest-control company in the New York area, launched a Web site offering the latest information about pests and got enough business to cover its site start-up costs in only four months. A major bank that deals in foreign exchange updates currency rates daily on its site and lists the addresses of its offices where clients can exchange their money. Content should be designed to attract and assist your target audience so that they get in the habit of returning to the site. Your goal, however, should be to lure them back when they re in a buying mode so that your marketing message exerts maximum impact. The best approach is to provide solid information, not hype and flashy graphics. That s why the content should be created by journalists, not advertising copywriters or salespeople. Tip: Ignore the fable that Web site material must be brief. If you offer valuable content, consumers will be eager to download plenty of it. Remember, most people print out useful information and read it later. Make It Clear Why People Should Visit Your Site Many companies include their Web address in their ads and literature but give no reasons why people should visit the site. If your company has set up an electronic storefront or is offering useful information, spell that out in your advertising. Every ad, brochure and trade-show flyer should contain the phrase Visit our Web site for valuable information on Advertise Advertise on the Internet to drive traffic to your site cost-effectively. Look for opportunities to place advertising on sites related to what you sell; you ll be surprised at the low cost. Major search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, MSN or AOL, all offer advertising based on key-word searches or interest categories and increasingly charge on a cost-per-click-through basis, instead of impressions. Tap The Power Of Promotions On The Internet The scramble to build audiences has produced a wide range of services designed to draw traffic to your site. You don t need an expert to develop a contest or sweepstakes, but your promotion won t work if there s nothing to engage your audience once they arrive. 5.4

4 Consider The Viability Of Online Games Some Web sites seeking to reach a youthful audience or cyber fans create games that lead the viewer through a series of screens. This approach, sometimes called curriculum marketing, not only engages the users but also takes them step-by-step through your sales proposition. Although most companies think they can create their own online contest or sweepstakes, the curriculum approach requires Web marketers with the experience necessary to win over your target audience by combining fun, learning and marketing. Focus On Likely Customers Design your site to attract a specific group of people when they re in an information-seeking mode. It s one thing to build an audience by running a big contest; it s even better to attract people who are good candidates to buy your product or service. If you re considering a contest or game, design one that only your target audience could enjoy. For example, a company selling to graphic designers might come up with a game that lets them pit their creativity against others in the field. That would effectively discourage people from other disciplines from touring the site. Create Interaction Opportunities Give reasons for people to interact and to provide their or home addresses. Besides using the game format, here are some other possibilities: An ask-the-expert forum lets people request answers to questions about your category of product or service. That requires them to disclose an or mailing address and perhaps even a phone number. Make sure you have enough people on hand to reply quickly to the questions. A consumer complaints center is a great way to detect problems with your product or service. Some companies also use this medium to let disgruntled employees vent their frustration. Chat rooms get people involved by enabling customers to compare the way they use your product or service. Here, you can also offer high-level technical information free to Web users who provide their name and address. 5.5

5 Incentives are a tried-and-true way to get people to reveal information. Frequent fliers obviously don t mind having an airline track their activities, because they receive something in return. Word of advice: Since it saves you money to communicate directly with potential customers in a target-marketing program, pass some of the savings on to the consumers who cooperate and respond. Target Market With In theory, is the target-marketer s dream: unlimited junk mail with no printing or postage costs. However, the use of unsolicited , called spam, has generated such strong consumer outrage that people often accidentally trash personal mail in order to avoid all of the unsolicited messages. If your company has given people reasons to register their name, chances are they ll be more receptive if you send them special offers or useful updates about your product category. Rather than ing long messages, however, simply a hyperlink to more information along with compelling benefits to the recipient. That avoids contributing to the spam problem or annoying customers with self-serving information while you could be generating sales and customer loyalty. Use It In Your Internal Marketing Efforts Incorporate the Internet into your internal marketing efforts. Many organizations run extensive training and incentive programs and generate reams of paper for manuals and other communications. Internet-based training enables employees to receive regularly updated information when they need it and to learn at their own pace. Contests and prizes can liven up the process. Web-based incentive and training programs help reduce the costs of updating, printing and shipping how-to and reference information. It can be transmitted easily and printed out locally anywhere in the world. By giving everyone a personal identification number (PIN), management can track which employees access which information. The PIN also keeps consumers off your site. 5.6