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THE INTERNET Question 6: The correct answer is e) All of the above. "Our online presence tied up resources, added to our staff and produced nothing. We put all the products we carry on that site. What's going on here?" - Client F Ahh. The wonder of the internet. Everyone has to be online. Why? They don't. Unless they have a reason. Like the generic brochure, the internet has been considered the next best tool every company should have in their arsenal. In a sense, yes, you should be online. If you have a purpose and if the materials tie in to your overall marketing strategy. The second part of this response is harder to swallow for most businesses. Unless you are committed to driving qualified traffic to your site daily for follow-up by sales professionals there is no reason to bother creating any web presence. The internet is akin to direct mail. More comprehensive and flexible to be sure, but unless the sites are used as part of a target marketing plan the effect will be severely limited. One. You will need to construct an advertising program, whether online, through direct opt-in email or refined targeted search engines (not meta tagging but real advertising), or offline using your traditional advertising/marketing venues to promote the site as an information resource. Two. You will need to forget about all the banner ads, pop-up and blanket email programs out there because their effect has been destroyed by abuse. Telemarketing was the wave of the future. Now it's a court battle between the legislative and judicial branches of our government. Email and ecommerce were the waves of the future. Now, most people have access to filters which effectively end intrusion except by the most obnoxious means. How many times a day do you send a response to order Viagra from the ads you receive? Three. You will have to grow your ability to use the internet as a tool in a limited manner. It is just another screwdriver in your toolbox. The fountain pen was all the rage over quills because it allowed salespeople to be ready to sign agreements on the spot without floundering with a pen, sharpener and a bottle of ink. Think how productive they felt. But the pen itself did not create the sale, it was just a more accessible tool. Call us before the next wave hits. It's going to be big. It will cost you money. And probably won't produce anything on the order of what you desire. Don't get caught in the net of "what's hot". Business will still be done the same way it always has been most effectively. Person to person. |