FULFILLING YOUR SITE'S POTENTIAL

http://www.webpromote.com/wpweekly/dec98vol3/fulfill.html

By Brian D. Chmielewski, mailto:newsletter@webpromote.com

As a site owner interested in gaining competitive advantages on the Web, how would you answer the following questions?

1. Web site content often fails to maintain audiences because:A) Incoherent. A site tries to explain too much information in a small amount of space, confusing their audience.B) Inarticulate. A site fails to explain the purpose of the business, the benefits of the particular brand and who best benefits from using the product/service.C) Inchoate. A site offers too little information, disregards contact information leaving their audience unenlightened.D) All of the above.

2. Web site design often fails to maintain audiences because:A) A site's navigation structure is misrepresentative or easily misunderstood, leading audiences feeling mislead.B) Graphics within a page are not optimized, crisp or unique and they possess no relation to the site's subject matter, increasing load time and muddling the sites core message.C) Overuse the variation of font sizes, colors, and animated graphics and forces scrolling, decreasing professional appearance.D) All of the above.

3. Web site marketing campaigns often fail to maintain audiences because:A) A site owner employs a combined marketing mix strategy including search engine optimization and listing, permission marketing and targeted advertising.B) A site owner formulates unique tracking structures to measure immediate campaign effectiveness and return on investment.C) A site owner implements a relationship marketing system to re-market and personalize communication with audiences.D) None of the above.

Although this introduction may seem a bit obvious and pedantic, all three of the points is worth reiterating. Many web site owners have resisted spending on marketing, design or re-design of their web siteuntil the prophesies of fourth quarter revenues was exclaimed by analystsand journalists. In reality, Web-based businesses should have beenannouncing their identity earlier in the year and building relationshipswith customers, increasing confidence and comfort within them as they maketheir holiday purchases.

  • Already this season many consumer advocacy mavens are warning thoseeager to spend online to be wary. The benchmark that they are passing onfor what they consider "safe" sites for doing business with are thosesites that offer legitimate contact information, are clear about theiroffers, provide guarantees and that carry recognized brands. While the Weboffers the potential for small and large brands of equivalent quality tomarket their products, it seems only large businesses have the luxury ofbeing supported by the popular press. Since many Web-based endeavors arecompeting with corporate competition for market share, they must doeverything in their power to make site content sharp, site designappealing and customer service outstanding. To get the business, you mustoperate on and offline as a company that is "safe" in the public eye.

  • Take your cue from the behavior of the major e-commerce players andmake alliances that strengthen your market potential right now. AOL andNetscape, AOL and Sun, Disney and Infoseek, Intel and Icat - thesealliances are defining larger market share and sharing growth andrecognition. Although you may not be in a position to acquire or beacquired, you should not be afraid to contact like-minded competitors andcounterparts that accentuate your identity. Through reciprocation with theproper partners, you can build a continually flowing network of qualifiedleads. Whether you're sorting through your server logs or using LinkTracker http://www.WebPromote.com/linktracker/nl.cgi to follow yourtraffic's source, be certain to reward those sites that are bringing youbusiness.

  • Implement localized marketing strategies on and offline within yourcommunity. Whether presented electronically or in person, positivecomments passed via word of mouth are possibly the most powerful marketingtool available to you - and in some circles, the only way by which you maygain a customer's business. Successfully fulfilling your customers'expectations in your local community can springboard you into largermarkets.

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