Victoria Schmidt, Managing Director, Aspen Group Ltd

“The Internet Changes Everything.”

So proclaimed many a technology pundit during the “dot-com” boom at the turn of the millennium. And while the products (and companies) of the day failed to live up to the full promise of the message, the message itself could not have been more prescient.

The Internet has changed the way most companies compete; in fact, the companies and departments that fail to embrace the Internet as a mode of conducting business will soon find themselves without any business to conduct. Marketers are no exception.

Marketing professionals all over the world have embraced the Internet as a way to more effectively generate awareness of their products and services, stimulate the interest of their target market, educate prospective customers about the value the company offers, and sell their products.

This practice is called e-marketing, and its value lies in using the Internet and other web-based tools to inexpensively locate and connect with individual customers and prospects to create a dialogue specific to their interests. Compared with traditional marketers who rely on mass mailings and generic advertisements, e-marketers spend less money and produce higher quality leads - resulting in more sales per marketing dollar spent.

The differences between the two are quite striking:

Traditional Marketing Scenario:

Company sends out mass mailing or cold calls prospects

The junk mail piece or evening phone call is an intrusion. Recipients become annoyed

Paltry few leads are generated, and lots of $$$$ are down the drain

E-Marketing Scenario:

Customer hears about company website and checks it out

Customer visualises their problems being solved and reads about other happy customers

Customer is interested but not yet ready to buy – instead signs up for newsletter to receive regular updates about new offerings

Marketing runs a promotion and knows that this particular customer expressed interest in a particular type of product

Customer receives email that offers exactly what she needs!

One more happy customer

The very core of an e-marketing program should be a website rich in content that gives customers and prospects more than it takes. Most top-notch websites contain the following ingredients:

Information of particular interest to the audience that is also relevant and entertaining

Ready access to detailed company or product literature that enables prospective customers to educate themselves about the company’s offerings and make a decision without help from company staff

Evidence showing how the company or products solve customers’ problems

The ability to complete a purchase online without any human intervention (if applicable)

Direct, secure access to individualised data regarding a customer’s recent transaction with the company (e.g. transaction status, balance due, recent invoices, etc.)

An assortment of ways to contact a company representative if assistance is needed - including phone number, email address and an online query form

A method by which a visitor can “opt-in” to receive targeted communications from the company via email

Other essential components of an e-marketing strategy include:

Targeted emails to “opt-in” recipients communicating specific offers that address these individuals’ specific problems;

Personalised email checking in or following up with an individual customer or prospect who had a prior query or issue that was to be resolved by the company; and

Customer newsletters that educate and inform recipients about interesting trends and innovative offerings while providing subtle reminders of the value the company delivers to its customers.

The Internet has given marketers a low-cost way of finding and reaching prospects and turning them into customers. And because e-marketing initiatives start with the customer instead of the product or company, they are more likely to be successful than traditional marketing tactics. But the proof lies in the adoption rate – and many innovative companies today rely exclusively on e-marketing and will never go back to mass mailings and cold calling. The Internet may not have changed absolutely everything, but the face of marketing for one will never be the same.

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Victoria Schmidt has over 10 years experience serving leading global companies such as Oracle, Ernst & Young, Kraft, Sony, and Black & Decker. She operates Aspen Group Ltd, an independent sales and marketing consultancy that helps companies increase their visibility and close more business. For an exclusive copy of the article "5 Sales Tools to Close More Deals" and an extensive knowledge centre of marketing news, tools and techniques, please visit www.aspengroup.co.nz or email freearticle@aspengroup.co.nz