Marketing has pretty much been around forever in one form or another. Since the day when humans first started trading whatever it was that they first traded, marketing was existed. Marketing was the stories they used to convince other humans to trade. Humans have come a long way since then, and so has marketing.
E-marketing is the process of marketing a brand using the Internet and most people have the misconception that it is all about having a cool web site. A website can be very dynamic, including animated graphics, even audio-visual experiences, but unless your website actually engages its visitors in an exchange of information, it’s still brochureware. You want to make the website a valuable corporate asset, rather than an overhead expense.
With the appropriate backend databases and security engines, your website should respond to visitors as would your receptionist in your office, in essence serving as your “e- receptionist.” Your e-receptionist should direct visitors to the location in your website that is relevant to their purpose for being there, just as a real receptionist would.
The big point is that each of your audiences should be coming through your website to do business with your company every day, representing another marketing opportunity. With clear and simple navigation and regularly updated relevant content, you can effectively communicate aspects of your company’s knowledge and expertise that your clients and business partners might not otherwise learn about. Also, with the appropriate input forms and search engines, you can allow clients and potential clients to tell you something about themselves that could help lead to a future sale for your company, while receiving specifically requested information that they may find useful and valuable.
E-Marketing Techniques
Methods of E-marketing are evolving as rapidly as new technologies are developed, but many companies are still struggling with the basics of even getting started. An effective e-marketing program should consist of, at a minimum:
- Company website
- Email application capable of maintaining lists and groups
- Email application capable of sending and receiving HTML-formatted messages
- Shared company project, personnel and contact database
- Adobe Acrobat software for producing universal-format electronic documents (PDF)
“Hot” items to have in a website
Here’s a quick list of website content items that can keep visitors returning to your site regularly.
- News – updated stories about company events, people, awards and customer stories
- Free stuff – A bit cheesy to have this on your site, but people do like free stuff. For example, you can have a monthly “free” newsletter that anyone can download.
- Webcam – A bit unorthodox, but this is an interesting way of giving an ‘inside look’ to the company. Perhaps mount a camera inside the office and stream the feed online for people to see.
- Discussion groups – Share your expertise in an interactive manner. If you specialize in a particular area, invite clients and prospects to an online discussion through one of the many inexpensive chat room services such as webex, dim-dim or yugma.
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