The New Marketing Landscape

Many of us in the marketing services and/or agency business are starting to see some real tangible marketing patterns emerging that businesses need to be aware of if they want to leverage their marketing dollars in this "post .com implosion economy."

Good Web Site Design increasingly More Important

It's imperative for a company to have a quality web site today - but many firms are still throwing up web sites that are just poorly designed or overly complex. Poor navigation (menus and overall site structure) when coupled with low quality graphics is really problematical (!) - online visitors think less of your company as a result which will hurt revenue in the long run. Many think just doing a minimal job is sufficient but they aren't factoring in how close your competition is! On the web any potential customer is only one click away from seeing a high quality web site that is well designed and conveys a quality image

A good rule of thumb when budgeting for a web site is to assume you will pay approximately $250-300. USD per page - this should include your graphics design, content development, setting up registration forms, etc. This may sound too expensive for many companies but for better or worse perception is reality in the online world! So, don't short change yourself, put some resources into your web site and be prepared to continue to do so - it's now a vital component of any company's ongoing marketing processes that needs constant upgrading like traditional marcom (PR, print, etc.) materials.

Opt-in E-Mail Trending Down but still Viable

Opt-in or permission based e-mail (meaning people give you "permission" to market to them) response rates for Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer are dropping below where they were a year ago by 30-50% on average. What's happening? The ever-increasing deluge of Spam is negating the throughput (response rates, purchases, etc.) of quality opt-in e-mail.

Opt-in e-mail is still a viable and excellent way to market your company but expect less results, lower costs/fees (more vendors equals more competition which is good) and the need to repeat your campaigns if you want to see tangible results. And don't get dazzled by a design firm or your in house marketing staff that wants to design a fancy HTML e-mail message for you - 65-75% of the market today still doesn't want fancy graphics, they want a short message, delivered concisely with short paragraphs in a text format. Less is more!

Performance Based Marketing on Upswing

Publishers and advertisers are more and more willing to accept advertising which is "performance based" and/or based on a "cost per click" or even a revenue share basis. Meaning, it's not like putting an ad in the USA Today and hoping people respond to the publication - you can now work with list brokers, online publishers and marketing organizations to setup very targeted campaigns that are based on your paying a small cost for an actual response to your message via an opt-in e-mail campaign, text link ad on a web site and/or an insert in a newsletter.

Case in point, companies like Virtumundo, Inc. (they are a pioneer in the performance based market) are now willing to charge nothing upfront in many cases for an advertising campaign and to just do a revenue share with you on the back end; this is typically 20-40% of your SRP, will vary depending upon your goods and/or services. And, they will do a test campaign prior to a full-bore campaign to make sure that the response rates will be worth their investment.

Another key benefit to any business that wants to leverage the shifts occurring in performance-based marketing is its inherent ability to be highly targeted. You can tie a marketing process (campaign) to web site, newsletter or pay per click search engine (Overture and now via Google's Ad Words Program) with specific demographics that are highly qualified and targeted. Contrast this again with the traditional print medium where you can target to a certain extent; but not like performance-based marketing. Consider an add again (for example) in the sports section of the USA Today - it will clearly deliver a sports enthusiast, but not a male who plays tennis that lives in the Western US, etc. And, better targeting will always deliver better results, assuming all other issues are on a level playing field.

Search Engine Marketing still a Mystery to Many

I hate to say it but most of the web sites we analyze still don't have the basic HTML fundamentals (Title, Keywords, Description) in-place so their sites can/will be indexed (reviewed by an automated bot/software agent) properly. Their title is wrong (don't repeat your company name), there are too many keywords (you want 8-12) or the wrong keywords and the description of the company is either poorly written or reads like yet another "mission statement" that has been developed by the CEO/CFO and three Senior VPs. This is basic block and tackling marketing and should be setup properly when a web site is designed.

Be prepared to deploy some marketing resources for quality Search Engine Marketing - it's fiercely competitive for web site rankings; you've got 3-5K web sites coming online every single day of the week and many are trying to drive market awareness via S/Engine ranking. What's a rule of thumb of what to pay for standard S/Engine Marketing Services: i.e. Title/Description Development, Keyword Analysis, Content Rewrites, etc.? Costs can vary tremendously, depending on your market segment, web site size, what type of services you outsource, competitive issues, etc. Generally expect to pay $3-6K for a basic 3-4 month campaign and then some modest fee for ongoing maintenance (say $200-500.per month). There are alternative sophisticated S/Engine processes that cost much more than this, but these are typically suited for companies that have a good sized marketing budget and or a large web site that necessitates a different approach.

About The Author

Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience - he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.intelective.com a results-driven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies.

Lee@intelective.com

---

Avoid The Sharks

They hang around your web site. Not buying, just lurking.... Read More

Online Testing Optimization

Simply put, online testing involves keying each different test variable... Read More

How a Multi-Faceted Approach to Site Promotion Can Secure Your Search Engine Positions

Copyright 2005 Tinu AbayomiPaulIn my last article on site promotion,... Read More

Is FREE Killing Your Sales?

"FREE" what a great word.We all like getting something for... Read More

How to Explode Your Database Marketing And Back-End Sales To Increase Your Bottom Line Profits

Set up multiple simultaneous marketing campaigns with database marketing automation... Read More

Internet Profits the Smart Way: Let Your Business Fund Itself

Although many Internet marketers spend thousands of dollars on Internet... Read More

How To Let Your Customers Search For YOU! ? Part 1

Actually I love the techniques I will explain below. These... Read More

Progress to Success

It was supposed to happen in thirty days. Buy the... Read More

Planning Your Way to Success

Whether you are a small company or a larger corporation... Read More

Why Submitting Articles Gnaws at You Like an Unsent Thank-You Note

Writing and Submitting Articles is More about Psychology than Writing... Read More

Motivating Shoppers with Online Coupons (Part 1 of 2)

Online shopping continues to grow at leaps and bounds. Depending... Read More

9 Great Reasons To Help An Internet Marketing Newbie

Zig Ziglar the famous self help guru was once quoted... Read More

Beat The Phenomenon Of Awful Sale Statistics

It is a purely shocking statistic, that only 4 in... Read More

The Reality Of How To Make Money In An Online Business

"Making money online quick and easy" seems to be the... Read More

Internet Marketing - The Two Faces of FREE

'FREE' is the reason people are successful, and make a... Read More

Internet Marketing Success is a Cumulative Effect

Being successful at Internet marketing does require doing the right... Read More

Become a Star: 10 Do-It-Yourself Publicity Techniques to Build Buzz for Your Online Business

Public relations is popular because it is very cost-effective and... Read More

Internet Marketing - You Have to Give a Little to Make a Little

Internet marketing by definition is "the use of the Internet... Read More

Twenty Ways To Profits Online

1. Offer to write exclusive articles (that means you only... Read More

Joint Ventures - How They Can Benefit Your Business

Joint ventures are partnerships in which two or more businesses... Read More

How To Pull Massive Profits From Resale Rights Instantly

What's in your name?I'm not trying to be funny here,... Read More

Add-on Sales - The Key To Success On The Web

Question: Can you guess the cheapest way to make a... Read More

Website Sales: 10 Scorching Hot Offers That Sell Like Crazy

One of the best ways to increase your sales is... Read More

Rocket Your Online Business into the Stratosphere with Captured Leads!

NO matter what business you are trying to build online,... Read More

Internet Marketing and Leveraging the Power of Networks

Creating a network -- meaning a community of users --... Read More

10 Things You Should Try To Barter For Before Buying

1. Information Products - it could be ebooks, "how to"... Read More

Content, Content, Content.

Read any Internet marketing article, forum or tutorial these days... Read More

10 Viral Internet Marketing Strategies That Produce A Massive Surge of Web Site Traffic and Sales

1. Start a newsletter that people can subscribe to, and... Read More

Online Sales: 10 Magical Online Sales Tactics To Sell Your Products Faster

There are certain magical tactics that work so well that... Read More

Did You Say Free?!

There are books and web sites for the translation of... Read More

What Great Online Advertising Really Is!

Many business people have a distorted view about the distinction... Read More

Viral Marketing - Use This Free Reminder Service to Go Viral

The busier you are the harder it is to remember... Read More

10 Scorching Ways To Heat Up Your Sales

1. Email each visitor a satisfaction questionnaire after they purchase.... Read More