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18 Web Marketing Concepts That Make A Difference
. Think Audiences Not a market, and you might just find
Markets what it takes to be successful on
the Web.
What's your market? Hire a
consultant to help you with your 2. Think People Not Customers
Web-business problems and one of
the first questions he or she You know all those visitors you
will ask is, what's your market? attract to your website with your
How about eighteen to thirty-four brilliant search engine
year old, single male college optimization schemes, how many
graduates with a dog named Spot; actually purchase anything? Stop
or maybe forty-five to fifty-nine treating visitors as if they are
year old married women, who hate already customers and start
their husbands and can't get treating them like what they are
their adult children to move out - people. That's right, people.
of the house. Maybe, just maybe, You know the two-legged funny
they're asking the wrong creatures with wants, needs,
question. desires, and maybe even a few
bucks to spend.
The Web isn't about markets it's
about audiences. Audiences need Customers are always looking for
to be entertained, enlightened, a deal and they're leery of
and engaged, and if your website websites that only want to take
doesn't, you're never going to their hard earned cash. Treat
achieve what you want. your Web-visitors like people who
can satisfy their wants, needs,
Time to rethink how you're and desires with your assistance
delivering your marketing and guess what? Maybe it will
message. Start treating make a difference: one small step
Web-visitors like an audience not for Web-credibility, one giant
leap for Web-success. 4. Think Emotion Not Logic
3. Think Experiences Not Features Think you’re a logical person,
always making rational decisions
Bought any good features lately? based on practical criteria, and
Didn't think so. You would think bottom line results. So tell me
the way business pushes the whole what was the functional thinking
feature-frenzy thing that that went into the purchase of
features are exactly what people those leather pants you bought
are looking for, but nobody buys last year, or that sixty inch
features, they don't even buy plasma television you bought just
solutions - boy doesn't that to watch the big game?
whole solution provider nonsense
really get to you after a while. Let's get real. You make
purchasing decisions based on
What people really buy are what you want, and then justify
experiences, hopefully positives them with seemingly sensible
ones. Whether it's soft ice cream rationalizations, just like
or a new accounting program, what everybody else. So stop trying to
people are paying for is the appeal only to the practical,
experience your product or logical, aspects of bean-counter
service provides. sales, and start pushing the feel
good aspects of emotional
Does your website offer an marketing.
experience? Does it explain the
experience your product or If you're trying to appeal to an
service delivers? If it doesn't, audience that gets its only
then you really haven't got satisfaction out of acquiring the
anything anybody wants. most features for the least cost,
then your marketing to the wrong
audience. 6. Think Marketing Not S.E.O.
5. Think Memories Not Promotions Okay, here's one you've heard
from us before: think marketing
Most animals live in the moment, not search engine optimization.
whereas human beings live in the Sure you've got to drive as many
past. Our here and now and our people to your website as
plans for the future are based on possible, but if your marketing
our experiences, our histories, message is so confused,
and our memories. unfocused, and hard to comprehend
because of all the keyword
We take pictures of our kids, density and S.E.O. tricks, then
holidays, and special events; we what have you really accomplished
commemorate birthdays, other than wasting people's time?
anniversaries, promotions, and And people really get upset when
milestones of all kinds. Even the you waste their time.
significance of our prized
possessions is centered on the 7. Think Stickiness Not Hits
fact that those mere objects
represent memories of the people, It's not about how many hits you
places, and events that shaped get on your website, it's about
our lives. how long people stay. If visitors
remain on your site long enough
Real marketing, the kind that to get your marketing message
creates long-term clients and then you must have said something
customer relationships, is not worth listening to, and if
about coupons, sale promotions, visitors get the message, your
or deep discounts; it's about site has done its job.
delivering memories.
If your website delivers the
message, then you can expect the story: sounds to me like one heck
email inquiries and phone calls of a way to sell to an audience
to start flowing, but it's still desperate for meaningful
up to you and your sales staff to communication.
close the sale: people close
sales not websites. 9. Think Focus Not Confusion
8. Think Stories Not Pitches There you go again, telling
everyone who will listen all the
Did you hear the one about the wonderful things you and your
farmer's daughter and the search company can do. Trouble is,
engine optimizer … Stories, telling them all those things
everyone loves stories. In fact just confuses them.
before the invention of the
Gutenberg press, oral story What is the product or service
telling was the way knowledge got that is most important to your
passed down from one generation company, the one you are
to the next, and how news was determined to sell to your
sent from one region to another. audience? That's the one you want
to talk about. That's the one you
Now that we have this multimedia want to devote your marketing
Web-environment, we can continue effort to promoting. That's the
the tradition of real people one you want people to think
delivering creative audio and about when they hear your name or
video presentations that capture see your logo. Focus your
the imagination and drive home communication or your message
the marketing message so your will just be a forgettable,
audience won't forget who you incomprehensible blur.
are. Nothing informs, engages,
and entertains, like a good 10. Think Campaigns Not Ads
the best staff, and world-class
Isolated one-time advertisements customer service? Is that what
are like one-night-stands: you saying? Guess what? Nobody
exciting for a while but cares, because nobody believes
ultimately unfulfilling and you.
devoid of meaning. Your audience
is looking to get married, not a There is only one way to show
short-term fling. Your marketing people you're the best and that
has to woo your visitors with is to prove it, but here's the
long-term campaigns that tell catch, you can't prove it until
your story and deliver your they become customers. Whoops.
focused message; audiences expect Okay, so what's the solution? How
to be courted and counseled with about a real marketing message
meaningful communication. And that speaks to what your audience
that takes time and commitment. really wants. It's not about you
it's about them.
If you're spending money on just
ads, you might as well be 12. Think Personality Not
throwing that money down the Banality
drain. There is a better way. So
if you're looking for a long-term Does your website just lie there
relationship with your audience, like a lox; you know that cold,
think campaigns not ads. dead fish that often comes with a
bagel? No personality, just more
11. Think Message Not Hype of the same tedious, dull,
dreary, mind-numbing, tiresome,
What message are you delivering lackluster, monotonous, stuff
to your online visitors? Are you everybody else has. Boring! This
telling them you've got the best is the new Web, so if you can't
product, at the best price, with get with it, you'd better get out
because you're wasting your time more on building a memorable
and everybody else's. brand that people will remember,
and that nobody will mistake for
You're so worried about some johnny-come-lately imposter.
downloading times that you forgot
to put anything on your site 14. Think Positioning Not Slogan
worth seeing or hearing. Check
your logs. If people are jumping It's funny how people have a
ship faster than rats on a position on almost everything:
burning ship, it's time to try you name the issue and people
something new; like, maybe some will have a definite opinion on
compelling content. what they think, except when it
comes to their businesses. Just
13. Think Branding Not Copyrights because you have a cute slogan
that you print under your logo,
Hay, I love the Beatles. I doesn't mean you own a position
grew-up with them, and I have all in your audience's minds.
their records - ya records, like
vinyl dude, not CDs. And guess It seems businesses can't stand
what, I've also got a Mac, in to make a definitive statement
fact I've got a bunch of them, about who they are and what they
not to mention iPods and other do. Why is that? Afraid they'll
assorted Apple gizmos and lose a customer I guess, but if
gadgets. And you know something, people don't understand exactly
I've never once got John, Paul, what you do, and why they should
George, or Ringo confused with be doing business with you, then
Steve Jobs. Amazing! they're never going to be
customers anyway.
Worry just a little less about
all that small print stuff and No company can be all things to
all people and companies that
try, never go anywhere. Tell 16. Think Identity Not Logos
people who you are and what you
do and forget about all the other Is your company the equivalent of
stuff, it just gets in the way. the invisible man? You're on the
Web, but nobody cares because
15, Think Sensory Appeal Not you're not saying anything worth
Cents Appeal listening to, and if they do see
you, you are instantly
Do you want people to sit-up and forgettable.
take notice of what you have to
say? Do you want people to You've got to have an identity, a
actually remember what you're personality, an image, and there
telling them? While if that's the is no better way to create that
case, you better appeal to their identity than with a video of a
senses, and we're talking about real person delivering your
sights and sounds. marketing message in an
entertaining, memorable manner.
Deliver all your juicy,
got-to-have content in an audio 17. Think Entertainment Not
and video presentation that will Biz-speak
stick in people's heads.
Speaking of entertaining, you
If all you're doing is appealing cannot engage, enlighten, or
to their desire to spend less, entertain if everything you
then maybe they aren't the present sounds and looks like it
customers you're looking for came from some b-school text
anyway. Nobody can afford to sell book, or from one of those
for less all the time, every self-help courses on direct
time. marketing guaranteed to make you
a millionaire in only three better be interesting and
weeks. enlightening - even text can be
entertaining if written with
Every business has a story to style and attitude.
tell and they can all be
presented in a compelling way When websites fail, they fail
with a little imagination and because they do not communicate a
creativity. And yes, even b-to-b realistic, believable, convincing
businesses can rise above the marketing message.
mundane and deadly boring, if
only they take the time and make the effort. type="text/javascript">
About the Author:
Jerry Bader is Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia, a website design firm that specializes in Web-audio and Web-video. Visit http://www.mrpwebmedia.com/ads, http://www.136words.com, and http://www.sonicpersonality.com. Contact at info@mrpwebmedia.com or telephone (905) 764-1246.
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