Subject: BOOK DIAMONDS #1 (Pro-active Marketing on the Internet) From: vassos@VNET.IBM.COM Date: Mon, 12 Feb 96 18:32:10 EST

Hi folks, it's been a while since I've sent you my WEB DIAMONDS
or TRIP DIAMONDS.  Quite frankly I couldn't keep up with the
volume on this list!  Anyway, I'm created a series of
"BOOK DIAMONDS" which is a summary of material which will
be published in an upcoming book.

Let me know if you think this content is appropriate for this
list.  I don't want to overload you any more than you are
already.

It's not specific to publishing on the Internet, but I think
all of the principles apply.  Enjoy...

Pro-active Marketing on the Internet

So you're trying to sell something on the Internet?  What
is it?  A book?  A newspaper?  A web page creation service?
A consulting service?  A jar of spaghetti sauce?

Before designing your Internet marketing plan, let's try
to explore what you must really sell prior to that first
book, newspaper, Internet service or jar of sauce.

Everyone that's selling on the Internet must first be
successful at selling (or more accurately, "capturing")
two things:  "Internet Bandwidth" and "Internet Real
Estate(sm)".  Let me explain.

Every prospective buyer of our products and services has
a finite amount of bandwidth available to hear your marketing
message.  Since they must eat, drink, sleep and work for
a living, this will be some amount of time less than 24
hours per day.  Let's say that the average user is online
for 10 hours per week.

The more of this bandwidth that you can "capture", the
higher the probability that you will be able to sell them
something (or at least positively influence your brand
image in their mind).  If you can capture their attention
for several minutes or several hours, your chances of selling
them something will be much greater than if they simply
browsed your Web site for a few seconds.

The next item you must capture to be successful is their
"real estate".  Each user chooses the content (Web pages,
discussion group notes, etc.) that will appear on their
15 inches of real estate - the display screen sitting on
their desk (or in my case, lap).  The more of this real
estate that you can capture, the better your chance of
selling this person something.

The reason I am viewing this as real estate is to try to
get you to break away from the misconception that you must
only use techniques to try to capture 100% of their
real estate.  Yes, it is nice when someone visits your
Web site, because for that moment, your content fills
100% of their display screen.  In a moment, however, I'll
review advances that may allow you to capture 5 or 10% of
this real estate, on an ongoing basis throughout the day,
week or month.

Real estate can also refer to content you're able to
convince the user to print out on their printer, or to
receive on their fax machine.  The concepts of bandwidth
and real estate are closely tied together.  The more
paper real estate you capture, the more likely you will
capture a higher percentage of their bandwidth (regardless
of whether they're online or not).

Well now that we've covered this theoretical aspect of
marketing on the Internet, let's review several specific
strategies for maximizing the bandwidth and real estate
that you can capture.

The first step taken by most companies to sell goods on the
Internet is the creation of a Web site.  In fact, this
is often the only strategy the company will take.  They
wait for visitors to find the site and then hope that they'll
find the content so compelling that they'll voluntarily come
back to the site on a regular basis.  I call this approach
an "Inbound Marketing Strategy(sm)".

Advice that is often given to Web site creators is that
they must constantly update their content to encourage
users to visit frequently.  But how does the user know
that your content has been updated?  What is in place
to trigger the user to even think of coming back to your
site?

Think about the quicklist/bookmark list you have created
on your Web browser.  I personally have about 150 sites
bookmarked, but I have never once returned to 95% of those
sites.

If you base your entire Internet marketing strategy around
the creation of your Web site, you will not maximize
your share of users' bandwidth and real estate.  To do
this, you must have a pro-active "Internet Outbound Strategy"
in place.

An outbound marketing strategy refers to any technique on
the Internet that is pro-active and takes you to the consumer,
rather than being inactive, waiting for the consumer to
come to you.

Good examples of "Outbound Marketing Strategies" include
the use of e-mailed Newsletters/E-zines, "Reminder Notices",
"Profiled Information Streams(sm)", Discussion Lists, and
getting "WebWired(sm)" (i.e., registering your Web site at
hundreds of directories, search engines, cybermalls, etc.).

REMINDER NOTICES

Reminder notices (via e-mail) typically highlight activities
about the company, new announcements, highlights of additions
to their Web site, specific URLs where detailed information
can be found, etc.

For example, C|Net and HotWired both use reminder notices
to maintain visibility with their readers.  C|Net has over
250,000 people on their mailing list, and HotWired has
over 95,000 people on their distribution list.  I
personally subscribe to both lists, but never visit the
Web site unless there is something specific in their
reminder notice that is of interest to me.  These reminder
notices have a major impact on driving traffic to their
respective Web sites.

"PROFILED INFORMATION STREAMS"

"Profiled information streams" refers to customized
information which is sent to each subscriber, based on
their own personal information needs.  Each customer
creates a "profile" requesting specific types of information.
Then, on an ongoing basis, they receive any information
which meets the needs of their specific profile.

This approach is most relevant when a company has a
wide range of offerings, and customers require timely
information on an ongoing basis.  At IBM we have
implemented this type of profiling capability where
customers can subscribe to receive announcement letters
regarding specific products, services and technologies.

NEWSLETTERS AND E-ZINES (ELECTRONIC MAGAZINES)

Newsletters/E-zines can also have an impact, acting as an
extension to the Web site with the objectives of strengthening
the brand image, increasing sales, and creating a sense of
community with readers.

For example, almost a year ago, I found a Web site that
sells lobster called "Lobster Direct" .
Since it was an interesting site, I added it to my
quickList/bookmark list.  However, I have never been back to
the site.  Who has the time?  While at the site however, I
subscribed to their free newsletter.

I have now received several issues of their newsletter, and
although I have not yet placed an order, I have been
positively influenced by the company, and will likely place
an order soon.

The newsletter has kept my interest for a number of reasons.
They have a "Jokes of the Month" section where they poke fun
at themselves (i.e., Canadian Maritimers).  They have a draw
every month for free lobster (which keeps me from unsubscribing).
They try to interact with their customers through lobster-related
fun-filled surveys.  They provide lobster recipes, and of course
they try to sell me some lobster.

DISCUSSION GROUP PARTICIPATION/CREATION

Participation in relevant discussion groups (lists) is also
important.  For this technique to be successful, the list
members must be part of your target market.  You must add value
to the list through direct participation with the group.  Your
signature file must be compelling, and relevant to the type of
group you are participating in.

This approach will keep your name and your company name in front
of your target market on a regular basis.  This can be a powerful
tool for building your brand image.

Something else that you may also want to consider is the
creation of a new USENET or e-mail discussion group.  This
discussion could be unmoderated or moderated, meaning that
you can control the content the list members see.  Through
your own discussion group, you can support your customers,
market to customers and prospects, or simply research the
marketplace by staying close to your customers.

One strategy for leveraging this type of exposure is to assign
an individual(s) in your company or department to become the
Internet Communications Specialist.  This person could maintain
your presence on certain appropriate lists, create new lists where
appropriate, or use USENET search tools to locate and respond
to relevant posts across several lists.

GETTING "WEBWIRED"

A common myth about the creation of Web pages is that "if you
build it, they will come."  I can tell you, they won't.

To build traffic to your site, one of the things you must do is
register your site in several places.  You must register in
the Internet directories and search engines that are used as
jump sites by users to find Web pages.  You can also register
in several online cybermalls and other Web sites for free.

Altogether there are over 200 places where you can register your
site to get fully "WebWired".  To help you sort through this
process, I have identified several resources that will help:


...the second half of this article has been deleted due
to the fact that it is too long...

SUMMARY

One major advantage of outbound strategies via e-mail is
that almost 100% of Internet users have e-mail access.
However, probably only about 60% of users have access to the
Web, which is the backbone to most Internet inbound strategies.

Of course, the key to a viable outbound strategy is that it
must be totally based on the customer's desire to receive
your information.  The rules of marketing "netiquette" must
be followed.

It's unfortunate that most companies base their total Internet
strategy on inbound approaches without considering the use
of outbound approaches.  An Internet outbound marketing strategy
is an ideal way to pro-actively build relationships with customers,
rather than hoping they'll come back to your Web site one day.

 =======================================================================
 TOM VASSOS, B.E.S., M.B.A., Part-time Instructor, University of Toronto
 Internet Writer, Educator, Speaker:  Call for Internet keynotes...
 Manager, Internet Marketing Strategies, IBM Software Solutions Division
 E-MAIL: vassos@vnet.ibm.com  PHONE: 416-448-2189  FAX: 416-448-2893 (c)
 Of course I don't speak for IBM or the U of T, I have enough trouble
 speaking for myself.   This note is brought to you from Toronto, CANADA

------------------------------

End of online-news-digest V1 #516
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