Opportunity
Even after the "dot com bomb" most experts agree the Internet represents a great opportunity to expand a business or create a new one. But how, exactly, do you find the right opportunity?
Broadly there are five ways to further your company's or organization's goals on the 'net:
- Marketing - There are over 100 million people who use the Internet. That's 100 million sets of eyeballs you can potentially reach with advertising and promotion through the web. But web marketing is about "one-to-one," not the mass audience approaches of traditional media.
- Sales - The 1998 holiday season showed us the web is a great place to actually sell things. Last year about $13 billion was spent on the web and its growing at 44% per year (see for example, http://www.bcg.com/ and http://www.zonaresearch.com/). But some things are better suited for web sales than others.
- Service - How's this for an idea, get somebody else to service your customers and have them thank you for it! For many organizations the web lets customers service themselves (shifting labor hours from you to them) in a way that improves customer satisfaction--and ultimately sales.
Content/Educate - If you have something that entertains or informs, chances are you can extend your reach via the web. Obviously traditional media and educational companies can use this strategy but so can many others. And once people come to you to be entertained or informed, your site becomes valuable "real estate" for advertising--of your products or other's.Build a Community - If you service a niche market, especially one that is geographically diverse, passionate about their interest, or hard to reach with traditional media, consider building an "on-line community." This strategy is similar to the one above but rather than you providing all the content, it depends on your customers to contribute. The on-line chat rooms are a classic example of this strategy.
These strategies are often best when combined. For example, you'll probably sell more on the 'net if you provide a first class service web. And the most successful on-line marketing combines traditional campaigns with community-building techniques like individualized e-mail newsletters. Also remember all these techniques apply equally to non-profit organizations and clubs as they do to the (wanna be) Fortune 500 firm.
Which of these is right for you? We have a detailed questionnaire that can help determine your best strategy. Contact us if you're interested.