The Use Of The Web Marketing Essay

The Use Of The Web Marketing Essay

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Todays customers are more empowered because of the internet.   Full of opinions and online throughout the day, they maintain a wide personal network and demand to be heard on issues most important to them.   For organizations looking to build loyalty online, responding to the needs of an increasingly sophisticated audience can appear to be daunting.   The ten points below provide some perspective for associations and event planners looking to build loyalty online.

1. Just because you think you're great does not mean your audience thinks you're great.

Bain & Company, a global business consulting firm with 4,150 clients and over 3,500 consultants worldwide, recently conducted a survey which found that 80 percent of companies believe they deliver a "superior experience" to their customers.   When asked about their perceptions of those same companies, only 8 percent of customers reported a superior experience.   Remember, you are only as good as your customers say you are.  Being able to collect their feedback on an ongoing basis is vital to understanding what your audience thinks of you.

2. Building loyalty is synonymous with building trust.

Over 9 million times every month, someone does a Google search on the word "trust".  We are living in a trust-depleted world where the actions of Wall Street and many in politics have left people feeling reluctant to hand over their trust.  Building loyalty begins with building trust to the point where your audience believes that If you tell them that something is important, they will believe that it is.  The online world provides an inexpensive platform by which you can connect with your audience, tell your story, and build trust through your actions.

3. Companies that invest in their brands during an economic downturn emerge stronger.

When consumers value a brand as being a trustworthy, quality offering, they are usually willing to pay more to avoid the risk of making a bad decision.  This is especially important during tough economic times.   Following the U.S. Stock Market crash of 1987, Nike tripled its marketing spend and emerged from the recession with profits nine times higher than going in.  Compare that with your marketing effort.  If you have not invested in promoting your brand over the last two years, are you certain your message is getting through to new potential audiences.

4. Brands that tell authentic and relevant stories online connect more successfully with their audiences.

In the August 2010 State of the Brand Report (Building Buzz. Building Brands), published by MiresBall + KRC Research, 70% of brand executives agree that a company cannot manage its brand successfully without effective online communications. With over a million followers on Twitter, JetBlue communicates its brand personality through chatty posts - in lieu of press releases and other corporate announcements -allowing the company to connect with its customers and generate loyalty.   With its online Pepsi Refresh Project, Pepsi is giving away millions each month to fund refreshing ideas that change the world!  (http://www.refresheverything.com/).  The point is that you do not have to be on all the online platforms out there.  Choose one that allows you to tell your story and do it well.

5. You rarely get a second chance to make a meaningful connection.  Don't Blow It!

Ask yourself, "do you send information your audience has expressly asked for?" or  "do you send them everything - including what they don't need?"   Expedia, an online travel leader, uses integrated technology to monitor and data mine the personal likes and preferences of its customers.   Once it determines who has a particular interest in specific travel itineraries, it pro-actively sends marketing information about those specific areas of interest.  In another example, since Coca Cola switched to highly personalized and segmented emails, their email click-through rates have jumped by over 40% and their member activity has jumped by over 50%.  Associations and event planners would be wise to follow their lead with more personalized and targeted communications.

6. Invest in Integrated Technology Solutions - they're more affordable than you might think.

Technology solutions exist that allow you to target your online communications in order to increase your audience's reaction to your message.   They can also provide a tailored website experience for each individual by displaying information based on the person's profile.   Referred to as "Integrated Technology" these solutions allow you to collect information in one area, and use it in another to enhance your audience's online interaction.  Such technology solutions used to cost $100,000+ and take up to two years to implement  - no longer.  Advances in the web have made them more affordable and easier to adopt than ever before.

7. Don't Hide Anything

The days of Members Only experiences are over.  If your website is not delivering a valuable experience to the casual visitor (non-member), you are shutting out of the vast majority of your audience.   Membership is a value proposition that should not take away from offering benefits to all who would turn to your organization.  Don't hide your most important web interactions and information from non-members, instead, find other benefits to make membership in your organization more appealing (discounts, rewards, etc).

8. Adopt a 24/7 Cycle of Feedback and let people see it

If you're sending member surveys once a year or following an event you're not doing nearly enough to connect with the hearts and minds of your audience.   Audience feedback should be constant but unobtrusive.  Make "rate your experience" surveys available throughout your website, send a short, one question satisfaction survey after someone purchases something online,  use the transparency of blogs, twitter and other social networks to  promote discussion about the things that matter most to your audience.   Remember it's not about you or your event - it's about the issues your audience cares most about.   If you do not have the resources to do this in-house, develop a content leader program by having professionals from your industry who are avid social networkers promote discussion on issues that your audience has told you are important to them.

9. Do Good

Loyalty does not come from how many online tools you have, these are conveniences for your audience to interact with you and with one another.  Loyalty comes from how you behave and are perceived by your constituents.   If you do not have a cause you are supporting that is relevant to what your audience does, find one.   Your ability to do good and to rally your audience around projects they care about is an integral part of building loyalty.   If people can't get passionate about the things you champion and support, how will they get passionate and be loyal to you?

10. Take a Stand

When the Geospatial Information Technology Association saw it's event attendance and membership slipping to critical levels, it took a stand.   It conducted focus groups and gathered feedback from survey's in order to listen and better understand its audience.   Even if some of what it heard was not flattering, it used that feedback to develop a strategic plan and online communication  strategy that has seen it build supporters and fans.  Like GITA, you too must find out what's most important to your audience, what they are worried about, and what they want to change for the better.  Once you've identified a cause - dedicate your time and resources to delivering it for your audience; the magic happens as you tell your story.  Even successful organizations have issues that are an uphill climb - but are no less important to their audience.   Find your issue and tell the world what you're doing to solve it. 

The advances and choices of technology have not taken away from the building blocks of loyalty.  Honesty, sincerity, integrity, values, and credibility have, and continue to be pre-cursors to building trust, and building loyalty.   The online world has provided more avenues than ever before to tell our story and today's integrated technology solutions can help you tell it more affordably.  Remember, it's not about the bells and whistles technology offers.  In the online world like in the real world, authenticity rules; planning your online communications strategy should not be canned.   Use your network of supporters and fans and you can build a following that turns to you when they need the solutions you offer.  When they need someone they can trust.