ARTICLES
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The Internet marketing campaign: An intelligent strategy
For the last few years, many studies and statistics have been confirming the strategic business merits of the Internet. The main themes are always the sales increasing effects of the Internet and how the Internet increases global marketing performance. We also hear about how the Internet increases the efficiency of business processes, sales functions, marketing and customer service. However, even faced with this reality, managers and business leaders who know the potential of the Web still remain prudent in their use of this medium.
In business, being prudent is very understandable. Understanding the strategic potential of having a Web site is one thing, but the Web site alone will not generate substantial business gains. In this perspective, the Internet doesn't look different than other traditional channels, considering that all need a concerted effort to attract new clients or loyalize existing ones.
For businesses that want to increase their level of awareness among certain target groups, the Internet marketing campaign is an intelligent strategic option to consider as it brings many advantages and benefits to the table.
Looking back at the forecasted 'Death of the Internet' in the early '90s, we realise something important. Not only did it not happen, but the Internet has grown by leaps and bounds over the last decade. The proportion of Internet users has increased dramatically, as has the average time spent using the internet vs using traditional media. The trend can be explained by the ever increasingly rich content of the Web, the ever increasing ease of Website navigation, and the increase in the sophistication and power of search methods available to Internet users.
For advertisers, the Internet's potential is even more interesting. In fact, consumers that are shopping for a product prefer using the Web to research their options and evaluate the products they intend to buy. It's simpler, quicker, and more efficient; it's easier to find all the information needed to make a decision, not to mention all the tools available on the Web that make the purchasing process easier (purchasing guides, advice, comparison tools, blogs, etc).
Still… The Web is not the first choice for advertiser, often because of preconceived ideas regarding the Internet, ideas that have been formed more by myth than factual information. It's important to make clear that these preconceived ideas have no link to today's Internet marketing reality.
MYTH #1: MY CLIENTS ARE NOT ON THE INTERNET
This belief is still held to this very day, which is very surprising since for the last few years Canada has ranked first in the percentage of people who use the Internet. 2003 census data shows that over 70% of the adult population use the Internet. In Quebec over 60% of the adult population uses the Internet at least once per week.
A similar phenomenon is happening in the US, where people using the Internet surpass people watching television.
Not only do consumers spend more and more time on the Internet, but on-line shopping itself has drastically increased over the last few years. Again, 2003 data indicates that over a million Quebecois use the Internet to shop, either directly or first by researching their desired product and the procuring it at a physical point of sales.
MYTH #2: PEOPLE HAVE A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE TOWARDS INTERNET ADVERTISING.
It's the negligent advertisers without scruples performing irritating actions that bother consumers, not the advertising per se. These frustrating advertisers cast a shadow on the true advantages of the Internet as a media.
Luckily, the industry is on its way to eliminating this problem. On one hand the industry is managing to limit the quantity of spam or other non-solicited material that arrives by e-mail, and on the other hand, Internet ad space providers are eliminating the use of advertising 'pop-ups' on their networks of Websites.
Consumers will never be receptive to bad advertisement or publicity and this rule applies to all media. When the consumer senses that his or her freedom is not being respected, or he or she doesn't have the option to choose or worse yet, that his private life is being treaded upon, the negative effects on the company advertising become quite dangerous.
MYTH #3: TRADITIONAL MEDIA ARE TRIED AND TRUE, THE INTERNET ISN'T.
Internet marketing is being taught at almost every University and much literature on the subject has been written containing success stories of businesses of all kind. Constantly on the rise when it comes to advertising budgets, the Internet offers many advantages over traditional media.
- The most noteworthy of these advantages is the Internet's very competitive advertising price for a wide targeted audience.
- The Internet also allows to measure the results of a campaign with stunning precision and to make changes quicker and for a fraction of the cost of measuring and optimising a traditional campaign.
- It has been proven that a simple reallocation of a fraction of the marketing communication budgets towards on-line advertising creates an increase of brand awareness and purchasing intentions. Why? Because the Internet allows businesses to reach an audience which has become almost inaccessible by other means.
- The added value provided by the Internet which other media cannot claim resides in its capacity to propagate customer action (they come and get information, they subscribe, they learn, they purchase, etc). This unique proprietary advantage of the Internet allows advertiser achieve tangible results far greater than their increase in brand awareness.
Why then do so many people get disappointing results?
There certainly exists a lack of mastery of the new communication and distribution channels presented by the Internet. The arrival of new business practices stemming from the Web and information technology remains a relatively recent phenomenon.
Often, people are guided by caution and simplicity when it comes time to do an Internet campaign, erroneously applying business practices designed for other media.
For a successful Internet campaign, it is imperative to place oneself in the position of the Internet user. These users use the Internet to find information by browsing their favourite sites or by looking for new sites. Contrary to other media, Internet users can control the content to which they are exposed while on-line. Additionally, they are avid consumers of value added information that doesn't exists (or is very difficult to find) elsewhere than on the Internet. That's why it's important to offer pertinent and unique content to capture their interest.
In order to create an ad placement strategy that can reach a non-fixed Internet audience, it is important to know where that target clientele is, where they navigate to, and which Web sites they visit. Internet users rarely visit only one site in an Internet session, they tend to travel around, and in order to catch them some research must be done first. Exchanging links and using a newsletter, to name the most popular, are some practices that reinforce the effect of an ad posted on a Web site.
Advertising remains an exercise in persuasion and that's why the creative approach constitutes and important element in an on-line campaign. In order to capture the interest of the transitory on-line consumer, it's important to be creative, original, and at the same time pertinent.
When it comes to results, measuring the success of an Internet ad should not be based only on the number of clicks or the increase in sales. That doesn't show the entire picture of the situation. It's impossible to click on a TV, radio, or print ad, yet that doesn't take away from their impact. Those types of ads are used to get a message across or to raise a business's awareness level. Internet based ads do the same thing but they offer another option, the possibility to click on them to obtain more information, or to directly perform an action (like on-line purchasing). As mentioned previously, Internet ads can increase sales directly in-store, but that effect is not measurable on-line.
 PDF Version
Stéphane Poirier, Exo Integrated Marketing
References:
Net Tendances 2003, CEFRIO - Léger Marketing, January 2004
IAB - Internet Advertising Bureau, Cross Media Optimization Studies, February 2003
Double Click’s Touchpoints II : The Changing Purchase Process, Double Click, March 2004
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