Marketing Objectives for Your Web Site

Do you have marketing objectives for your Web site? With objectives to help overcome your main online challenges you can work smarter, not harder.

Think of your Web site objective as the "big picture". It is the basis for a marketing plan and, in general terms, answers the questions:

"How can I use the site to overcome my business's main Internet related challenge?" and/or "What is the purpose of my site?" When setting marketing objectives, keep your site's business model and customers' decision-making stages in mind.

Business Models

The business model defines how your Web site fits into your business - how it will help your company grow. Direct revenue is a popular Web site business model, but it is not the only one. Some business models include:

- Direct Revenue / e-Commerce

Some of the most known Web site objectives relate to e-commerce or other types of direct revenue from the site. That is, the objective is to establish a direct source of revenue from orders or advertising space.

- Build Brand Image

A long-term marketing objective for your site could be to improve sales by building an image for your product, brand, and/or company. Increasingly, this is an explicit goal for large companies with ample budgets.

Small-budget companies can follow suit on a more affordable scale by building an image during the natural course of marketing. You can do this by consistently presenting similar design elements and "personality" at each point of contact with the world - whether that contact be virtual or physical.

- Enhance Customer Service

Your site can increase revenue indirectly by improving customer service. When customers are more satisfied, they tend to spread the word about your products as well as buy more often themselves.

Customers often do product research on a Web site then later place orders via catalogue, telephone, sales representatives, a physical retail store, mail, and/or fax. In all of these cases, a Web site indirectly contributes to building the business.

- Lower Operating Costs

A Web site can help your business by lowering costs. Automated customer service functions - Web-based FAQ, order status reports, product specifications, etc. - can lower the number of customer service calls, reducing customer service labor costs.

A Web presence can also lower operating costs by streamlining communication with your business partners. Business-to-business companies can create secure Web space to communicate and collaborate with customers.

It is even possible to have individual, private sites for major clients. A central "meeting place" that archives communications and other customer-specific information can cut down on administrative costs related to "phone tag", inquiries, and/or the need to consciously keep all players "in the loop".

On the supply side, you could reduce costly business disruptions by giving key vendors Web-based access to your inventory or other real-time information.

Customer Stages: Awareness, Interest, Trial, and Repeat

When setting your marketing objectives, it may help to think in terms of awareness, interest, trial, and repeat. These concepts are often used in marketing to explain the stages a new customer (or site visitor, in this case) goes through on the path to becoming loyal to your business.

The potential visitor must first become aware of your site. Once aware, you must spark an interest with the potential visitor, motivating her/him to trial, or respond to a call to action on your site. After (s)he visits your site, that person becomes loyal by revisiting in the future.

You may be able to most effectively build your business by focusing on one or two of awareness, interest, trial, or repeat visits, then changing your focus over time. If your site is brand new or known to very few people, for example, your plan is likely to concentrate on ways to increase awareness and interest.

A focus on interest and trial may be in order, however, if you get an above-average number of "window shoppers" - visitors who never purchase (or do not respond to some other call to action).

Additionally, if you sell multiple products or a product that needs replenishing from your site, focus on repeat purchases may be more effective.

Setting Your Marketing Objectives

While there are different approaches to setting objectives, my preference is to develop a single objective for a site that may encompass more than one approach to business building.

In the marketing plan, I include separate strategies and tactics to address each approach suggested in the site objective. I also like to note in the objective both the customer stage(s) and business model(s) I will focus on in the marketing plan. This makes it easier to decide upon the most effective marketing strategies.

Another approach is to address the customer stages separately, in a summary or write-up. With either approach, you should view your marketing plan as evolving over time. As the business environment and situations change, your focus should change as well.

Once you get past the launch stage of a new site, for example, you are in a better position to evaluate site traffic, so your plan may shift from focusing on awareness and interest to building trial and loyalty. Similarly, a better understanding of site visitors may lead you to adjust your business model to more closely address your company's and Web customers' needs.

About The Author

Bobette Kyle draws upon 10+ years of marketing/executive experience, marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. She is publisher of the ecommerce information site http://www.Take-Payments-Online.com. Bobette is also proprietor of The WebSiteMarketingPlan.com Network, http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com.

Copyright 2002, 2004 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.

---

Google News Updated : Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:08:09 GMT 'Wrestler' wins Golden Lion - Hollywood Reporter Hollywood Reporter 'Wrestler' wins Golden Lion Hollywood Reporter - 2 hours ago By Eric J. Lyman ROME - Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler," which set the Venice Lido abuzz after its world premiere Friday, won the festival's top prize Saturday. Video: Mickey Rourke Pinned in 'The Wrestler' AssociatedPress Will victory at the Venice Film Festival help 'The Wrestler' in ... Los Angeles Times Variety - Reuters - Monsters and Critics.com - Washington Post all 445 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 07 Sep 2008 05:36:04 GMT Tim Tebow leads Florida past Miami - Los Angeles Times OnlineSportsHandicapping.com Tim Tebow leads Florida past Miami Los Angeles Times - 1 hour ago * at No. 5 Florida 26, Miami 3: Tim Tebow threw two touchdown passes for the Gators (2-0), who ended a six-game losing streak against the Hurricanes with their first win in the on-again, off-again series since 1985. Tebow's maturity key to Gators' win over Canes - College Football ESPN Marve's debut gives Miami (Fla.) reason for hope SportingNews.com Orlando Sentinel - Seattle Post Intelligencer - CNN International - Independent Florida Alligator all 590 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:58:47 GMT Gates outacts Seinfeld in Back To The Future - CNET News Seattle Times Gates outacts Seinfeld in Back To The Future CNET News - 8 hours ago Which is why Crispin Porter Bogusky, the agency responsible for the otherworldly new Microsoft TV spot featuring the clowning Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, is already happy. Microsoft's Renewed Vista Strategy PC World Journals week in review: news from One Microsoft Way Ars Technica InformationWeek - New York Times - MacMod - CRN all 522 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:01:52 GMT Health Buzz: Immunosuppressive Drug Warning and Other Health News - U.S. News & World Report eFluxMedia Health Buzz: Immunosuppressive Drug Warning and Other Health News U.S. News & World Report - Sep 5, 2008 The Food and Drug Administration has asked the manufacturers of Humira, Cimzia, Enbrel, and Remicade—which belong to a class of medications known as tumor necrosis factor alpha blockers (TNF-alpha blockers)—to strengthen the warning for risk of fungal ... FDA urges more caution over TNF blocker infections Reuters Arthritis Drugs Linked to Risks From Infection New York Times WebMD - eFluxMedia - Scientific American all 622 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:23:08 GMT Yes, the mosquitoes were nasty this summer - Yakima Herald-Republic Yes, the mosquitoes were nasty this summer Yakima Herald-Republic - 1 hour ago by Ross Courtney PROSSER - Cody Jansen sloshes through a pasture, his rubber boots squishing in muddy puddles as he goes. He dips a ladle into a tiny pool and looks closely. Rockland resisted West Nile virus query Lower Hudson Journal news Aerial survey being conducted to find mosquito breeding grounds San Jose Mercury News San Francisco Chronicle - Shelbyville News - Atlanta Journal Constitution - dBTechno all 362 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:47:33 GMT 'Home: A Novel' by Marilynne Robinson - Los Angeles Times Washington Post 'Home: A Novel' by Marilynne Robinson Los Angeles Times - 1 hour ago Drawing on the characters of prize-winning novel 'Gilead,' Marilynne Robinson revisits an Iowa town. By Emily Barton UNLIKE novels that delight in plot twists and structural play, Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Gilead" is seemingly ... Back at home, troubled siblings look for refuge Boston Globe Their Father's House Washington Post The Oregonian - OregonLive.com - Austin American-Statesman - News & Observer all 7 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:04:58 GMT Sarah Palin may have women flocking - to Barack Obama - New York Daily News Times Online Sarah Palin may have women flocking - to Barack Obama New York Daily News - 13 hours ago BY KENNETH R. BAZINET and MICHAEL McAULIFF WASHINGTON - If John McCain wanted to poach the women's vote from Barack Obama, he shouldn't have tapped a running mate who dubbed herself a "pit bull with lipstick. Sarah Palin's appeal to working-class women may be limited Los Angeles Times A feminist's argument for McCain's VP San Francisco Chronicle Boston Globe - Newsweek - The Associated Press - Richmond Times Dispatch all 1,109 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:10:33 GMT Add RSS Feeds To My Web Pages Web Site Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Health Effects of Internet Marketing

It may not rank as a killer like heart disease... Read More

A Day in the Life of an Internet Marketer

I have been working on the Internet since 1998 and... Read More

At Last, The Real Secret Of Internet Marketing

I am going to share a real secret with you... Read More

3 Reasons Why I Never Delete Spam Immediately

All of us hate spam and all of us have... Read More

Online Sales: 10 High Octane Online Sales Generators

Do you want to spark up sales at your website?If... Read More

Standing Out Head and Shoulders Above the Rest

Using Online Communities to Differentiate Your WebsiteAs a young girl... Read More

Learning the Value of an e-Business Website

Starting a business is a huge, but rewarding, task to... Read More

Online Sales: 10 Mind Boggling, Electrifying Tricks To Ignite Your Sales

Do you want to unleash a tsunami of sales at... Read More

The Wisdom Of Giving Away Something For Nothing

If you're new to Internet Business, this might be hard... Read More

E Is for Everything?

Just this week, a member of my audience asked me... Read More

Magic Of Direct Response Website

For a web site to make the most money it... Read More

How to Make Money Online...Driving your Car.

Here's an alluring income generating strategy, that's widely adopted by... Read More

Fast Forwarding Your Business with Instant Messaging

Instant Messaging is rapidly becoming accepted in the business community... Read More

Are You Looking For A Long-Term Or Fly-By-Night Business?

I have received many emails or calls from my network... Read More

Be Different And Profit

I've just spent 3 hours surfing the web and found... Read More

Internet Marketing: Are You Penny Wise And Dollar Foolish?

It never ceases to amaze me how many people set-up... Read More

How to Turn Freebies in to Sales

You can increase sales and profits by offering freebies to... Read More

Creating Multiple Streams Of Income Part 2

Over my years of experience in doing business on the... Read More

The Truth Behind Guaranteed Sign Ups

I've got a confession to make... I have been into... Read More

How To Make Money Online With Your Website

So you have a website that has been a white... Read More

Money Can Still be Made on the Internet

Even though the days of an IPO generating millions of... Read More

If It Sounds Too Good To Be True

You've heard that cliché over and over I'm sure, but... Read More

Hire An Internet Marketing Expert For Online Success

It never ceases to amaze me how many otherwise intelligent... Read More

How to Earn at Least One Dollar for Every Website Visitor

The path toward success in Internet marketing can be a... Read More

The Seven Secrets of a High-Sales Marketer

If you want to boost your website sales to the... Read More