The Executives Guide To Marketing On The Internet

THE NEW INTERNET...You would have to be acompetition of so many sites, can you expect to
cave dwelling hermit living in outer Mongolia not tobe seen? The answer lies in how you structure
have been inundated by hype and hoopla aboutthe content of your site, and how you market,
the internet. Hardly a day goes by without majorpromote, and publicize it. Sound familiar? Not too
coverage of the net as it has come to bedifferent from any other new distribution channel
known.In the last six months alone, Businessyou have ever attempted to capitalize on, is it?In
Week, Advertising Age, Business Marketing, Time,spite of what some high-tech gurus would like you
Newsweek, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal,to believe...marketing on the internet is not rocket
Fortune, and dozens of other lesser knownscience... but it is marketing.And it's marketing with
publications have touted the internet as the majorsome new twists, some minefields, and a new
marketing event of the new millennium. Evenmind-set required. Stodgy thinking simply won't do
venerable PBS has launched a multi-part seriesin this exciting new arena.In the rush to ""get
based on the internet.Internet millionaires...something on the web", too many companies
billionaires... zillionaires... where does it all end? Thehave forgotten to pay attention to developing
Internet is capable of creating more wealth forsound underlying marketing strategy. In many
more people than ever before in the history ofways it has been far too easy to get on the web.
mankind. Today's potential is phenominal, but lookAlmost any high school computer geek can write
at what the next few years will bring..."Thepassable HTML code (the language for creating
number of people with Internet access worldwideweb pages), but unless you have structured the
will grow 800 percent to 650 million in the nextsites content to attain specific marketing goals,
three years, up from 170 million today"and used skilled top-flight professional marketing
--Computer Industry Almanac--[Note] As ofstrategists, copywriters, and designers, you are
November 2003 there are 660 Million internetdoomed to end up lost-in-cyberspace.Putting up a
users according to CyberAtlasMost expertsweb site without including the marketing,
suggest that over one BILLION will have accesspromotion, and publicity of the site in the initial
to the internet by the end of 2005.Ten yearsplanning and budgeting, is a lot like designing the
ago, a person could scrape, borrow and mortgagefinest print ad ever produced and then taking it
themselves to death to raise $150,000 to open aout into the middle of a remote forest and
small retail store which stood an 80-90% chancetacking it to a tree. It's still a great ad but if
of failing. Franchises ranging from $50,000 tonobody sees it, it's not going to do you much
$1,000,000 fail at an alarming rate.Today, thegood.WORTH THE INVESTMENT?...Here's what I
Internet lets people start virtual businesses, oftencall Thom's Benefit Short List for Marketing On
for less than 3-10% of the price of a conventionalThe Web":==>Increase your sales &
business. And the advantages of the onlineprofits.==>Enhance your companies
business are tremendous:* Potential customerimage.==>Save money.==>Improve customer
base of almost 700 MILLION people, as opposedservice==>Open new markets.==>Add distribution
to just 10,000 to 50,000 who may be in the areachannels.==>Lower sales costs.==>Compress
of a physical business.* Extremely low start upselling cycles==>Generate publicity.==>Compete
costs compared to other methods.* Ability tointernationally on a level playing field.==>Low
market nationally and globally without openingstart-up costs.==>No barriers to
satellite locations* Open 24 hours a day, 7 days aentry.==>Powerful integration with other
week, including holidays, without paying anymarketing methods.==>Rapidly growing user base
overtime* Businesses can be operated from(estimate to grow to a billion or more by
anywhere.* A built-in growth factor that staggers2005).==>Reach multiple MILLIONS of prospects
the imagination.No doubt you have asked yourselfwith your promotional message, 24-hours-a-day,
the question...."Can my company benefit from365-days-per-year, with color, sound, and
having our own on-line marketing presence?" Themotion....for less then the cost of one full-page ad
answer is an emphatic "YES"No GET-RICH-QUICKin a local newspaper for one day!You'll have to
Here...Before I show you how you can indeeddecide for yourself whether it is worth the
benefit from marketing on-line, let's clearlyinvestment.NEW CONSUMER DYNAMICS...The
establish that (in spite of much hype to theconsumer has accepted and appreciate the
contrary) marketing on the internet is not adynamics of shopping on the internet. No long
get-rich-quick proposition. You can makedrive to the shopping mall...it's as close as your
money...perhaps lots of it. But you should not lookcomputer screen. No more worries about credit
at your venture into marketing in cyberspace ascard security...new encryption technology has
an easy road to mega-bucks.As with any newmade using your credit card, on a secure shopping
marketing channel, there is a learning curve tosite, safer than handing your card to the local
contend with. You should look upon yourrestaurant waiter or service station attendant.
involvement in on-line marketing as an investmentWider selection of products and services. etc.
in future profits. The mere act of putting up aetc.In fact, many of the benefits that drove
web site will get you no more than the selfcatalogue marketing to such heights of consumer
satisfaction of looking at your logo in color on aacceptance, are also at work with internet
computer screen.One of the biggest mistakesmarketing.Todays consumer is a much more
made by business people dipping their toe into thesavvy buyer than their parents or grandparents.
internet revenue stream for the first time, is toThey are used to getting important buying
think... "If We Build It, They Will Come." Theyinformation on the net...facts, specifications, colors,
won't! The number of new sites on the Worlddata, sizes, guarantees, etc.Even those skeptics
Wide Web is growing exponentially. It is estimatedwho still doubt the security of on-line shopping use
that there are BILLIONS of pages on-linethe net as an information gathering tool...and then
today.Most of the Fortune 500 companies haveuse the phone or go to the store to purchase.An
launched marketing programs on the World Wideinternet presence is a powerful selling tool for
Web. More are rushing to meet the competitionevery conceivable size and type of business
every day. Some have estimated that thetoday.© Copyright 2005 Thom Reece All
growth rate of internet use is 20% to 40% perRights ReservedThom Reece is the CEO of
month!The user base in the U.S. alone, is over 200On-Line Marketing Group, a direct response
million and growing. No savvy marketing executivemarketing agency with headquarters in Hawaii. He
in his or her right mind can afford to ignore anis the creator of the Online Marketing Resource
affluent market of this size.PRETTYCenter [ ]. Thom can be reached by email at:
PICTURES...OR PROFIT?...How, faced with thethomATe-comprofits.