The Big debate: Website or Direct Mail?
The argument has been bouncing around for a while now and will continue. Why? The Web is here to stay but it depends who you are and what you want as to the likely benefits and its place in your marketing mix. For the SME it's a mixed bag...more
The first point to make is that the Web is a good place to put customer information, things like brochures, ordering details, prices, map and contact details. It isn't going to cost a lot and it isn't going to harm your other efforts. Providing it looks professional, loads quickly and has been competently put together, go ahead. It's been said "no business today can afford to be without a web site" and it's true.
Most SMEs get this far and most make a passable job of it. But not all. I've seen sites where the designer has not known who the audience is, is it trade or is it the public? They are so busy putting in who they are and what they offer they forget to see the site from the viewers stand point. The site gets so complicated the viewer gives up and looks elsewhere. They should ask themselves would they try and sell like this over the phone? No - keep it simple and straightforward and tell them what area of price you are talking about. Everybody wants value for money, so give him or her a clue so they know how to value your product or service.
So as I have said "go ahead but do it professionally". There's no difference been good print and good web design.
The next bit gets heavier and it's onto the debate. A brochure on the web is not in the hands of a prospective customer. With direct mail and a good mailing list it may be. We now open the complex area of Search Engines and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). A minefield of crawlers, feeds, algorithms, spammers, firewalls and all things dangerous and unpleasant.
Search Engines are a friend to the researcher and the key to the value of the web as a channel to market. In fact it is the answer to most marketers prayers which is why there is so much commotion about it. It's also why I am talking to you now over the web.
Before the web becomes a serious part of your marketing mix you need to plan your customer communications programme fully. The web need not be another channel to market it can be the channel. In other words it can be the preferred means of customer contact, customer order placement and maintenance/delivery. It can also be your shop window.
Once you have established a two-way communication with your customers you can start to search for more. You will be fighting for the attention of search engines. You will also need some professional help because this is not a job for the happy nerd or the pilot who flies with the aircraft handbook on his lap. Take it from me it is a black art and something I leave to other members of our team. However, there are a few cornerstones the SME needs to know.
Lying behind every page of every web site is a nest of keywords and phrases put there by marketers and web site techies. They are the words people use when they search and the phrases that underpin their questions when they are looking for help. They are your best headlines, your benefit lead statements and your USPs. It is the job of Search Engines to crawl though this seeming endless pile of text and messages trying to pair the questions with the answers. Your job is to see that every page of your site is supported with this data and that it is accessible and visible to the Engines. They look and compare the hidden text with the text on the page and bingo they drag you out.
Great, so why is your site not listed or if it is why is it 20164th down from the top tucked in between a Chinese laundry and a chap who flogs motorcycle spares?
We move on, Search Engines are intelligent, well sort of intelligent. They have to prioritise their listings and to do this they look for other things to support their choice. Links to and from, frequency of visitors and the amount of data, and the rate at which pages are refreshed and added. I said it was a black art and the technology of 'Search' is improving by the day.
Your web presence is a demanding servant that requires constant attention. And you can't cheat because that puts you in the same bag as spammers and the world and his brother are trying to rid the web of these. Play by the rules, make your offers concise and genuine, get them to a clearly defined target audience, build your links and try and be ahead with the answers to the questions that will come. Good marketing principles apply no matter what medium you use and the web is no different.
If you end up with good search results you will have a channel that compares very favourably with any other and whilst you may not give up direct mail you will at least have a fuller understanding of the value of the web and , like me, be in awe of its potential.
That's it; I hope I have helped, if you want to ask me about particular aspects you can reach me by hitting the button.
Mike Farmers, Verso Marketing.
Headed up Blaze, the second largest specialist agency in the UK, he moved on in '99 to launch a new product and a new brand into Europe, establishing a network of distributors. Today he assists SME's to grow their businesses effectively and cost efficiently.
Specialising in the B2B sector we work within a network of specialists and we're here to help you with all and any marketing issues your company has.