Many companies underestimate the value of using their websites to gain a significant competitive advantage in their particular markets. Most companies only use their website as a means of displaying their corporate profile, product list, as well as things like their contact details and email address.
At the risk of “preaching to the converted” Alex Margarit [http://alexmargarit.com] highlights some of the ways that a business website, when used as an effective Internet marketing channel, can enhance competitive advantage.
It’s pretty safe to say that managers should always view web technology in light of the entire marketing mix rather than simply as an extension of their existing advertising efforts. I have seen this happen time and time again and therefore I feel it is my duty to try to highlight some of the ways that a website can positively impact each of these elements of the marketing mix:
Distribution (place)
Ways to improve your distribution networks may include using the web portal to improve logistics, create new marketing channels (eg affiliate channels), or provide better or faster access to products for customers. However, be careful when creating new e-commerce sites, as it is important to do a thorough analysis of the online market for your product to ensure that it is also competitive when it comes to other Internet-based competitors. Internet retailers like Amazon are growing in size and dominance and should be taken into account when planning any online strategy. Affiliate marketing channels can also be something to consider in terms of getting more traffic to your site. New inbound marketing and information channels can easily be established by creating an affiliate program that involves other companies including your site’s URL on their pages, which in turn can equate to more traffic to your site. Look at your existing business references; Can you improve or strengthen these channels by using effective and relevant hyperlinks?
Promotions
The growth of Internet accessibility is inevitable and companies would do well to start the web advertising function as soon as possible. The reason for this is that “staying power” is paramount as more and more people start to use the web. Companies that have been around the longest and that have high levels of interconnectivity will always maintain a fairly large competitive advantage over new entrants. Once a company’s website has established a decent ranking and is featured on other related sites, the ability for companies to use this coverage to reach new national and international markets can be quite powerful. The success of large advertising campaigns on the Internet is well documented. For me, the last election in the United States was a real eye-opener, as internet marketing played a dominant role in key ad campaigns with staggering amounts of marketing messages delivered over the internet to target audiences.
Email marketing lists are also a great way to stay in touch with your customers, and their effective use can provide a valuable marketing and information channel. The benefits are twofold with marketers’ ability to use them to increase brand awareness while also strengthening customer relationships. Newsletters and other types of marketing can be used to inform customers of new products or services, as well as to provide them with relevant segment information designed to deliver value and a “good read.” However, a word of caution, be sure to clearly describe your privacy and anti-spam policy so that you do not violate any anti-spam laws. You will first need to obtain your customer’s consent, as well as provide a link to unsubscribe so that they can choose whether to receive your communications.
Product
As you look at the product part of the marketing mix, an Internet portal can substantially strengthen your company’s current product offering. The ways a website can improve its product offering are many, from offering new web-related products to establishing outbound affiliate programs. Providing customers with better services that reinforce the appeal of the core product is a great way to effectively match products to customer needs. Typically this involves creating secondary or ancillary products that can be sold or provided for free. These additional offerings can help generate higher, sometimes passive profits, as well as increase a company’s potential differentiation. The ways your business can do this include:
1. Establish a knowledge base that your customers can access that includes a query or FAQ feature that allows your customers to refer to you for information. This helps them to use the service better or more efficiently.
2. Using a feedback form where customers can provide feedback on their needs and product suggestions can help you determine valuable information about your customer’s needs.
3. If you have a product that is difficult to operate, providing free or subsidized training can help your clients overcome difficulties.
Many companies actually charge their customers for the support component, you will have to check the existing competition situation to determine if this is something you can implement. Either way, product improvements could include increasing the availability of products and services by placing order forms and support forms on your website.
Price
Automating some of your business functions using web technology generally equates to significant operational cost savings – that’s if you’re doing it right, of course! For example, having an efficient entry order form can reduce sales staff costs. Because ordering online does not require a sales representative to take the call and then effectively reverse it, this costs the company a certain amount per consultation on staff time. Encouraging customers to use the web form instead of other product ordering methods can be an effective means of reducing these costs. The ways in which a business may wish to do this is to reflect the reduced cost of staff in the price by offering a “best deal” to Internet customers. Additionally, this can help establish a pattern of online behavior in your customers that can sometimes translate to other online business functions, such as support pages.
These are just a few of the ways an effective online strategy can turn your small website into a cost-saving and revenue-generating virtual machine. I challenge you to make the most of what is available and remember that constant review of new web technology is always beneficial if you decide that it may or may not be for you. Naturally, not all web technology is suitable for every business and it is important for you to be aware that ongoing development can be costly both in terms of time and other development and infrastructure costs. Effective development research as well as cost, change and market analysis is paramount to ensure that the benefits of any change outweigh any realistic investment costs.