Web Marketing

Marketing & Branding

The least expensive way to reach 'the masses' in today's marketplace is via the Internet. Using numerous site promotions, online press releases, banners, email, and reciprocal links, your business can be seen by millions of people for only a fraction of the costs needed in traditional mediums to reach the same number of people. Banner ads can be annoying to many internet users, but when they are done tastefully and appeal to a user need, banners (like TV commercials) can brand your product or business over time, without ever getting a user to click on it! Banner click through percentages are less than 2%, so use your banners to portray your NAME for branding and future user familiarity. Take pride in your site, your emails and banners, because these will project a major impression on potential and current customers. It is very helpful to use the major portals to start these marketing & branding efforts... over 30% of all internet users visit the top Search Services sites, so take advantage of this traffic and let people know where you are.

B&B Systems can help to get your site detected by all search engines including Yahoo, WebCrawler, Lycos, Excite and many others. We also manually submit your site to 15 major search engines. Customers search for sites using keywords that you will supply us with.

Integrating your Web site into your traditional marketing efforts is one of the best ways to maximize your advertising dollar. Your Web site creates an instant information and response mechanism for your customers and potential customers that is not restricted by your store front and/or phone center hours. Although initially you may not have any idea how many of your existing and potential customers have online access, you'll start to find out very quickly when you advertise your Web site through traditional methods such as direct mail, brochures, etc. The goals here are:

To cut costs by notifying existing customers that you have a Web site to provide them additional information and customer service 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
To generate new income by inviting potential customers to access information and place orders at your Web site 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

Integrate Your Web Site into Your Print and Other Traditional Marketing Materials & Communications

Always make sure your URL (Web site address) is on EVERY marketing and customer service piece you print -- direct mail pieces, business cards, letterhead, brochures -- even invoices. You can never get enough exposure for it. At the very least, even if you don't make the first sale on your Web site, you'll cut costs by:

Providing product/service information potential customers can access and print out. You'll save the cost of the 800 phone call to request the information, the cost of the personnel to take the phone call, the cost of printing the information, and the cost of postage to mail the information.
Providing customer service to existing customers via your Web site. You'll save the cost of 800# customer service phone call and the cost of the personnel to take customer service calls - all while providing your customers 24 hour per day, 7 day per week convenience.

Make it a point to announce your Web site and describe the information, features and services available online in all your marketing communications to potential customers. Do the same in all your normal business communications to existing customers. For example, when you send a customer an invoice, give your Web site and/or email address in addition to your phone and fax number for questions and inquiries. You'll be surprised how many people would much rather send you a question or inquiry via email than take time out of their work day to make a phone call or send a letter.

Post a FAQ section on your Web site and invite your customers to visit your online customer service center. In many cases they can get the answer to their question from your FAQ's without ever having to contact you directly. Make sure you include contact information (phone, fax & email address) for people to use to ask questions they don't find posted in your FAQ section. Once you start offering your customers online customer service, it's imperative that you make sure you can respond to them within 24-48 hours. Internet users are accustomed to instant gratification, so if they have to wait more than 48 hours to get a response to their email request they become frustrated. Save the email responses you send out for various questions so you can simply modify and/or customize them to send to others with similar questions. When you start seeing the same question over and over again, post it in the FAQ section of your site.

Start collecting your customers email addresses on request for information forms, order forms, and any other information record you normally ask them to fill out with their name, address, phone, fax, etc. Imagine how much money you'll be able to save if you when you can start communicating with your customer via email vs. direct mail, phone and fax.