product showcasing.
People could log on to www.BMWfilms.com, and if truly BMW’s target audience (that is, a hip, wealthy, Internet-savvy car lover with a sound card and fast Internet connection), could download Guy Ritchie’s short film featuring Madonna in the back seat of the newest, coolest BMW being chauffeured at top speed through busy city streets. Or click over to an Ang Lee film, created soon after he completed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and watch the bad guys chase a mysterious BMW driver (Clive Owen), who is escorting a young Tibetan lama to safety.
Although BMW would not disclose the exact amount spent on the campaign, it did announce that if one million online viewers logged on, the campaign would be a success. They were thrilled to learn that well over three million visitors had watched at least one film. And despite a cooling economy, BMW witnessed its highest car sales during the online campaign, exceeding the 40,000-vehicle mark.
Get the Word out through Those You Know
Using new technology or doing something truly innovative online will almost always get attention. You don’t need top directors and famous faces to make a campaign like bmw Films work for your small business or company. Just follow the same formula. For example, a really great Flash movie, photo, animation, or even urban legend can start a buzz about your product or company. Think about the types of emails that get forwarded around the world and back — all those silly pictures, jokes, and funny movie clips. Imagine tying in some kind of marketing message and watching your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors forward the message out to their email lists.
An amazing graphic artist I used to work with created a clever animation with his new company logo and contact information discreetly located at the bottom. He forwarded the cute cartoon to his friends and family hoping they would find the animation clever enough to forward on to their email lists. It worked! His animation quickly spread around the Internet, and when it eventually reached people who were in need of graphic design, they were able to trace the animation back to its owner and give him a call.
Any time you can get word of mouth or get friends to email each other about your website, product, or service, the results are invaluable. Efficient, low-cost online marketing is about quality, not quantity. That’s why I am firmly against any sort of email spam or purchasing of email lists. Build your own email list with people who are actually interested in you and your product. (See Chapter 5 for ideas on how to build your email list.) And always give people a way to unsubscribe from your list.
Unlike online marketing theories of five years ago, smart marketing is no longer about how many people are on your email list or how many people come to your website, but about how those people respond to and feel about your website, company, and product. Spam cheapens your company brand and takes away consumer trust in your business.
Use your existing email list, no matter how small, and simply suggest that recipients forward your message to friends and family. Or entice them by a message such as, “Give your friends and family 10 percent off by having them sign up to join our list.” These are two quick ways to gain access to a new audience without having to buy a list.
How to Personalize Your Website
What if you have no obvious target audience? What if you are selling a general product like soap, toothpaste, pens, or lightbulbs that honestly appeals to everyone no matter what their sex, age, or income level? Even if your company has something to offer everyone, that doesn’t let you off the hook as far as personalizing your website. Unlike television, radio, or print advertising, it is possible for a website to appear personalized, without limiting your audience.
A big-budget company could spend upwards of a million dollars just on the technology alone that goes into creating a personalized website. The continued success of Amazon.com is a direct result of its extremely efficient use of its personalization technology. Everyone likes books and cds, no matter what their demographic profile is. However, Amazon.com has managed to personalize their online store to fit each new shopper almost perfectly. This is what personalization technology is all about.
Learn from Amazon.com
In case you have never purchased a book or cd on Amazon.com, here’s a rundown of how their personalization technology works. When you search for a product on www.Amazon.com, the website records this, then uses that information to target ads and messages to you.
I recently purchased U2’s newest cd online. At the virtual checkout stand, the website suggested more products related to my purchase and provided a list of cds purchased by other people who like U2. Before my purchase was completed,
Amazon.com directed me to one last page encouraging me to send a coupon for my same U2 cd to my friends and family. This is a great example of viral marketing. Rather than Amazon.com soliciting new customers, the email coupon (and product endorsement) would come directly from me — a trusted family member or friend.
A few weeks after my purchase, I received an email telling me about a new cd. The email said, “Hi Holly. As someone who just purchased U2’s latest cd, we thought you’d like 10 percent off these cds.” The message included a list of cds by artists similar to U2, along with direct links for more information about each cd.
Amazon.com goes so far as to customize its home page based on products a customer has purchased recently. Each time I visit Amazon.com from my home computer, the top of the screen says, “Welcome Back, Holly! Here are some recommended products for you ... ” When I visited the home page of Amazon.com recently, it listed a biography, poster, and other items I might like based on my recent purchase.
Now this is personalization at its best. From tracking a customer’s movement and purchase patterns, it comes full circle through follow-up emails and a personalized home page. This may be a perfect use of personalization, but it’s also a multimillion-dollar technology.
On a limited budget, you won’t be able to achieve personalization on the same scale as Amazon.com. However, there are some basic and very effective things you can do with little to no budget that will give your customers the illusion of personalization and ultimately make them think, “This website is for me!”
Organize and customize content
Recently a local travel agency asked me to take a look at their website and give them some feedback about how to increase online travel bookings without having to create a whole new site or implement expensive booking technology. The travel site offered hundreds of packages to various cities all over Mexico. The site navigation was broken down by city.
You can effectively personalize your website by organizing its content and making sure the site’s focus on the customer rather than on your organization.
I suggested that in addition to categorizing their travel packages by city, they also divide resorts and packages into categories such as “Family Resorts,” “Romantic Getaways,” or “Adventure Travel.” After determining a breakdown that made sense, I suggested they could take the categories a step farther by breaking them down by price. For example, “Luxury Family Resorts” and “Economy Family Resorts.” By aiming each package at a specific audience, they would help their customer make a confident decision.
When customers have too many choices, they tend to not make a decision at all. This is one of the biggest problems on the Internet: information overload. Organizing information is key. Making information feel as if it is directed to your customer personally is even better.
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