Essential Non-Traditional Marketing Methods

What we now call B2C is nothing but an acronym for good old "Retailing" with a new twist; the Internet. Scoff if you will at the Brick-and-Mortar companies, but they have survived the demise of the B2C e-commerce revolution and will continue to do so. Interesting how they sat back and let the Dot-Coms make all the mistakes. We can learn from them. For these survivors, Non-Traditional Marketing is simply standard marketing techniques re-defined for the Internet. Let's call it E-Marketing. What is non-traditional marketing and does it work? Internet marketing itself may be deemed non-traditional. Nowadays, with E-Marketing, it is certainly easier to reach a vast audience that heretofore would cost a fortune. It is also an easy method to target your customer base at a fraction of the cost of traditional direct mail marketing. Use Classic Marketing to Drive Customers to Your E-MarketingAt the forefront of E-Marketing we need to look at companies like Dell computer, Land's End and other major retailers. These companies use their traditional print marketing to drive customers to their Web sites. What does this accomplish? For one. It takes a tremendous load off their call centers. Once a customer is on their site they can offer up to the minute discounts and specials. All this adds the "Internet entertainment factor" to the on-line shopping experience. FedEx saved millions of dollars in their call center when they went to online tracking. They simply let the customer do the work instead of one of their employees. People would rather wait for a Web page to load than wait on hold for an operator. Besides, you can watch a Web page load, on hold you can only listen to "elevator" music. For you cook book buffs there is Jessica's Biscuit, (My wife collects cookbooks - and she uses them.) This brick and mortar book seller has a Web site and also sends out periodic e-mails notifying customers of new books and specials. Around major holidays they e-mail recipes with a link to the respective cook book it came from. This is very effective targeted E-Marketing. On the classic side, they have a retail store and they print a great catalog.
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Leverage the Media I receive an e-zine from a fellow who consults on Internet Strategy. He was recently featured on the front page of the Sunday business section of a Boston newspaper. In his next e-zine he talked about the increased percentage of hits on his Web site, the increase in numbers of subscribers to his e-zine, and the whopping number of downloads of his FREE Internet Strategy e-booklet. This is classic media marketing with an "E" twist. The classic portion is the type of personal contacts and public relations necessary to get yourself interviewed for a major newspaper article. The Non-Traditional marketing is the ease of which people can find and contact this person through his Web site once they read the article. The more traditional method of collecting this many contacts is to pay for a printed insert or a "bingo card" in an advertising card deck. The dollar spent per return contact is quite high as compared to maintaining a Web site. Here is another twist on leveraging the media. A client of mine produces a monthly e-zine relative to his business and his specific area of expertise. This keeps him in front of his current and potential clients. He recently went a step further into E-marketing. Over the Internet, he bought a list of several thousand media contacts. The contact list includes print, television and radio. He e-mailed a news release (not a "press release") to all these names his latest e-zine as an attachment.
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His e-zines are available to be read online. This drives people to the Web site. On the index page for his articles is a pop-up window where people can recommend his article to a friend. This is a cute CGI program that sends both the visitor and the friend different "thank you" e-mails; and sends my client both names, which, of course, get added to his list. (See www.willmaster.com for this free program.) As a result of this new method of E-Marketing, my client has been published in several newspapers, for which he has been paid. He has also been interviewed on several radio stations around the country and has been offered speaking engagements. He is now in the process of collecting good qualified leads from this effort. Needless to say, all these names are now on his mailing list for his e-zine. The twist in both these examples is that the printed article is about them, not written by them. This is non-solicitous third party documentation, the best type of press you can't buy. Another interesting twist to E-Marketing is a writer who advertises in a local weekly high tech business newspaper. The only text in the ad is the Web site. Since the site name reflects his business, he receives a great deal of leads from this ad. Why? Curiosity. Anyone looking for a high tech writer will go right to the site to see what he is about. If you are looking for sources listing local newspapers anywhere in the world, check out www.onlinenewspapers.com, and www.kidon.com.
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Here are 10 simple "dos:"
Use a signature in your email that includes your e-mail address and your Web site.
Put your Web site on EVERYTHING you print.
In any print marketing (advertising or direct mail) use teasers and offer Internet Only specials that will drive people to your Web site.
Use lists where applicable. Direct e-mail is much more effective than banner ads and click through ads.
Be sure your lists are relatively clean and well targeted. Always give people a link to click on to unsubscribe. In other words, don't spam. Keep your lists clean. If you are not using a service do your own house cleaning and delete all the e-mails that people ask you to.
If you produce an e-zine, partner with associates to advertise in each other's e-zine. You may not be targeting the exact same contact within a company but if you are all targeting similar companies you will greatly increase your exposure.
If you write articles, PR notices and/or produce an e-zine; have them edited. People will never comment on a well edited piece, but they will always catch the unprofessional glitches.
In print or in electronic marketing, never "give away the store." If you divulge everything, there is no reason for people to contact you or visit your Web site. Always use a "call to action." Tell people what you want them to do.
Participate in newsgroups and group e-mail lists. If people begin to perceive you as an expert in your field, the referrals will follow.
Use trade shows and organizational displays to your advantage. If you exhibit anywhere, be sure your Web site address is prominent and on everything you hand out. If you have the opportunity, put your Web site on a CD and have it available live on a computer at the show.
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