Advantages and Disadvantages of Web-Site Marketing Web sites have so many advantages that there is almost no excuse for a business not to have one. Effective Web-site marketing declares to the world that an organization exists, what value it offers, and how to do business. Web sites can be an engine for generating customer data and new business leads. An electronic storefront is often dramatically less expensive than a physical… Read More »Advantages and Disadvantages of Web-Site Marketing

Web-Site Marketing Web sites represent an all-in-one storefront, a display counter, and a megaphone for organizations to communicate in the digital world. For digital and bricks-and-mortar businesses, Web sites are a primary channel for communicating with current and prospective customers as well as other audiences. A good Web site provides evidence that an organization is real, credible, and legitimate. Capital One Web Site The variety of online Web-site-building services now available make setting… Read More »Web-Site Marketing

Digital Marketing: Web Sites Inform, Entice, Engage Digital marketing is an umbrella term for using a digital tools to promote and market products, services, organizations and brands. As consumers and businesses become more reliant on digital communications, the power and importance of digital marketing have increased. The direct marketing section of this chapter already discussed two digital tools: email and mobile marketing, which fit into both categories. This section will… Read More »Digital Marketing: Web Sites

Advantages and Disadvantages of Direct Marketing All this data-driven direct marketing might seem a little creepy or even nefarious, and certainly it can be when marketers are insensitive or unethical in their use of consumer data. However, direct marketing also offers significant value to consumers by tailoring their experience in the market to things that most align with their needs and interests. If you’re going to have a baby (and… Read More »Advantages and Disadvantages of Direct Marketing

Direct Marketing in Action How does this work in practice? If you’ve ever paid off an auto loan, you may have noticed a torrent of mail offers from car dealerships right around the five-year mark. They know, from your credit history, that you’re nearly done paying off your car and you’ve had the vehicle for several years, so you might be interested in trading up for a newer model. Based… Read More »Direct Marketing in Action

The Key to Effective Direct Marketing The effectiveness of direct marketing activity depends on marketers using databases to capture the information of target customers and the use of this information to extend ever-more-personalized offers and information to consumers. Databases record an individual’s residence, geography, family status, and credit history. When a person moves or makes a significant purchase like a car or a home, these details become part of the criteria… Read More »The Key to Effective Direct Marketing

Direct Marketing Going Straight to the Customer Direct marketing activities bypass any intermediaries and communicate directly with the individual consumer. Direct mail is personalized to the individual consumer, based on whatever a company knows about that person’s needs, interests, behaviors, and preferences. Traditional direct marketing activities include mail, catalogs, and telemarketing. The thousands of “junk mail” offers from credit card companies, bankers, and charitable organizations that flood mailboxes every year are artifacts of… Read More »Direct Marketing

Advantages and Disadvantages of Personal Selling The most significant strength of personal selling is its flexibility. Salespeople can tailor their presentations to fit the needs, motives, and behavior of individual customers. A salesperson can gauge the customer’s reaction to a sales approach and immediately adjust the message to facilitate better understanding. Personal selling also minimizes wasted effort. Advertisers can spend a lot of time and money on a mass-marketing message that reaches many people… Read More »Advantages and Disadvantages of Personal Selling

When to Use Personal Selling Not every product or service is a good fit for personal selling. It’s an expensive technique because the proceeds of the person-to-person sales must cover the salary of the sales representative—on top of all the other costs of doing business. Whether or not a company uses personal selling as part of its marketing mix depends on its business model. Most often companies use personal selling when… Read More »When to Use Personal Selling

Common Personal Selling Techniques Common personal selling tools and techniques include the following: Sales presentations: in-person or virtual presentations to inform prospective customers about a product, service, or organization Conversations: relationship-building dialogue with prospective buyers for the purposes of influencing or making sales Demonstrations: demonstrating how a product or service works and the benefits it offers, highlighting advantageous features and how the offering solves problems the customer encounters Addressing objections: identifying… Read More »Common Personal Selling Techniques