Survival Slim for Stale Sites by Michel Fortin
Survival Slim for Stale Sites
by Michel Fortin
I live in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada), also affectionately known as "Silicon Valley North." My office is located about three blocks away from Corel's head office. But another large, Canadian high-tech company based in Brampton, Ontario -- network giant Nortel at http://www.nortelnetworks.com/ (formerly known as Northern Telecom, with offices in Ottawa too, I might add) -- sent huge ripples over the ewaves recently with two major headline news.
First, Nortel announced the launch of their new fiber optic technology aimed at increasing bandwidth (up to a whopping 6.4 terabits, or 1.6 trillion bits, per second) -- all on a single fiber no larger than a strand of hair. And this week, their acquisition of ebusiness firm Clarify was another astonishing move. Nortel's $2.1 billion stock-swap deal with Clarify, the developers of CRM applications ("CRM" stands for customer relationship management) proves, in part, that relationship marketing on the Internet is fast becoming a standard.
In a recent interview with InfoWorld, Clarify CEO Tony Zingale stated: "Commerce only represents a transaction. But that is not building an enduring relationship with a customer, (...) because what people really want is a relationship. You really have to incorporate all forms of communication into an ebusiness model to build an enduring relationship with a customer." (Read it at www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?991019.hnclarify.htm.)
"Forms of communication" don't necessarily merely mean complex and expensive online applications that only large companies with robust websites can afford. They also include the simplest of tools, such as ezine publishing, opt-in email marketing and even good copywriting, which are still being ignored by most struggling ebusinesses. I also believe that the lack of such tools could in fact become expenses in themselves.
A recent issue of Inside 1 to 1, published by customer relationship management consultant Peppers and Rogers Group (http://www.1to1.com/), looked at the diminishing return on investment for some businesses caused by their failure to properly capitalize on and measure relationship marketing. The spotlight was on a survey developed by Primary Knowledge, a measurement firm (http://www.primaryknowledge.com/index.html?id=prg72399).
In an interview with Bob Dorf, Primary Knowledge CEO Peter Adams declares: "Ebusinesses today are moving at the speed of light and are selling in an increasingly price-competitive, low-loyalty marketplace -- they are not coming close to the level of business success they could be enjoying if they maximized the yield of their online customer relationships."
Ecommerce Times (http://ecommercetimes.com/) recently reported that, according to new research released by statistics compiler Nielsen/NetRatings (http://www.netratings.com/), online shoppers are looking, among others, for a personalized shopping experience over low prices (see the entire article at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles/991019-2.shtml).
Ecommerce not only improves sales but also cuts costs. According to a study released by the Giga Information Group, businesses saved an estimated $15.2 billion, in 1998 (figures are probably higher for 1999), by selling products online and improving their business models with the help of the Internet.
The ecommerce study, printed in a recent issue of "Business and the Internet" published by NorthEast Internet Publishing (at http://www.neip.com/), claims that the web "makes business more efficient by allowing instant publication and rapid circulation of marketing materials" (such as with ezines, for example). Giga vice president Andrew Bartels added that, consequently, "it strengthens relationships between customers and retailers" (for more, see http://www.neip.com/company/media_room/marketing.htm).
Nevertheless, while tools help the relationship-building process, relationships are not made with online tools let alone websites -- they are made with the people behind them. And beyond sophisticated applications, the one thing to keep in mind is that the web is, in itself, a direct marketing tool -- requiring the ultimate power of words (especially in a world that lacks humaness). Words online are powerful -- more powerful than any other medium in existence. They help build trust -- the most crucial element of any relationship.
Copywriter Nick Usborne, of http://forkinthehead.com/, agrees. In one of his many ClickZ articles, he states that sites with flashy graphics (and with "rich media") can indeed grab eyeballs and entertain site visitors. But converting visitors into buyers, and establishing relationships and trust with them, require the skillful use of words (see http://clickz.com/article/cz.400.html).
With the web indeed moving at an incredible pace, it is safe to conclude that relationship marketing is also growing just as fast. And thus some of the simplest tools to cultivate superior online customer relationships, such as email newsletters and good marketing copy, should never be regarded purely as ways to increase sales and reduce costs -- as time goes on, they will become essential to survival in this hectic, electronic jungle.
About the Author
Michel Fortin is an author, speaker and marketing consultant dedicated to turning businesses into powerful magnets. Visit http://www.successdoctor.com/index.htm. He is also the editor of the "Internet Marketing Chronicles" delivered weekly to 125,000 subscribers -- subscribe free at http://www.successdoctor.com/IMC/.
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