Business-to-Business Internet Marketing, Fourth Edition - Lifecycle ...

Using Business Communities and Exchanges 241
want to do business with. Then apply the following checklist to each
community.
Which Free Services Are Offered?
Does the community offer free services you could take advantage of,
such as e-mail, home pages, chat, discussion groups, and so on?
What Opportunities for Free Publicity Exist?
Does the community have areas in which your company, product, or
service can obtain any of the following free?
Listing in member or supplier directories,
Mention in discussion groups or chats,
Posting of press releases or product information,
Including a company profile,
Having speakers participate in online forums or seminars,
Posting of job openings,
Listing of your events in a community calendar,
Listing of your products or services in a buyer’s guide, and
Reciprocal linking to your site from the community and vice versa.
What Opportunities for Paid Advertising
and Promotion Are Available?
In evaluating paid opportunities, look at each possible activity from a
media ROI perspective. In other words, analyze the potential number
of prospects you will reach and ask yourself if the dollars you are investing
in the paid activity are reasonable on a cost per thousand basis.
The smart way to go about it is to test a particular activity on a limited
scale and see if the results warrant continued investment. The kinds of
paid opportunities that may exist on community sites include
Paid sponsorships of discussion groups or chats,