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

The Age of the “e” 17
coming commonplace, dramatically increasing business efficiency as
cybermeetings replace face-to-face meetings.
The Internet Provides a Unique Form of Communications Intimacy
If marketing is about building relationships, then Internet marketing is
about building lasting relationships. With the medium’s maturation and
the increasing integration of database marketing practices, targeting and
one-to-one marketing on the Internet are fast becoming the norm, and
that means marketers will be able to address the individualized needs of
constituents.
Targeting on the Internet, as you will see in subsequent chapters, is
not only feasible, it can be almost as efficient as direct mail in reaching
particular audiences. There are as many specialized Web sites as there
are specialized trade publications—primarily because virtually every
specialized publication has established a sister Web site. That means
you can be as selective with Web-based media as you can with printbased
media.
The same is true of lead generation and order generation programs.
You can select the most appropriate Web sites for banner ad placement
and reach a targeted audience, as you would with traditional print media.
Outbound unsolicited e-mail certainly does not have the acceptance
of traditional direct mail, nor can it match direct mail list
selectability, but the use of e-mail is another option that should be considered,
if cautiously. Legitimate opt-in lists of individuals who are willing
to receive promotional e-mail are increasingly available for rental.
Customers and prospects who are receptive to promotional e-mail
could form the basis for an e-mail list that is potentially one of your
best-performing lists. E-mail lists will continue to come onto the market,
and the selection criteria will continue to improve as promotional
e-mail gains acceptance. E-mail newsletters are enormously popular
because they put valuable information into subscribers’ e-mailboxes,
usually free of charge. E-mail is one-to-one correspondence, quite like
traditional direct mail. Today at least, e-mail is private, personal, and
read more attentively than any other medium.
The World Wide Web is truly an intimate and personal “playspace”
for adults. Used effectively, the Web can deliver personalized content to
each and every visitor, or even automatically to a visitor’s computer
desktop via push technologies. As a result, a marketer can initiate a