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

26 BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS INTERNET MARKETING
Transition to Integrated Marketing Now
As marketing becomes more reliant on the Internet, b-to-b marketers
will face a new media world—one that has different kinds of challenges.
With the upward spiral of the Internet trajectory, you will need to adjust
your marketing and media strategies. What this really means is that
you will need to redefine your use of direct marketing in the context of
the Internet if you have not already done so… and ready yourself for a
marketing future that looks very different from the past.
Much of the impact of the Internet in this new future will be based
on “one-to-one” e-enabled communications. This is the notion of addressing
individual prospect and customer needs via personalized e-mail
and Web-based communications. It is already playing a prominent role
in b-to-b and b-to-c marketing. We will talk more about this in the
Chapter 7, “Building Customer Relationships.”
Are you taking advantage of Internet and traditional media integration?
To do so, you should continue to use advertising, mail, phone, and
other traditional media, but now is the time to increasingly enhance
them by adding Internet response paths, offering Internet fulfillment,
using e-mail for follow-ups, driving individuals to your Web site, and
inviting prospects and customers to virtual events that occur on the
Internet.
Now is the time to build a marketing strategy that will combine
the best of traditional media with the one-to-one power
of Internet media.
At the end of the book, you will find a complete blueprint to help
you implement this strategy. For now, here is an overview of the basic
steps you will need to take:
1. Assess your Internet marketing readiness. Now is the time to evaluate
your organization’s Internet marketing capabilities. Are you
pursuing Internet marketing now? How far along the media integration
curve are you? Evaluate your company’s current use of
Internet technology and your current use of Internet marketing.
– Do you already take inquiries over the Web? Are you doing
electronic fulfillment? Are these things in your future plans?