December 23rd, 2008 by Steven Leung

In this article

• Balancing response rate and lead qualification
• Designing web forms for a win-win
• How California Law can affect you, even when you aren’t based in California

Previously, I wrote about how people go through four levels in their business relationships with your company and how moving from one level to the next requires an investment of trust on their part.

This investment of trust is especially true when asking visitors to your website for their contact information (which is the second level: converting visitors to prospects).  By being customer-friendly in collecting and using your visitors’ information, you will encourage more people to trust your company with that information.

There are high-profile examples not to follow.  Silicon Valley intellectual property attorney Allen Lee writes about how Sony was found to have violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).  As recently as two weeks ago, Sony learned — through seven-figure civil penalties — that there are legal limitations to how you can collect and use personal information.

The importance of staying within both the moral and legal boundaries of what you can do with customer information is clear, and you can find detailed information at the Online Privacy Alliance and the Consumer Privacy Guide.

From an integrated marketing perspective, collecting customer information is the first step in building relationships with your prospects.  As such, your website must:

1. Clearly communicate how the information is used
2. Explain the benefits of providing that information
3. Make supplying that information as easy as possible

These three factors help you establish credibility and increase number of visitors who will give you their information.  Here are customer-friendly techniques you can use and traps to avoid.

» Read the rest of this article »

December 7th, 2008 by Steven Leung

In this article:

• How Internet Marketing Is More Effective Than Traditional Advertising
• Tracking How an Actual Visitor Became a Lead
• Building a Stronger Reputation By Combining Internet and Traditional Marketing

Done correctly, Internet marketing is one of the most cost-effective mechanisms that businesses can use to generate leads.

The reason for Internet marketing is simple and ironic: permanence.   When a business launches a mail campaign, your pieces get delivered and you hope that you found enough people who are interested to make that mailing worth your while.

But most, if not all, of the mailings get thrown away.  People may not have even looked at them — and those that did may or may not remember your business. That’s why the author of The Fundamentals of Business to Business Sales and Marketing, John Coe, recommends mailing three times in a two to four week period in order to maximize effectiveness.  But after the mailers are sent, you have nothing of lasting consequence in your hands.  An online presence grows as you invest in it.
» Read the rest of this article »

October 5th, 2008 by Steven Leung

In this article:

• Understanding the goals behind your web presence
• What makes a web presence successful
• Investing vs. advertising, and doing both at the same time

When I talk with people about their Internet presences — not just their websites but the development of their reputation on the Internet — I almost never talk about the underlying technology first.

To me, it’s more important to understand their underlying goals and what people want to accomplish by establishing a presence online. Their goals usually fall into one of three categories, which help shape the framework of the project and how much potential is has for their businesses.
» Read the rest of this article »