by David Zeiter - Prime Visibility

So many Internet Marketing campaigns are often one-directional activities. This is not by design, but it seems to be the result in far too many cases.

Think about it… how often do you find yourself reviewing your company’s programs with the following statements being made:

• We send out 10,000 emails a month and expect people will visit our website and purchase our products.
• We spend between $5,000 and $8,000 per month on Pay-Per-Click advertising and believe [hope] we are using the keywords that make website visitors buy from us.
• We sent out press releases through our PR Agency and only receive small synopsis in a local newspaper or industry magazine.
• We made design changes to the look and feel of our website so that people will like what they see and contact us.
• We invested in optimization of our web pages but the high rankings in search engines never came.

Of course there are numerous other printed- marketing activities that take place within most companies e.g., direct mail, sales brochures, trade show literature, and catalogs. The goal here is to make you and your Internet Marketing team look deep into the selling process and find ways to increase the value of each marketing campaign.

What Does Closed-Loop Mean?

Now that your interest is piqued… let’s take a look at what closed-loop Internet Marketing is all about. It is a simple concept; however, it isn’t followed often enough. The process begins with the end results in mind. Notice the keyword is results… plural! This means the Marketing Team should never start a project with ONE Goal in mind. Beginning a project by focusing on the primary result one wants to obtain puts a specific perspective on the process to be developed. Making it mandatory for the team to come up with at least three or four secondary benefits is the behavior and approach needed for very successful Internet Marketing projects.

When asked about the goal of Internet Marketing campaigns, most marketing personnel and senior executives quickly state… REVENUE! Well, that is very shortsighted to say the least. Creating a profitable revenue stream is of significant importance. But, there are other areas one can [and should] focus on that will provide sustaining, long-term benefits that may far outweigh the value of an immediate sale from one’s website.

Two Sample Internet Transactions:

The following examples show two different approaches to Internet Marketing. They both drive revenue, however, one goes a bit further. As you read, try to project how your company handled its latest Internet-based campaign.

Company “A” sends out an email requesting that the recipient go to their website and view products being sold. The result is that people either do it or they don’t. Let’s continue and say the person types in the company’s URL and lands on the website’s homepage, searches, finds a product and makes the purchase. The company processes the credit card transaction and ships the product quickly. The product is received and satisfactorily meets the website visitor’s needs. And so goes many [if not most] Internet transactions. What a wasted opportunity!

Company “B” sends out an email with a message that is clearly focused on the recipient. It includes a motivating call-to-action statement that has a “timely” message. Further, the email includes links within the body text that contain a tracking code.

The reader of the email likes what is being offered and clicks on the link that has the most interest. The person lands on a page within the company’s website showing exactly the product being offered. The visitor decides to make the purchase and enters the product into the shopping cart.

Prior to finalizing the purchase, the visitor is offered related products and services that others have purchased at the same time. In addition, there is a special discount if the order reaches a specified dollar value. The visitor likes the recommendations and adds one more product to the cart. The credit card information is entered and the online transaction is completed.

The company uses an auto-respond feature that sends out a ‘Thank You” email and confirms the receipt of the order. It also contains a Special Purchase Code that gives the purchaser a discount on their next purchase if it is made within the next 60-days.

It does not stop there… the company asks the purchaser to sign up for their Newsletter that will show special offers throughout the year. Finally, there is a “Tell a Friend” statement asking the purchaser to give a special friend, business contact, or relative the advantage of buying from the company. Of course, there is a special coupon code that can be used to motivate the friend to make an immediate purchase.

The end result is that REVENUE was generated. However, the amount of the sale was larger and the purchaser opted-in to receive ongoing Newsletter. There is also a good possibility that the purchaser will return within a month to redeem the coupon and the friend will potentially make a purchase.

Behind the scenes, the Internet Marketing team can see the impact of the email offer by quantifying the tracking codes used to land on specific product pages within the website. They can also see the dollar value associated with the recommended add-on order and the impact of the call-to-action statement. The purchaser’s coupon being used in a subsequent sale can be recorded and quantified as well as the coupon sent to the friend.

Needless to say… Company “B” is much better off than Company “A”. Now and in the future!

Pay-Per-Click “Loops”…

Make sure your PPC Marketing expert selects the “Best of Breed” terms to be included in your campaign. It is not about adding thousands of keywords and hoping that once in awhile someone will convert! Of course, using an adequate number of keywords that can be measured using conversion rate tools is a must.

In addition, think about how most PPC generated transactions end. In a sale… right? Yes, but that isn’t where they should end. Go back and read the process used in the email example. It applies here also. You can often add 25-35% more revenue to one sale by using these closed-loop Internet marketing techniques.

Press Release “Loops”…

Traditional advertising and press release agencies often do not utilize the Internet as an integral part of their distribution process. This limits the opportunity to deliver the closed-loop process.

There are numerous web-based press release distribution organizations; some will even assist with copywriting. The important thing to keep in mind when using these services is to use search engine optimization techniques when writing the unique Internet Press Release. The search engine spiders will find the appropriately written press release, index it and potentially give it a page ranking.

Think about all those people who want to “check out” your company prior to doing business with you. What if they could search on your company name and find positive statements contained within press releases? They could also find the link to your website within the press release copy and go directly to the site. If you include a link to an internal landing page that contains the product or service you are promoting… it will help drive traffic AND it counts as an incoming link! Just follow the same processes used in the email example once the visitor lands on the website!

Closed-Loop Internet Marketing Bottom-Line Facts:

The message here is to think about Internet Marketing programs from a multi-faceted viewpoint. There are tremendous opportunities to obtain much more than just immediate REVENUE! It is very important to build in the ability for a prospective customer to buy more per visit [through cross and up-selling], come back often [using retention methods], and send friends to your website [via viral marketing].

If you don’t have the internal marketing staff that thinks in the manner described above… find an Internet Marketing partner who will assist your team. It is too important to leave this opportunity underdeveloped and to chance!

About the Author: David Zeiter is a fifteen-year veteran in the Internet Marketing arena. His focus is on assisting clients in creating website direction and content that not only appeals to the site visitor but, also delivers high rankings in search engine results. His approach ensures that website visitors convert to customers using profiling characteristics and identifying their buying motivations. He is the Vice President of Business Development for Prime Visibility in Bethpage, New York 11714. David@PrimeVisibility.com – 866-774-6381 x30 – www.PrimeVisibility.com

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