The Phenomena of Web 2.0
The most visited web sites are Yahoo!, Google, and MSN. Also, the Goliath e-commerce sites, Amazon and E-bay. The five next prevailing sites are all Web 2.0 marvels:
1. Social networks
2. Streaming video network You Tube
3. Software-as-a-Service platforms Windows Live, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail
4. Wikipedia
Tim O'Reilly explains his Web 2.0 foresight: "Web 2.0 doesn't have a hard boundary, but rather, a gravitational core. You can visualize Web 2.0 as a set of principles and practices that tie together a veritable solar system of sites that demonstrate some or all of those principles, at a varying distance from that core."
Surprisingly, participating in Web 2.0 doesn't necessitate hefty budgets, leading edge developers, and tremendous scope. Today, people can access the benefits of web 2.0 on a shoe string budget. Even the smallest companies can take advantage of the new trends, new and open source programming tools, and new networks.
Traditional Advertising is Out
Conventional offline media, on the whole, is weak. Presently, kinds like print have actually diminished. In the United States, the national do-not-call list has ballooned to 150 million Americans not receiving calls from telemarketers.
Another example of undesired advertising is SPAM email. Today, an estimated 95% of all e-mail messages are spam. After a few years after CAN-SPAM, congress is considering a national do-not-e-mail list. Even mail order catalogs are becoming inefficient.
The solution may be the Internet. It's no wonder that 60% of marketers in a 2007 Internet Retailer survey said they planned to do more search engine advertising. This illustrates the increase of user-requested marketing and the decline of user interrupt marketing.
To clarify, an individual is participating in user requested marketing when they search for a particular product by name, then clicking on its brand name, has qualified herself as an interesting party.
In other words, the consumer seeks out the product and the salesman versus the other way around. Conversely, interrupt marketing is the example of a person going about their business watching a television program only to be interrupted by the onslaught of commercials.
We can all relate to this example and many of us, now, have the means through services like TIVO to fast forward through these annoying commercials.
The conventional marketing paradigm has changed to user requested marketing. The champions of current advertising media are search advertising, loyalty emails, and e-newsletters. The reason they're so effective is that they entice the user's permission to receive the advertising.
An ongoing e-mail and newsletter has the ability to revive your customer's interest and dialogue on a regular basis. Also, you can develop strong relationships with your customers and prospects through personalization.
For example, Lenox used personalized graphics for its e-mail program-each recipient was greeted with their first name rendered in beautiful graphics. The results were exciting: In an A/B split test, Lenox reported a 32% lift in response rates, and a 41% increase in sales.
With the change of buying habits marketers are using technology in new ways to fulfill the needs and desires of consumers in the 21st century. Are you utilizing technology to help grow your business?
Eric T Dahl is an Information Technology Sales Expert and Marketer in Eugene, Oregon. He works with Owners and IT Managers in the areas of computer, software, and network infrastructure solutions. To learn more about how to upgrade your business, contact Eric T Dahl directly at eric.dahl@deusmachine.com.
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