Marketing In Cyberspace: Applying The Basic Rules Of Direct Response Marketing

If you are planning or already have a web site on-line, it is important to realize that the successful sites are the ones that have embraced the basic rules pertaining to direct response marketing.

Why? It's simple -- strip away all of the hoopla surrounding the interactive craze, and you will see that a web site functions under the same dynamics as a direct response medium. Whether it is direct mail, space advertising, television, radio, telemarketing, and now the web, effective marketing through these mediums attempt at eliciting a response from an individual. Carrying the mindset that the Internet is a direct response medium, let's take a look at the five key components that directly effect a web site:

Product - You need something to sell, whether it is a physical product or the services of your organization. Traditionally, items with units of sale under $100 fit the classic 'one-step' direct response model, where a sale is consummated with a one-on-one relationship between the product and the buyer (look at the success of audio CD purchases on the web). However, if your products or services carry a high unit of sale, the functional model for your web site should be as a lead generation device (or 'hand-raiser', as it is sometimes called), providing you with multiple opportunities of varied sales interaction (i.e. telemarketing follow-up, detailed collateral, access to more in-

Offer - Your offer is comprised of your product enhanced with a special 'deal' designed to motivate individuals to make purchases. Discounts, premiums, bundles -- even free gifts, all 'classic' to traditional direct response marketing, will greatly increase the perceived value of your product. When the perceived value is greater than the actual dollar amount of your offer, a critical point is reached in the direct response sales cycle, since it is usually the point at where an order or lead is generated.

Package - The package is analogous to the actual structure of your web site. Using direct mail as an example, the package refers to the envelope and its actual contents (lift letter, buck slip, response mechanism, product information, etc.). How you present your information to the visitor, and where you lead them with internal links, must be a carefully planned and structured activity. Perhaps as the visitor delves deeper into the site, you might repeatedly ask for a call to action. Or, using some of the new web scripting technologies, you might entice them with a special deal if they act 'NOW'.

External banners and links are analogous to the outer envelope of a mailing piece and, in themselves, can be referred to as a 'quick offer.'

Successful direct mail packages aggressively sell on the outer envelope, using such keywords as 'FREE' and 'ACT BEFORE xx/yy/zz', to initiate a call to action.

More and more, you will notice these and other tried and proven direct response techniques grafted onto these banners and links.

The questions policy makers must grapple with are: what level of privacy protection adequately balances the legitimate interest of individuals and marketers; whether existing laws and regulations provide the desired level of protection; and, if not, what changes should be made. At the very least, the already established principles of provider notice and customer consent must apply.

However, this may well be a situation where individuals must take charge and not wait for our sluggish government to grant or repeal permission for our actions. The laws of the marketplace are much swifter, and self-

While there may be a sincere attempt to market clickstream data, any marketer considering that type of purchase must ask two questions: One, will this data provide any greater benefit to my marketing efforts than traditional (and legal) methods of marketing research? and two, Is this an ethical business practice?

Already, we have mountains of data for marketing profiles. Through established, effective and ethical means, we can gather even more mountains. Do not let the easy availability of this information lead you to believe it is of greater worth in developing marketing efforts. And what if a marketer used clickstream data to personalize marketing communications to, say, a 45-year old male user. Will those personalized messages be appropriate when his 16-year old daughter uses the computer?

And then the question of ethics. Personal ethics aside, from a strictly bottom-line perspective, will your customers feel this is an ethical practice? Do the potential financial benefits of acquiring and using this controversial resource outweigh the goodwill of customers and industry peers?

The entire concept of clickstream tracking is in direct violation of an individual's privacy. The Web promises enormous economic, social and cultural benefits to our country. However, unless there are proper safeguards in place, there is an enormous potential for abuse. Marketers themselves must take the lead in preventing the abuse. To unlock the full potential of the Web, we must acknowledge and protect the privacy interests of all its users. Individuals do not globally publish such information for anyone and everyone to analyze and use. Neither should companies seeking to profit from it.