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Optimizing your company's customer entry points will lead to an
increase in site stickiness and online revenue streams
WITH HUNDREDS OF thousands of Web sites to visit, customers are faced with
more choices than ever. The vast amount of information found on the Web is
daunting not only to Internet shoppers but to e-businesses as well. With so
many sites available e-businesses struggle to successfully attract customers.
And the amount of "noise" on the Web will only increase. According
to analyst firm Gartner, electronic commerce will skyrocket to $7.29 trillion
worldwide by 2004.
A large part of building a solid and successful e-business is being aware of
the ways in which customers reach your site, which pages are most popular,
and what ad campaigns are working. Partnerships with other online
e-businesses can also help attract new customers.
The more effective a company's range of customer entry points, the greater
the number of end-user visitors and potential online revenues. Numerous tools
and services, including Insight Express' market research services and
IntraPromote's suite of services, are available to better track this
information and ensure that your entry points are effective.
Attracting
those customers
Monitoring and analytical tools can pinpoint troublesome Web pages, and
target audiences and user demographics. WebTrends' Enterprise Suite, Accrue
Software's Accrue Insight, and WebSide Story's HitBox tools all help track
customer behavior. Although the cost of these analytical tools is high --
often ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 -- these types of tools are crucial as
they help evaluate the effectiveness of your e-business. Without them,
companies are in the dark when it comes to figuring out customer behavior and
Web site usability.
One popular method for attracting customers is through the use of online
advertisements, either banner ads or static ads. Although the click-through
rates are low, the name and logo of a company build name recognition among a
company's target audience. Numerous Internet marketing firms can help with
online advertising and the placement of your company's ads.
Starting at $450, depending on audience and survey results, Insight Express
offers online market research services that e-businesses can use to create
surveys and get instant feedback from targeted customers to help them
determine the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. IntraPromote offers a
slew of services such as entry point marketing, search engine optimization,
and partnership building for enhancing online businesses at a cost ranging
from $10,000 to $50,000 per month, depending on the scope of the project.
Online search engines are also a valuable and viable entry point into your
e-business. It is important for companies to register with as many search
engines as possible to reach the broadest number of users. If customers can't
find your site in a search, chances are they'll go to your competitor.
Registering manually at each search engine would be a timely and tedious
endeavor. Companies such as IntraPromote will submit a company's key words
and product information.
In addition, the proper use of metatags and descriptions in the pages of your
site help to define your site and make it possible for others to find your
company. Doing this important task takes plenty of time and is tedious, as
there are literally thousands of search engines.
IntraPromote's Internet marketing services help companies optimize their site
for search engines. Other tools, such as Submit Wolf's Submit Wolf
Pro/Enterprise, include an application that walks site developers through the
process via wizards, helping Webmasters generate correct metatags, keywords,
and engine profile editors. Once complete, Submit Wolf submits your site to
the selected search engines.
Who
you know counts
Along with search engines, customers also come from other Web sites either by
referrals or partner advertisements. Building strong corporate partnerships
ensures future business and can even land a deal to advertise for free on a
partner's Web site. For targeting new business partners a good source of
information is available by examining Web logs. Webmasters may find that
other sites already provide links to your site.
Tools available for developing business partnerships include Excite's
ExcitePlus and LookSmart, which list your site in a network of partnered Web
sites. Again, IntraPromote provides a service for developing these important
relationships by bringing in consultants who use their expertise to find
potential partners for the company.
Tools
of the trade
Once e-businesses develop online marketing and advertising campaigns, they
need tools for monitoring and analyzing site traffic. Web Trends' Enterprise
Suite, Accrue Software's Accrue Insight, and WebSide Story's HitBox tools all
track who visits a particular site, where they came from, and what pages were
accessed. These tools can also measure the success of ads and identify which
sites are referring visitors to your site.
This is important information that is automatically kept in logs, and when
properly analyzed, it provides Webmasters with vital customer information.
The data helps to identify problem pages, pinpoint search engine referrals
and keyword usage, and determine potential partnerships. Site managers and
developers can also target sales and advertising campaigns to specific
groups, and they can predict trends about ways in which users will visit
their site.
The success of any business depends on its ability to attract and retain
loyal customers. Ensuring that all possible customer entry points are
optimized will only increase online revenues. Analysis tools and services are
essential for helping your business grow and should be seriously considered
to ensure the success of your e-business.
See our illustration, "Web site analytics brought
home."
Return
to the Test Center In-Focus: Anatomy of an e-business package page
Lori Mitchell
(lori_mitchell@infoworld.com) is a senior Test Center analyst.
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BOTTOM LINE
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Customer entry points 
BUSINESS
CASE
Managing multiple customer entry points is essential for any e-business.
The more ways in which customers can enter your company's Web site, the
more your company's online revenue will grow.
TECHNOLOGY
CASE
Managers will benefit from marketing solutions and reports for targeting
new customers. Although these services don't require any additional
hardware requirements, tools do have system specifications.
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PROS
+ Enhance customer interaction
+ Optimize search results
+ Increase click-through rates
CONS
- Difficult to monitor without tools
- Tools and services can be expensive
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