Don’t Let Your Dot-com Go Bust

They’re dropping like flies but you can save your business.

The dot-com bubble has burst and you will have to change your way of marketing and advertising if you intend to get the sort of results that you're going to need.

Your objective is to drive people to your Web site and, once there, get them to buy your product or services.

Investors are tired on unprofitable online enterprises and are taking their money elsewhere. Buyers have had it with poor customer service and, in addition, have seen the glow wear off dot-com businesses. It’s easier to go to the local bookstore and buy a book than order online and the cost is about the same.

So you have to give people a reason to buy from you rather than someone else. That’s a challenge but it can be done.

If you think email marketing is your best medium with which to accomplish this, you're wrong. Direct mail targeting is proving to be much better than any other medium. Direct mail doesn't need permission like direct email does. When you send email you have to use an opt-in list and have permission for each email you send.

If you don't, you create a lot of problems for yourself.

We often find 1000 percent to 2000 percent more targeted names in direct mail databases than we find in opt-in email databases. That means you have substantially more people who may become customers or clients. You have more opportunity. Here are some simple rules to follow in your next direct-mail campaign. These formulas are based on tests that were conducted to improve the chances of success with direct mailings.

Testing has shown that direct mail packages out pull self-mailers considerably. This is especially true if you are mailing to executives or selling high-ticket goods and services to the B to C world.

Your offer is extremely important.Make the value of the offer very clear to the reader. If you are afraid to use aggressive offers, forget doing the program. Offer something of value yet don’t give the store away.

If you want people to buy, make your offer contingent upon them purchasing your item or service. If you want them to refer their brands to co-workers, reward them for each completed referral. Do not reward them for just for clicking through.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that getting people to their Web site is all they have to do. That's plain wrong. The object is to get them to your Web site and to get the majority of those people to buy your product or services or to contact you for more information.

Most people on the Internet are looking for free or cheap. That's one reason so many dot-coms have gone out of business and others are in the process of going out business. Nothing is totally free and nothing can stay unrealistically cheap for long. Services and products have to be paid for. And they have to be paid for at an honest price that allows the merchant or professional to earn a good living. No one wants to work for small returns and no one wants to sell valuable products below their value. Internet users, like everyone else, need to learn this lesson.

Help the reader get through the confusion of the dot-coms. It's very difficult to remember the name of any particular dot-com business. So send out sticky notes, plastic cards, or paper cards that recipients can post on their computer or in their workspace. That way they are more likely to visit your Web site when they have the URL in front of them. Tests have been getting lifts of 100 percent or more by using these devices.>

Certainly email is cheaper to use and simpler. But it has proven to be less effective than traditional direct mail. So if you want to drive business to your Web site and you want to really increase your business you need to turn back to traditional direct mail. It's the smart thing to do.