Web-Marketing
CTR. Conversion rates. Ad impressions. SEO. Bouncing. Cloaking. FTP. RSS. The lists of
technical vocabulary and processes as to how to properly market a business on the internet is
expansive, time consuming, and a bit daunting. This is compounded by the ever changing
nature of the internet and cultural trends, as well as numerous marketing experts and varying
opinions as to how social media outlets such as LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, etc. should be
used to publicize a company. With almost two billion people online and over $200 billion of
internet sales1 with a strong double digit growth into the foreseeable future, an effective online
marketing strategy for your business becomes more important every day.
This month’s paper presents how to navigate the web marketing landscape and evaluate the
effectiveness of your business. For Cathedral, all marketing must drive revenue to the
business. The internet provides another tool for marketing and generating sales. Cathedral
refers to this part of marketing as “web-marketing.”
Strategically Driving Revenue to Your Business
Found in the resource section of its website, Cathedral outlines the best practices of creating an
appropriate marketing plan for a small business. Notable items include:
1. Creating a marketing plan should begin with the company’s mission or vision statement.
The mission statement should present the company’s unique place in the market.
2. Utilize the financial analysis showing the most profitable customer groups and market
share to market to the most profitable customers.
3. Utilize the financial analysis showing the most profitable products/services and market
share to sell the most profitable products.
4. Strategies to address the competition, both in product differentiation and pricing.
Remember that pricing is always that last point of competition, although too often we
start at price.
5. Incorporate an internal marketing plan to better equip employees to promote the
company and enjoin to the company’s mission, culture, values and collective goals.
6. Incorporate other strategic goals of the company, particularly those centered on future
market positioning.
7. Develop a budget that works for the expected revenue and profit targets.
8. Allocate the budget to the alternative marketing tools, such as web-marketing to
maximize the return potential.
9. Consider the review points during the year for making adjustments based upon actual
results and market conditions. Generally these will be in advance of major sales cycles
and need to be early enough for buying purposes.
1
Miniwatts Marketing Group. 30 September 2009. http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
Information according to data reported by Nielsen Online and International Telecommunications Union.
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Regardless of the marketing tools used, the business owner must understand that any decision
must be made with the goal of increasing sales and driving revenue to your business. If it does
not drive revenue to the business, it is not worth the time and effort. Cathedral recommends the
10 percent rule of best practice marketing: for every dollar spent on marketing, the business
should generate $10 in revenue.
Web-Marketing
The current muddle represented by today’s web-marketing landscape is demonstrated by the
many differing and conflicting tools to be used. Cathedral believes proper web-marketing
creates a unique road-map for a company to navigate the muddle and create a sales-generating
plan as illustrated below.
Web-marketing Means Navigating the Muddle
Thousands of options are available online for companies to market their products and services.
A new service is developed each day accompanied by a new expert. The trend of which service
may be most effective is ever changing. The business owner must navigate through these
options and determine which web-platform is most suitable for their company’s products or
services. The owner then has the larger challenge of learning each new technology and
dedicating the time to incorporate and maintain it. As a result, business owners either become
too zealous, spending a large amount time and money on the services with little return, or
ambivalent, not spending time or money.
Unfortunate for participants in web-marketing mediums, increasing sales is not a central factor
for the medium’s proponents. Web-tools tend to start as a social tool. The business community
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then incorporates it into a marketing tool. To adopt the web-tool properly, the business must
understand how its customers buys and determine whether the web-tool will increase the buying
activity. An example is Facebook. Facebook is a social tool. Because of the high level of
social participation some businesses are trying out Facebook advertising and stores. However,
most businesses would still find Facebook an ineffective place for generating sales. Another tool
is LinkedIn. A number of businesses are finding it generates real leads. As with traditional
marketing, leads must be systematically followed up with in order to turn into sales.
Web-Managing is Part of Marketing
Web-marketing is one part of an overall strategic marketing plan designed to increase revenue.
The following illustration demonstrates this:
As in all marketing, the first step to successful web-marketing is to determine the intended
targeted audience. Web-marketing tools should be investigated and evaluated as to the
effectiveness of reaching this target audience. Because web-marketing tools allow for good
tracking of effectiveness, a cost benefit analysis of the web-marketing tool can determine if the
cost of both time and money. The return on investment is measured in the increase of sales,
remembering Cathedral’s 10% of sales marketing rule. Cathedral suggests beginning with no
more than three web-marketing tools to have appropriate focus on achieving results.
Web-marketing tools generally drive customers to the company website. The company website
becomes the focal point for the sale. It must contain a clear presentation of products or services
offered, differentiate the products from competitors, and make the purchase process
products/services as easy and efficient. Increased traffic to the website does not automatically
increase sales, but the message and effectiveness at developing relationships that leads
consumers to purchase products or services. Although a company’s website may have a lot of
viewers each month and ranks high on popular search engines, sales do not necessarily
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increase. Therefore the website must be regularly refined to respond to the changing market,
message, and products. Stale websites kill sales – keep it fresh.
Specific methods of client development in order to foster relationships are out of the scope of
this document. However, customer development for leads received from online marketing is the
same as customer development through traditional marketing methods.
Evaluating Results to Determine Effectiveness
Tools such as Google Analytics provide information as to the traffic sources on the company’s
website. This data assists business owners with evaluating whether participation in various
forms of web-marketing is effective to providing leads. Using this data the company can adjust
the marketing tools and the message in increase leads and their effectiveness in generating
sales.
Pros and Cons to Web-marketing
Web-marketing may not be for every company. Below are the pros and cons of online
marketing to aid in determining the appropriateness of this marketing tool.
Pros:
1. Online marketing is relatively inexpensive
2. Companies can reach a wider geographic audience for a small fraction of traditional
advertising budgets.
3. The nature of the medium allows consumers to research and purchase products and
services at their own convenience.
4. Due to its immediate nature, online marketing brings results quickly.
5. Ability to spread brand recognition through viral capabilities of interactive media
6. Online marketing can be easily and inexpensively measured compared to traditional
media, allowing instant changes to marketing strategy if required.
7. Internet marketing can offer a greater capacity to evaluate effectiveness of advertisers,
as tracking and evaluating methods are more precise and often.2
Cons:
1. Maintenance. Web-marketing requires constant maintenance of both staff and money in
order to provide updated information on the company’s services and products.
2. Web-marketing requires owners or dedicated staffing to leverage the power of newer
technologies. These newer technologies may induce extra costs that need to be
considered in a cost benefit analysis, such as the time to learn more platforms.
3. Changing nature and difficult to determine what is best choice for your company.
4. Potential customers with low-speed internet connections may not be able to view a more
complicated website.3
5. Websites prevent consumers from truly experiencing the product as they would in a
store; this may deter sales that would occur in a store.
2
Miniwatts Marketing Group. 30 September 2009. http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
Information according to data reported by Nielsen Online and International Telecommunications Union.
3
Cairns, Jim. “Searching For and Deciding on an Internet Marketing Company.” Associated Content: Business and Finance. 03
September 2009. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2124727/searching_for_and_ deciding_on_an_internet.html?cat=3.
Retrieved 31 December 2009.
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Articles for Further Reading
1. Baker, Stephen. “Beware Social Media Snake Oil.”
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_50/b4159048693735.htm 3
December 2009.
2. Pattison, Kermit. Small-Business Guide: How to Market Your Business With Facebook .
New York Times. 12 November 2009.
3. Catone, Josh. “How To: Use Social Media to Retain Customers.”
http://mashable.com/2009/12/08/customer-retention/ 8 December 2009.
4. Charlwood eMarketing. “Webinar Hosting: 10 tips on Hosting a Successful Webinar.”
http://www.charlwood.com/webinar_hosting.htm
5. Kawasaki, Guy. “Website Marketing Turnoffs: 13 things not to do when adapting your
product to an online model.”
http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2009/june/201614.html June 2009.
6. Goodman, Gail. “Strengthen Your Hellos and Goodbyes: Make better connections with
e-mail list sign-ups and opt-outs.”
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/onlinemarketing/article203300.html 15
September 2009.
7. Arnold, John. “10 Online Marketing Trends for 2010: Where to invest, what to test and
which deserve a rest.”
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/onlinemarketing/article204480.html 24
December 2009.
Phil Clements is CEO of Cathedral Consulting Group, LLC and a Managing Director in the New York
Office. Andrew Burnett is a former Managing Director and Michelle Fitzgerald is a former Associate in
the New York Office.
For more information, please visit Cathedral Consulting Group LLC online at
www.cathedralconsulting.com or contact us at info@cathedralconsulting.com.
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