Page 80 - Marketing the Basics 2nd

72 Marketing: the Basics
• A website that offers an immersive, yet user-friendly customer experience;
• Alignment of objectives with offline marketing programmes.
2. LeaD geneRaTion
An online presence also provides customers with a convenient means of obtaining information about available services any time of the day. Consequently, it allows a business to have a sales tool to generate new leads that is available 24 hours a day, throughout the year. Having a comprehensive digital presence is essential in keeping up with sudden or unexpected changes. Online messaging can be easily updated with just a few clicks with minimal costs and lead-time. Moreover, it is possible to use a variety of marketing strategies and easily adapt them according to changing needs.
3. cusToMeR seLf-seRvice
Online self-service offers 24 hour a day support and immediate access to information without having to wait for a response or a returned telephone call from a customer service representative. The success of online self-service depends upon the quality and quantity of information available and the ease with which it can be accessed. If those conditions are met, online self-service can result in significant cost savings to the company, and more importantly, improve customer satisfaction because of the process doesn’t involve being placed on hold, or being passed from one department to another. According to Forrester Research, the cost of the average Web self-service session is $1. An email response costs $10, and a telephone call costs a firm almost $35.
4. geneRaTe saLes
As more and more customers spend time online, companies that have well-designed and easy-to-use websites can increase their overall sales revenue by selling their wares online. However, building an e-commerce website can be fraught with difficulties. Successful implementations involve the transformation of internal business processes, interfacing with different computer systems, training