Converting Click-Throughs to Customers

After the dot.com bubble burst, people asked us, "Is the internet still relevant?" We usually responded with, "Do you use the internet less now before the bubble?" No one ever answered "Yes." In fact the typical response was, "No, I use the internet more than ever!"

The internet as a medium is here to stay. And digital and interactive communications-- including websites, e-mail, online advertising and other interactive initiatives-- are powerful business tools. The internet is becoming a mature medium, taking its place in the marketing mix that companies and organizations use to communicate with their customers and the public-- as we predicted when we started Blue Iceberg five years ago.

Over the last year, the questions have become more sophisticated: "Who needs an interactive agency or a professional website development firm, when we can do the work ourselves / or hire whiz kid teenagers / or outsource the work to India or Russia?" That's like Coca-Cola entrusting its marketing strategy as well as the creative and production of its TV ads to the CEO's teenage son or daughter with a Sony Handicam. It doesn't work for Prime-Time. Outsourcing can work in a project with clearly defined parameters, but often doesn't work well in a creative or strategic project. Here's the downside, from the April 28, 2004 New York Times article "Send Jobs to India? U.S. Companies Say It's Not Always Best":

'Only certain kinds of tasks can be outsourced -- what can be set down as a set of rules,' said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist of Global Insight, a forecasting and consulting firm based in Waltham, Mass. 'That which requires more creativity is more difficult to manage at a distance.'

Which brings us back to the premise of Blue Iceberg: We're a different kind of resource for interactive. Not a "job shop" or "code crunching house" but truly a strategic business partner. From setting goals and developing interactive strategy to building database-driven, e-commerce, and interactive Flash websites, the digital marketing initiatives we've created are solving real world business problems:

We saved a major New York advertising agency over $200,000 in the seamless redesign of its website to reflect a new corporate identity, while adding functionality that streamlined operations and positioned the agency as thought leaders.
With the launch of its website, we helped an investment bank increase its dealflow tenfold within the first year--while improving both the quality and size of deals.
Our website and digital marketing initiatives helped a Sony recording artist gone independent launch its online store and increase its registered fan base by 71%.
We helped a major non-profit increase volunteer positions filled by 40%.

We come from line operating experience with consumer products, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, design and communications companies. We bring that experience to the table in mapping out interactive strategy and integrated marketing that advance a client's business, and then we deliver the solutions that will achieve the client's goals.

What's on the horizon?
Since a cooling off after the dot.com bubble burst, digital marketing is heating up again for marketers in organizations of all sizes. According to the Digital Marketing Dialog, a recent survey of marketing executives sponsored by the CMO Council, BtoB Magazine and USA Today:

64% of companies place High or Very High importance on digital marketing
39% of respondents estimate that their companies will spend over 20% of their marketing budgets on digital marketing this year

The top three reasons for using digital marketing are:

New customer lead generation (84%)
Brand awareness and recognition (71%)
Improved customer relationships (68%)

This is a significant shift from the trends of the past few years, when online spending was down and skepticism about the internet reigned supreme. What's going to happen next? Stay tuned-- it's starting to get interesting.

I welcome your questions and comments. Contact me.

- Richard Cacciato

Viewpoints are Blue Iceberg's thought pieces on business and the internet.

©2004 Blue Iceberg LLC

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Converting Click-Throughs to Customers