Through featured editorials on media sites, trade magazines and specialist sites InMyShoe will educate and inform you and the wider communities in which our business operates. Clarity of content and purpose will continue to shine through in all mediums and impressive and compelling design is important for a variety of reasons including brand identity and establishing credibility.

Taking advantage of new technology can open up to new marketing opportunities where you can reduce costs and increase profits through market communications, sales and customer service online explains Sindy S Birkelid of InMyShoe Design Consltancy.
Published: April/May 2007

Websites are strong marketing tools that drive traffic and bring companies with new customers and a 24 hour shop window at relatively little cost. By developing appropriate marketing materials and a website will also help build awareness of your brand and customers will remember you when they are ready to buy.

Your brand image and values can be extended further into your business, and be communicated by way of your stationary, PR, newsletters, advertising and a website. At this level, branding is not just about the brand name or logo – it is about the sum of the customer experience. By taking communication to a higher level through strong marketing communications as the Internet your word spread quickly your brand is recognised by loyal consumers and viewers who direct others to your site. Internet is a tool to improve cost and efficiency and for it to be effective you need to identify the right market and plan it with care to ensure it is interesting and relevant to both potential and existing customers. Through the Internet you can also improve the supply-chain operation and have the ability to build business partnerships with business customers and suppliers. Internet plays a large role in customer relationship management (CRM) where businesses should try to attract customers to their website by offering them useful information and services.

Prominent navigation structure, usability experience across the site and a clear representation of the home page works well. The user should be able to see what the site can do for them at a glance and the site should deliver what it offers. Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce website is a good example where it provides an easy-to-find resource to members and potential new members. The online member’s registration is linked to their CRM system and email-invitations to their events are also sent out.

Email is widely used and should be central to the business’s Internet marketing strategy as it can help you into meaningful and rewarding relationships with people and your customers. Email marketing through regular newsletters also helps develop mutually beneficial relationships through regular contact. Remember your customer service is a key part of your company’s brand, enhancing trust and building sales.

A new business which does not have pre-existing customers and does not have an easy outlet to market itself needs to run PR campaigns and advertise in conventional media, TV, radio, billboards and newspapers to raise customer and brand awareness of its existence. Also remember the importance of a linking strategy so publicise the website URL through other media and marketing materials and ensure that the URL is included within all available documents.

Search engine optimisation, ranking and submission is not a one off task. Always check to see if the search engines are still including your website and whether they have indexed all the pages. If not you will need to re-submit your website. Most companies understand the basics of Search Engine Optimisation and Google Adwords and pay per click can provide more targeted traffic than standard search engines because you have more control over your keywords and rating.

Many dotcom companies like bluhe.com which has just launched a new range of luxury men’s swim shorts, are trying to recreate a similar shopping experience offered by the traditional retailer. Through sound, moving images and interactive product demonstrations transcends the two-dimensional nature of e-commerce and is known as e-tailing.

Visitors to your website are the lifeblood of your online store so you need to make sure that you do it right. Simplicity is everything and it is important with relevant content and easy navigation to get across the right messages. You also need compelling content and frequent updates as you only have a few seconds to grab their attention and if you fail they are gone. It is advised to offer a more personalised service to your customers by giving them the retailers contact address and a customer centre to deal with common questions on a FAQ page.

Customers also expect instant gratification and service like prompt delivery of goods. The website needs to give enough information about the service and give a proper description of the product to the customers. There should be a sign saying if the goods are in stock or not and the customers want to know when it can be delivered. If there are other benefits to be offered to the customers then these benefits also needs to be made clear.

Contact information is important in order to link through to an email and keeping in touch with people. The customers often expects a 24 hour service and e-mail enquiries to be dealt with promptly and by having a sign up page for news and alerts allows you to build relationship with the people using your site. You need to be talking to people in a timely, relevant and valuable way so you need to create your own opt-in list by adding a subscription box to your website. Use your list to keep your products in the minds of your customers by sending our regular newsletters by email.

By offering your customers the facility to create their own user account with username and password and by sending out direct marketing campaigns you will make your site more active and engaging in what a business is about. You can also view specific sales lists and web statistics on visitors to your site to see response per day, week or month. This also turns your website into a useful sales lead for a sales person to follow up.

Mamut has helped thousands of SME’s get more out of their employees, free up more time, focus on cost and generate higher revenue. Mamut has also won numerous awards for its functionality and user friendliness and the implication of time and training on the system is reduced to a minimum.

The Mamut database is modified directly online and your customers will receive their order status by email. When an order changes status, for example once it has been invoiced the customer is given a personal order page on the Internet containing their order status for current and previous orders. This means that the online store is fully integrated with the order, product and contact modules in Mamut.

A business that chooses online transactions need to set up a merchant account with one of the major banks and need authorisation to accept online card payments over the Internet. Businesses need to be sure that the customers are who they say they are when orders are taken and that they are not using a stolen credit card. By signing up with WorldPay, a secure online payment service provider will take over the responsibility for credit checking and settlement.

Your website needs to be approved by WorldPay before you can activate your account and enable you to complete live transactions. WorldPay ensures that security is maintained by preventing fraud as it manages the entire transaction process when a customer in your online store wishes to pay by credit/debit card.

Through Bank Direct package you can accept payment from a broad range of payment options traditionally provided by several card schemes and banks. You can add other WorldPay solutions to the Bank Direct package including billing, Internet terminal, multi-fraud and fraud protection solutions.

The legal aspect:

For web traders there is a constant stream of regulations to deal with as well as contractual and other precautions. Whether trading or no-trading online you will need terms and conditions governing your legal relationship with users of your site or you will have little protection if sued. If you sell online you must have these trading terms and conditions available for your customers to read and to accept (not the same as website terms and conditions) as you will be entering into contracts with them.

As a web trader you must also register with Data Protection Registrar as you will be collecting personal data via your website. You will need a disclaimer if you rely on other information when linking to other sites, and a copyright notice and address intellectual property in your websites terms and conditions if you are concerned about someone copying your content.

WorldPay requires that you have a return policy on your e-commerce site as the Distance Selling Regulations give protection to consumers who shop by phone, mail order, via the Internet or digital TV. The protection includes a cool of period with the right to cancel the contract for the purchase at any point from the time of ordering until seven working days after delivery.

Your competitive position:

You can improve or retain your competitive position through a strong brand identity, high-level marketing design and by taking advantage of new technology. It is crucial that your brand and your website reflects your business’s goals and core values as this allows you to improve credibility and to create a reputation within your field.

About the Author

Sindy S Birkelid came to UK from Norway in 1993 to study BA (Hons) Communication Media and Master of Arts in Time Based Media with Electronic Imaging. She has experience in brand development and creative solutions for the Internet and Interactive TV since 1998 and has run her own Design Consultancy called InMyShoe Ltd since 2004.

Sindy S Birkelid
Director/Consultant