Luring Customers To the Internet

These articles by Bart Jackson and Karen Hodges Miller were prepared for the July 7, 2004 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.

‘The Internet allows us a more voyeuristic understanding of our customers and that has changed the face of business,” says Caryl Felicetta of Single Throw, a marketing company that specializes in helping its clients capitalize on the Internet. The four-year-old company is currently based in Brick Township, but is moving to Wall later this summer. Its business is helping companies to better use the Internet to find and retain customers.

She characterizes the Internet as “voyeuristic,” says Miller, because, for the first time in marketing, it allows businesses to, in effect, shadow their customers and watch them as they search. It provides a unique window into what customers want and what they don’t want, as well as how they go about making choices.

Felicetta, whose title at Single Throw is chief operating officer, presents a seminar, “How to Attract, Acquire, Retain and Market to Customers on the Internet,” on Monday, July 12, at 10 a.m. at the Dover Township Municipal Building in Toms River. The seminar is sponsored by SCORE and is open to current and prospective SCORE counselors and to their clients. For reservations call 732-505-6033.

“SCORE counsels small to mid-sized businesses,” says Felicetta. “They look for ways to help their clients to market their businesses and we’re helping them to better understand Internet marketing so that they, in turn, can help their clients.”

The Internet has dramatically changed the way in which businesses advertise to customers. “Advertising used to be a push medium. People sat in front of the television and advertising was pushed at them,” Felicetta says. “The Internet puts the customer in control. Customers sit at the computer and search for what they want. They are pulling information, not having it pushed at them.”

Felicetta’s seminar will focus on how business can make use of this new advertising vehicle by getting the kind of search engine placement that will ensure that they pull in as many potential customers as possible.

“Marketing used to be about differentiating yourself. With search engines, it is about not being different. It is about giving people exactly what they are looking for,” she says. “Helping clients achieve well-placed and highly targeted listings in search engines helps to bring customers to a website, not just traffic to the website.” For example, she says, if people generally use the phrase “tire dealer” when searching the Internet for their new tires, a business that uses “tire dealership” or “tire store” might not show up in search results. That being the case, anyone marketing on the Internet must know exactly what key words their potential customers are likely to use.

Felicetta comes from “a traditional marketing background.” She received an associate’s degree in marketing, art, and design from Middlesex County College. In 1986 she founded the Argyle Studio, and was one of the first marketers in the New Jersey area to work with digital imaging, animation, desktop publishing. As the Internet grew, website development followed naturally.

“Businesses need to cater to the customer by creating better websites that are easy to navigate, and where the bells and whistles do not get in the way,” she says. “It is all about the customers. They land on a site and see what it can do for them. A website needs to have a clear call to action, whether it is to purchase a product or contact a business.” Important steps in achieving this goal include:

Identifying imminent buyers. What are the most important steps in developing an Internet marketing strategy? Felicetta and Single Throw use a system they call “progression marketing.” Market segmentation, or identifying current and potential new markets, is one of the first key steps, along with identifying who the right customer or “imminent buyer” is.

Generating leads. The second step targets these potential customers. Identifying “quality” sales leads, rather than using a shotgun approach to target a large quantity of leads, saves money in the long run and brings in more sales.

Capturing the attention of imminent buyers. The third step involves getting potential customers to stop long enough to seriously consider placing an order — or making a call. Searchers come to a website with a very short attention span, Felicetta says. A business has an average of five to six seconds to capture the attention of a visitor to its website. Relevant messages, displayed well, help to keep the customer’s attention.

Making the sale. Converting a visitor into a buyer is step number four. This is done by aligning the business, the website, and the products with potential clients. When it all lines up, there is a good chance that the customer will not only fill his virtual shopping cart, but will mouse it on over to the website’s payment center.

Building a new customer base. Retaining customers is the final step in the process. One way to retain customers is by sending relevant information to a customer who wants and anticipates the information. If someone has bought a kayak or a cruise or a lawn tractor through your site, chances are that he is excited about his purchase and receptive to information about what accessories he needs and where he can use his new purchase. You are his partner in a new adventure, and have an excellent chance to build a long-lasting relationship with this new customer, who may live two states — or even two continents — away.

— Karen Hodges Miller