"Ten Tall Tales of Traditional Marketing That Cost You Tons"
Tall Tale #8 You need to be on the Internet
By Jimmy Vee & Travis Miller

The Internet is all too often mistreated and misunderstood
as a place to be, or something to be on. Many companies
treat the Internet like a billboard, but its not. People
dont surf by and see your web site. Your web site is a
destination  but not the ultimate one (unless you sell your
product online).

Thinking of the Internet as a billboard or a place causes
companies to design web sites that have too much or too
little information. For example, a web site that is nothing
but a big advertisement is a waste  the only people who
will visit your site are people who already know about your
business, so why the big advertisement? And when people do
visit, theyre not likely to return. On the flipside, a web
site that goes on and on and on about the history, the
people, all of the services you offer, can quickly contain
too much information for it to be valuable.

Rather than thinking of the Internet a place to be or
something to be on, think of it as a tool. For most
companies, their web site is not (or shouldnt be) the main
thrust of their marketing efforts. It is one tool in the
arsenal.

The way to hone the tool to be as effective as possible is
fairly simple. Start by determining what your web site
should accomplish for YOUR BUSINESS. What net output do you
desire? If there isnt really anything you expect to receive
from your customers via your web site, you may not need to
be on the Internet.

Once youve determined what the desired output is, ask
yourself what the site needs to do to yield that output. As
a simple rule, if a piece of information doesnt ultimately
help you achieve your goal, dont include it on your web
site.

Its important to understand, people probably dont want to
visit your site and spend their time reading about you and
how you got started and seeing pictures of your staff.
Thats such a harsh truth, isnt it? People want to learn
one thing: how you can help them.

If your web site does a good enough job convincing them that
you can help them, theyre likely to give you what you want.
So get what you want and get on with your life and let them
get on with theirs. Dont be a web hog.

For some companies, this can be accomplished with one web
page. For others it may take dozens of web pages. And for
still others it may be impossible. They should considering
skipping the whole www-thing.

If you have a web site already, give it a test. Find out
what it does for your business, your sales. Think creatively
about how you can put it to work for you.

If you dont have a web site already, carefully apply these
principles to find out if you need one, and if so, how it
should be designed.

A special tip: a flashy presentation rarely yields output
 it just builds brand. Thats no longer one of your goals,
is it?

We have some very helpful and specific ideas about how to
get what you want from your web site. Theyre all jammed
into the Gravitational Marketing System.

Tomorrow were going to debunk that nonsense about mixing
business with pleasure. So dust off your twister game and
get ready to mix it up!

Get the full e-book "Ten Tall Tales Of Traditional Marketing
That Cost You Tons" and others at our website:
http://www.scend.net/resources.htm

About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Jimmy Vee & Travis Miller are the partners of scend advertising.
They are authors, speakers, and consultants on the topic of
advertising and marketing to grow business. They make companies
scendsational. Scendsational companies become famous. For questions, comments, or to shoot the bull, email  Go to SITEMAP