Communication & Promotion
With a new
dimension,
the way we
communicate
must change
to dialogue
Marketing communication used to be a one-way no-response tool, but the interactive nature of new media forces the marketer in to an (unconfortable ?) dialogue.
meaning is loose
The information revolution has set the signs free and new meaning
has not yet been fixed.
Not only words are different on the Internet ;-)
is international
Any promotional effort on the Internet automatically becomes international. Companies not ready to internationalize beware!
the Netiquette
The pionneers of the Internet were researchers and students. Their Netiquette of correct conduct and communication still has an impact.
New case studies to build...
Complicated software created by companies like ILOG enables marketers to create customized offers in real time. The "prey" enters you Web site and you start giving him indecent offers. It's like a liquor store... Other companies like Broadvision specialize in 1-to-1 Marketing, often refering to Don Pepper and Martha Rogers for inspiration.
Different categories of signs have been created around the Internet. Domain names
are auctioned by companies like Best Domains and
many of Internet signs are created in relation with the practical ways of navigating
or the restrictions of computer science. The emoticons like :-( and ;-) are signs related
to e-mail and forum discussions where as logos and buttons like The Really Big Red
Button that does Nothing are closely linked to Web page programming. Companies in the
Internet sector often substitute an "a" for an "@".
What does this imply? Well, first of all there is a huge space for tying new meaning to
signs, and thus to creating brands and concepts. "You can create yourself and the World
if you know the technique of the signs." said a text about the semiological freedom tied
with the industrial revolution. The same is happening with the Internet today: "On the Internet
noone knows you're a dog".
Numerous Internet service providers begin to offer Multilingual websites because
it "..opens the door to the World Market..". Taking on the task of creating a multilingual
web site is hard. It is not the web site that makes a company international, and the only people who
are likely to earn money on the operation is the service provider or the translator who will need to
enter into action at each update and each change.
Worse again are web sites that promise 4 or 5
language version of their site (check out Mutant!) and it turns out
that their promises point towards empty pages. A multilingual web site gives access to the world,
but so does an English one. An International marketing effort on
the Internet should be targeted and companies should ONLY create multilingual websites if they are
capable of offering multinational services (or if other cultural reasons force them to).
Direct marketing is NOT compatible with Netiquette.
...except in the case where interested persons have voluntarily left
you their e-mail address for this very purpose.
There are many ways of promoting ideas and respecting Netiquette
at the same time. Some web sites offer information that is valuable
to people that may be potential customers and build their mindshare
by offering this information for free.
On-line banks like Credit Mutuel offer
free financial software to its users and Netscape offers a practically
free Internet browser as a means of selling Internet Servers.