The Web is no longer marketers' territory. Nowadays the consumer is the online king.
As a result, “the old marketing ways aren't working, and in some cases aren't even legal,” said Michelle Peluso, CEO of travel site Travelocity.
What should marketers do differently in this new, pressurized climate? For one thing, said Peluso at the Direct Marketing Association's Net.marketing conference last month, lose the online/offline differentiation. “We've been saying that for years, but now we must do it.”
A company that gets this is Banana Republic, she said. The apparel marketer promotes the same products on its Web site as it does in shop windows and e-mail.
Origins does offline/online integration well too, Peluso said. It issued her a coupon online for a massage at an offline outlet. And it distributes coupons in stores that can be cashed in at the Web site.
Another way to face the current online climate is to be sensitive about privacy, she said. Even when consumers have opted in to receive marketing e-mail, each e-mail should remind consumers that they asked to receive it.
Whole Foods does that and more by giving its e-mail recipients the opportunity to not only opt in but to specify what sort of e-mail they want to receive. Customers can ask for e-mail about special events, unique price offerings, what foods they prefer, their delivery preferences, and when and how often they want to receive e-mail.
As a result, “Whole Foods has earned a reputation as a strong consumer advocate,” Peluso said.
Building a brand online can be challenging, she said. Travelocity, for example, has not succeeded in differentiating itself from its competitors. Consumers typically research four travel sites before making travel reservations, and will switch sites for a price difference as low as 50 cents.
One way Peluso's company is trying to change that is by providing more complete information up front while the consumer is in that research mode. Travelers who rent cars are accustomed to paying numerous add-on costs when they turn in their rental vehicle that they didn't know about when researching rental rates.
Travelocity now totals and details all those extra charges when listing rental prices on its site. Consumers appreciate the service and conversion has increased, Peluso said.
