A Wealth of Information

The Web is all about Information, and marketing on the Web is at its most effective when focuses on providing information. Internet commerce achieves the greatest success when it involves information-rich products like automobiles and consumer electronics. These are items which require careful decision-making on the part of the potential customer - decision-making which is based on the information they acquire about the items under consideration. New car buyers want to see the facts and stats, the road test results, the reports and ratings before making that final decision. They may have been initially motivated by image-based advertising in print and other media, but they're going to want a lot of solid information before the deal is closed.

Books and music recordings are also information-rich products which are ideal for Web promotion and which are currently being marketed online with resounding success. Sites can provide reviews, interviews with authors and artists, sound samples and book exerpts to let the customer taste before buying. And because costly retail space is no longer a consideration, they can offer a much greater selection than retail outlets.

On the other hand, information-poor products have not fared well in the cyber-marketplace. Simple, everyday items like laundry soap, breakfast cereals and beverages are poor choices for Internet marketing, since there's very little you can say about them. Beyond the fact that laundry soap gets your clothes clean, there's just not a lot of information to offer site visitors.

While it's difficult to attract surfers to a Web site for an information-poor product, and even harder to get repeat visits, it's possible to compensate for the lack of product information by providing related, dynamic content.

For example, let's consider a company that manufactures razors. Once they've told you that they make pretty nice razors, and they're really sharp, they've said just about all there is to say about their product. But suppose they created a Web site that was designed like an e-zine, and called it The Razor's Edge. They could feature a multi-part series on the history of shaving trends and fashions in beard-wearing, relating style changes to social and political events. Using the "Razor's Edge" metaphor, they could feature true stories of bravery, derring-do and risk-taking - stories of people who walked the razor's edge. A couple of creative minds could keep the content flowing - and the consumers coming back - for a long time.

Sprinkle the trail with enough tasty information and they'll follow you anywhere.