Proactive Website Marketing

[JabezStone]

The most interesting thing happened to me today. As I was browsing the vast expanses of the world wide web, I happened to turn down the treacherous avenue of website hosting. In fact, I was only at this particular web host's site for the purpose of checking their HTML against W3C's validation tool. Going through my regular deconstruction ritual, I began moving to different pages of this company's site and examining their code. Insterestingly, this huge corporation's code failed every validation attempt I made, including css and html, but that's another thread. So, I was just about to click to a new page when, out of the blue, a chat window pops up and a voice clearly states, "Well, hello!"

OK... freaky. Then, in the chat window, a message appears... "so, what brings you to "XYZ" today?" (obviously XYZ isn't the company's name... you get it, right?)

So, feeling a little cocky I reply, "Huh?"

"We would like to be of service in any way we can, so if you need a hand, please let us know."

OK, I didn't ASK for any help. It's like driving through McDonald's, placing your order for a hamburger and them asking, "Would you like fries with that?" And you reply, "Did I ASK for fries with that, Mr. Big Shot?!"

But seriously, there was something kind of cool about this, yet weird at the same time. Here I was in a "zeros and ones" zone where I didn't expect any contact with an actual human being, and lo and behold, a friendly sales associate is right there to help me.

I responded back to Kelly, "Ok, what is the main reason I would want to host with your company?" "2 things, really," she said, "First, we have the best and most reliable hardware in the world, and second, we have a rock-solid SLA".

"Good enough for me," I thought, but I really wasn't here to buy, so I said, "Thanks for your time, Kelly, gotta go." "You're welcome, Mr. Jones... and don't forget, your wife wanted you to pick up bread and milk on the way home!" Just kidding... it sort of felt like that, though. It was just a little too personal of an encounter... sort of. Actually, it was sort of cool.

The pros of this sort of marketing is that you can engage the customer while they are on your site... before they leave. Many times, people will leave a site because they don't find the info they're looking for. Other times, it's because they just aren't "sold" on the product. But what if you were able to intercept them before they left and determine what their needs are? What if you could say, "well, Mr. Jones, I am prepared to offer you a special introductory rate that isn't advertised on our site if you'll give it a try." Or, "Oh, the information you're looking for can be found by clicking this link, http://www.XYZcompany.com/yourinfo.htm"? The list of pros can become long quickly, and I'm sure you're thinking of some right now.

What are the cons? Well, for starters, this only works when you have someone available to do it. To provide this 24/7, you still have to be near your computer or have to employ someone to do it. This doesn't mean you have to be "ON" your site, though. One of our own moderators here, has developed a software that will monitor your site and play a sound when someone hits it (can't remember who, right off hand, but will edit this if I can find him).
Another con? It is all too much like the intrusive salesman at the appliance store that spots you across the room and makes a bee-line directly toward you. You can't even slip by this guy if you want to. I think one of the things people like about internet shopping is the anonymity of it. You don't have to feel like you will be beat up by an overzealous salesperson when you "walk in the door".

All in all, I think the pros will outweigh the cons on this one, and we will see it more and more.

Proactive web-marketing. Has a nice ring to it, eh?

So, what do you think?