Many companies underestimate the value of using their websites to gain significant competitive advantage in their specific markets. Most companies only use their website as a means of displaying their corporate profile, product list, and things like their contact details and email address.

At the risk of “preaching to converts” Alex Margarit [http://alexmargarit.com] highlights some of the ways that a company’s website, when used as an effective Internet marketing channel, can enhance competitive advantage.

It’s pretty safe to say that managers should always view web technology in light of the entire marketing mix rather than simply as an extension of their existing advertising efforts. I’ve seen this happen over and over again, and therefore feel it my duty to try and highlight some of the ways a website can positively impact each of these elements of the marketing mix:

Distribution (Square)

Ways to improve your distribution networks may include using the web portal to improve logistics, create new marketing channels (for example, affiliate channels), or provide better or faster access to products for customers. However, be careful when creating new e-commerce sites, as it is important to conduct a thorough analysis of the online market for your product to ensure that it is also competitive when it comes to other internet-based competitors. Internet retailers like Amazon are growing in size and dominance and should be considered when planning any online strategy. Affiliate marketing channels can also be something to consider in terms of getting more traffic to your site. New inbound marketing and information channels can be easily established by creating an affiliate program that involves other businesses including your site’s URL on their pages, which in turn can equate to more traffic to your site. Look at your existing business references; Can you enhance or strengthen these channels by using effective and relevant hyperlinks?

specials

The growth of internet accessibility is inevitable and companies would do well to start the web advertising feature as soon as possible. The reason for this is that “staying in power” is paramount as more and more people start using the web. Companies that have been around the longest and have high levels of interconnectivity will always maintain a fairly large competitive advantage over new entrants. Once a company’s website has established a decent ranking and appears on other related sites, the ability for companies to use this coverage to reach new national and international markets can be very powerful. The success of large Internet advertising campaigns is well documented. For me, the last US election was a real eye-opener as Internet marketing played a dominant role in key advertising campaigns with staggering amounts of marketing messages sent over the Internet to target audiences.

Email marketing lists are also a great way to keep in touch with your customers and using them effectively can provide a valuable marketing and information channel. The benefits are two-fold with the ability for marketers to use them to increase brand awareness while strengthening customer relationships. Newsletters and other types of marketing can be used to inform customers of new products or services, as well as provide them with relevant segment information designed to offer value and a “good read.” A word of warning though: make sure you clearly describe your privacy and anti-spam policy so you don’t break any anti-spam laws. You will first need to obtain your customer’s consent and provide an unsubscribe link so they can choose whether to receive your communications.

Product

As you look at the product part of the marketing mix, an Internet portal can substantially strengthen your company’s current product offering. The ways a website can improve its product offering are many, from offering new web-related products to setting up outgoing affiliate programs. Providing customers with better services that reinforce the appeal of the core product is a great way to effectively match products to customer needs. This usually involves the creation of secondary or ancillary products that can be sold or provided for free. These additional offerings can help generate higher, sometimes passive profits, as well as increase a company’s potential differentiation. Ways your company can do this include:

1. Set up a knowledge base that your customers can access that includes an FAQ or query feature that allows your customers to refer to you for information. This helps them use the service better or more efficiently.

2. Using a feedback form where customers can offer feedback on their needs and product suggestions can help you determine valuable insights about your customers’ needs.

3. If you have a product that is difficult to operate, providing free or subsidized training can help your customers overcome the difficulties.

Many companies actually charge their customers for the support component; you will need to consult the existing competitive situation to determine if this is something you can implement. Either way, product enhancements could include increasing the availability of products and services by placing order forms and support forms on your website.

Price

Automating some of your business functions using web technology usually equates to significant operational cost savings – if you’re doing it right, of course! For example, having an effective inbound order form can reduce sales staff costs. Because online ordering doesn’t require a sales rep to take the call and then effectively return it, this costs the business a certain amount per query in staff time. Encouraging customers to use the web form instead of other methods of ordering products can be an effective means of reducing these costs. The way a company may wish to do this is to reflect the reduced staff cost in the price by offering a “better deal” to Internet customers. Additionally, this can help establish a pattern of online behavior in your customers that can sometimes translate to other online company features, such as support pages.

These are just a few of the ways an effective online strategy can turn your small website into a cost-saving, revenue-generating virtual machine. I challenge you to make the most of what is available and remember that constant review of new web technology is always beneficial if you decide it may or may not be for you. Of course, not all web technology is right for every business and it’s important to keep in mind that ongoing development can be costly both in terms of time and other development and infrastructure costs. Effective development research, as well as cost, change, and market analysis, is essential to ensure that the benefits of any change outweigh any given realistic investment cost.