dotCommunity aims to educate and enlighten on the benefits of building your business through online efforts. You'll find a collection of informing articles and tidbits to help you navigate the frontier of new media, links to helpful sites and tools to help you move ahead, and updates on how Louisville.com is using the tools we have available to increase your online visibility.

A New Paradigm
by Watson Courtenay, principal, Louisville.com

It's no secret; the rules of "doing business" have changed.  In many cases the traditional sales methods that businesses have practiced for hundreds of years are no longer effective.  Thanks to the Internet and seemingly endless new technology communications tools the average consumer is much more informed than ever before.  This customer-centric paradigm shift now puts the consumer much more in control of the sale.  To make things worse, our current struggling economy only makes it more difficult to make a sale.  So, what can businesses do to adjust to this new economic environment?  Here are a few tips to consider:

1.  Make the commitment to change and then follow through with execution.  Accept the fact that you need to make adjustments in the way you market and sell.  This applies to every employee in the business.

2.  Be prepared to embrace and invest in technology.  At the very least invest in a database program that allows you to access, store, and update customer information.  Technology tools are the absolute key to success in this new business environment.

3.  Align your marketing and sales efforts.  Whether this applies to one person who handles both roles or there are two different departments, marketing and sales must do a better job of understanding each other's purpose and responsibilites throughout the sales cycle (lead generation, lead management, customer relationship management).

4.  Become a trusted advisor.  Sales is all about creating relationships.  Consumers are looking for answers so be the expert they can depend on.  It's the first step to gaining not only a new customer but also a loyal customer.  Utilize a variety of marketing tools to achieve this status including your website, email, direct mails

5.  Be innovative.  Try new things with your advertising/marketing dollars and then ask your customers for feedback.  But, make sure your ideas are targeted, engaging, offer a true benefit, and allow them to respond.   

Madison
Avenue Biggies See Digital Media As Stable Source Amid Uncertain Outlook
Three of the world's biggest advertising and
media services organizations - Aegis, Interpublic and Publicis -
reported relatively strong third quarter results this morning, but
signaled unanimous concern over the weakening global economy. While
their long-term outlooks remain uncertain, two of the three - Aegis and
Publicis - indicated that media would remain their sweet spot,
especially digital media, within an erratic economic world.

Blogs Influence Purchase Decisions More Than Social Networks 
Blogs can have more impact on purchase decisions than social
networks, a new study finds. Blogs create a conversation and trusted
resource that influences purchase decision.

The study, "Harnessing the Power of Blogs," sponsored research by
BuzzLogic and conducted by JupiterResearch, a Forrester Research
company, looks at the evolving influence from the reader's perspective.
"What we wanted to do was look at the reader's side of the coin, look
at reader patterns and how people are reading blogs...and drill down
into the content impacting other media platforms," said Valerie Combs,
VP of corporate communications at BuzzLogic.

Online
Video Market Evolves, Begins Morphing Into New 'Storytelling' Device
A year or so after the online video advertising marketplace emerged in earnest,
experts on both sides of the table say it remains a vital but messy, complicated
and often difficult-to-evaluate business--although it clearly is the future of
what Madison Avenue has historically considered its dominant, persuasive
advertising medium: television. Those were the conclusions of speakers and
panelists participating in the OMMA Video conference here on Wednesday. ...

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