This year I've written about social networking, blogging, mobile media, direct-to- desktop technology, podcasting, online video... and I'm starting to put things into perspective.
What does the future of Internet marketing look like? Pretty much like a teenager.
Just take a look at the nearest group of kids armed with their iPods and cell phones and laptops, and you'll see young people creating their own personal Web experience.
They're creating networks of trust made up of people, groups, and businesses that they WANT to hear from. They're eliminating what's irrelevant to them, and pulling in ONLY what they consider relevant. And they're using a whole array of tools to do this, and a full range of media.
That means that if we want to market to them, we have to become part of their trusted networks and use the same tools and media to reach them.
And that boils down to one thing: segment, segment, segment.
Increase your revenues by 781% by laser-targeting your customers' desires!
Segmenting your list to speak directly to your customers' buying habits, interests, and needs has been proven to improve email open rates by 165% and click-through rates by 147%. And conversion rates are up 355% over unpersonalized, untargeted emails.
The study, from Jupiter Research, showed that revenues for a campaign based on clickstream data (what people do on your site) improved by an amazing 781%!
These amazing results are a direct effect of the trust that comes from building a relationship with your customers.
Years of spam and telemarketing have made the public more defensive and less inclined to trust — or even read — messages from people they don't know.
The way to provide the most value is to give people what they want — and although that idea's hardly what you'd call a new Internet marketing trend, it's getting more and more important.
Until now, Web data has been big-picture only — just a collection of large numbers turned into statistics without any real analysis of individual tendencies.
But improved analytics and metrics are making it easier to collect much more specific data: where individual visitors are coming from, exactly which pages they view, and which links they click on.
That information, along with other data you collect from your sales history or analytics reports, gives you the tools to give your opt-ins what they want and keep you in their networks.
As people become even LESS patient with messages and content they don't want, precision targeting will be even more vital.
That Jupiter Research study said only a pitiful 11% of marketers use this kind of data to segment their list and target their most likely prospects!
For marketers, the Internet is moving away from being an anonymous sales portal to multiple personal networks of trusted associates and reputable businesses.
The successful marketers of tomorrow will deliver on the promise of the right message to the right audience at the right time by getting precise snapshots of visitor intent, as well as their motivations, preferences, and desires.
In the end, segmentation increases profits. And THAT'S an Internet marketing trend you need to follow! Visit http://www.marketingtips.com to learn more.
About The Author
Derek Gehl is CEO of the Internet Marketing Center, which has been teaching real people how to make real money on the Internet since 1995. Sign up for IMCs informative free newsletter at http://www.marketingtips.com.
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