Times of Change

Affordability creates accessibility. Henry Ford, who made the automobile affordable to the masses, brought forth a transportation and production revolution. Political revolution, also has been empowered when the individual was given value and a voice. True societal changes only take place when their reach embodies the common people. The World Wide Web is enabling similar changes to our world—today.

Due to the ability of
computerized graphics and Web pages, enabling the transforming of imagination into physical reality
the proliferation of personal computers with affordable Internet connections
and the ability of multiple networks to be linked together world-wide, the World Wide Web has exploded in popularity.

Johann Gutenberg, the German printer (1398-1468) who is considered the inventor of movable type, was voted as one of the most influential people of the millennium. This is because his invention of the printing press enabled a quicker form of mass communication—increasing the ease and breadth of communicating.

The World Wide Web is having the same effect in this new form of media. Text layout can be quickly updated, and visual graphics are limited only by the bounds of ones' creative imagination and technical skills. Adding the capability to span great distances at low cost, with availability to the individual, a revolution in communication has mushroomed throughout the world since the mid-1990's. These changes have birthed a new wave of entrepreneurs. It's a day when the individual has a more level playing field with the massive corporation. Opportunities are accessible to all on the World Wide Web, and the opportunities are expanding as Internet technologies continue to develop.

A Brief History

The World Wide Web is not the same as the Internet. The World Wide Web is one type of software system traversing through the Internet. The Internet is the hardware of a giant computer network connecting millions of computers around the world. It's a public network, although many of the computers connected to it are also part of smaller private networks.

The Internet began with four host computers in 1969. ARPANET (U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency) was designed to let researchers communicate and share information with each other. Four computers were set up; at Stanford University, the University of Utah, and the University of California, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. Then in 1972, ARPANET did a public demonstration revealing the possibilities of the Internet.

During the 70's, computer technology miniaturization excelled, enabling the development of affordable personal computers. As personal computer hardware and software continued to develop during the 80's, so did networking system capabilities.

Then in 1991, Gopher, an information retrieval tool developed at the University of Minnesota, having lists of text became a major "browser" on the Internet—and remains so for people without a graphical interface. Also in 1991, CERN (the European Laboratory for Particle Research) in Geneva, Switzerland, published the code for the World Wide Web software system. The World Wide Web enabled different networks, running on different operating systems, with different programming languages, to transfer information through a maze of incompatible systems, enabling users to read information received—without it being scrambled.

In 1992, the U.S. Government lifted the restriction to commercial use on the Internet, opening the door to buying and selling in this new media. In late '92, members of the NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) in Urbana, Illinois, were looking for a way to make the information on the Internet more accessible to the average computer user. This search developed Mosaic—a user-friendly browser with a graphical interface. Mosaic put a non-technical face to the Web with visual appeal. Then in April '94, Mosaic was transformed into Netscape Navigator.

Now in place, was the commercial use of formerly only a research/informational network, a browser bringing visual appeal and ease of use, and a software system enabling thousands of incompatible networks to interact with each other. By 1995, the World Wide Web was sending more packets of information than any other Internet service. Since then, traffic on the Internet has been doubling every 100 days. The Internet now spans over 100 countries and had 256.4 million people online by the year 2000.

Internet Marketing

Internet Marketing is also a developing phenomenon, changing at a pace as rapidly as the Internet itself. Marketing is a creative, thoughtful type of endeavor—it's not just sales. Marketing is:

• Devising a strategy for how to get people to come to a Web site
• How to get them to buy once they've reached the Web site
• How to get them to return to the Web site

Having a well-designed Web site involves:

• A layout structure that is easy to navigate through
• Information that communicates clearly
• Appearance that is interesting to view

A Web site is not a billboard on the information superhighway. You can't build a site and assume customers will automatically come. They must be brought to your site. This involves a strategy of using the available tools of the Internet, and various software solutions.

Marketing Tools:

NetResult Web Marketing can assist you in using the following Internet tools:

• Forum/Discussion Group/Bulletin Board: An important way to use interactive Web pages is to allow people to talk to each other. Use discussion groups for finding people with similar interests. If people visit your site to be with other like-minded people, then you've created an Internet community.
  
  Building communities helps produce visitation, which improves your opportunities for sales. Develop a community of interest, and the sales will follow. Your discussion group members become salespeople for you, giving positive word of mouth promotion.
  
  With a discussion group at your site, visitors can leave messages, which your staff or other visitors can answer. For example, if you were promoting your handmade archery equipment, you could create a discussion group where visitors talk about archery. You can have a discussion group to answer questions on certain subjects, or even set up several groups for different purposes.
  
• Live Chat Room: With Live Java Chat your visitors interact in "real-time" discussions. Making this service available can create interest in your site, increasing your Web site traffic.
• Mailing List: Create a mailing list by collecting the email address of visitors to your site. It is best to ONLY use the email addresses of visitors who are knowingly subscribing to your list. The penalties for sending unsolicited emails (spam) are severe. Always give them the option to be removed from your list.
  
  Mailing lists can slowly build a useful customer base for you. It's good to begin with monthly, general emails, and specialize into several lists as your customer's interests specialize.
  
• Autoresponders: An autoresponder—sometimes known as a mail responder, or "vacation or holiday replies"—is an email program that sends an instant message once any email is received at your POP account. When you see info@netresult.ws, it can be an autoresponder address. Anyone emailing to that address will automatically get a custom message about NetResult Web Marketing.
  
  One way to solve the email deluge is to take advantage of autoresponder software that responds to all incoming requests stating that the question was received and estimating a time frame for how long it will take to respond to the question.
  
• Tell-A-Friend Announcer: Allow your Web site visitors to advertise your site. This easy to use form conveniently invites others to visit your site to see its great features. It also allows the form user to insert their own message.
• Links Page: A links page having useful information can help bring people to your site. Information promotes itself.
• Newsletter: Use an electronic newsletter to bring people to your site. If you publish a paper newsletter it can be published via email. This can build community interest through your site, which may generate more sales.
• Newsgroups: Participate in newsgroups, making others aware of your Web site.
• Internet credit card transactions: This requires your business to have an Internet Merchant Account.
• Online Product Sales: Use shopping cart software. A shopping cart is a series of forms that buyers use to place an order online. This software allows visitors to select products as they browse your online catalog. When the visitor has chosen all the items they want, they go to a product summary form to complete the purchase by entering their credit card information and shipping address.
  
  NetResult Web Marketing offers a menu of shopping cart services.
  Learn more...
• Create Interactivity: Have a feedback page, where you can learn what your customers think of your products. People can fill in a form on your feedback page to send you their comments. You can do customer surveys, enabling you to get new product ideas, and find the strengths and weaknesses in what you offer. Use quizzes, and trivia games to generate interest and obtain information.
  
  Collect information from your visitors. The more you learn about your visitors, the better you'll be at marketing to them. This will enable you to place content at your site that's useful to your target audience.
  
• Polls: Get valuable feedback and create fun for your visitor at the same time!
• Greeting Card Hosting: This service allows your Web site visitors to send and receive greeting cards from your site. They can add custom images, music and much more to each greeting card. When someone sends a greeting card, the recipient is sent to your Web site to pick it up.
  
  Generate new visitors to your site with the gift that everyone likes. It's fast, fun, and a FREE service!
• SiteRing: Link to sites with similar interests and gain visits from the type of people you want coming to your site. This also provides a valuable search service to your visitors.
• FAQ Database: Use a Frequently Asked Questions database to calm the concerns customers and help them get the answers they need easily. No more srolling through pages of information, with and FAQ database you provide a higher level of customer service.
  
  Your database can have up to 20 categories, and list the questions people have asked about your product/services. Your clients can use the keyword search to examine the entire database, and if they can't find the answer they need, they can email you directly from the FAQ database!
  
  Also, you may want to create separate pages for questions regarding credit card security, privacy and your return policies.
• Live Online Customer Service: Customer satisfaction is created by providing efficient customer service. Click-2-Talk and Human Click are two avenues where your site can excel beyond competitors.
  
  Click-2-Talk enables your Web site visitors, with the click of a button, to call your telephone number via the Internet. Your valued customers receive live customer service for FREE!
  
  Human Click gives your Web site visitors the current status if you're available for live chat. If you're not online, they can send you a message. They can also page you, and you can page them.
• Classified Ads: On service-oriented sites, not offering retail items for sale, this is a good source of repeat traffic. As long as your user policies are clear and enforced, classified ads are a valuable user service that can generate much traffic.
• Off-line Product Sales: You can provide coupons at your Web site.
• Search Engines and Directories: NetResult Web Marketing can get your Web site listed at Directories and registered with Search engines.

The Internet is often perceived as a giant marketplace. But to optimize its usefulness, look at it as a collection of many specialized markets. For example, your target audience may be some of these: hikers, bikers, gardeners, antique collectors, baseball card fans, sailing hobbyists, recipe traders, mothers, children, doctors, health food seekers, real estate investors, or others. Online businesses need to microfocus. Discern your market audience, then reach it with unique offerings and personal service. By targeting your audience you can create a compelling user experience, which has a direct tie to market competitiveness. NetResult Web Marketing assists you in reaching your sphere of interest.

The World Wide Web is an international entity. A Web site that relates only to a North American audience may not give you the best performance. Your Web site may need to be understandable to people who are not in the region where you live. This can involve cultural research, depending on your purposes for your Web site. Most of the world uses the metric system. Metric measurements may also need to be included in your Web site, as well as shipping information for other countries.