A good virus Everything that weve been taught online and off says that we should prevent rather than spread virusesright? Well, when it comes to creating a buzz about your online business, spreading a virusor more accuratelyleveraging the power of viral marketing, could be just what the doctor ordered. Like a sneeze transmits the common cold, viral marketing entices Web sites or users to pass along a marketing message, escalating the growth of the message's visibility and influence. This type of stealth marketing can be very cost effective in reaching a large number of people about your website, product, or service Already an epidemic Chances are youve already been exposed to one or more viral marketing methods. Countless organizations have already put a wide variety of innovative strategies to work. The ground-breaking example of a viral marketing success story is Hotmail, the Microsoft-owned company that promotes its popular email service by appending an advertising teaser to the end of its users email messages. Amazon.com, another great purveyor of viral marketing, uses many tactics. For example, the sites order confirmation page lets you input the email addresses of your friends/family and invite them to save 10 percent on an item you just bought. If they go to the site and buy the item, not only do they get a discount, but you get an Amazon store credit for the dollar value of their 10% discount! Common tactics Thankfully, you dont need a Microsoft- or Amazon- sized bankroll to deploy viral marketing tactics in your e-commerce site. Many leading e-commerce vendors have begun bundling some of the more popular features into their online store offerings. (GoECart has offered these features for some time.) Email-a-friend (e.g., Recommend it links) Electronic gift certificates Gift wrap (i.e., encourages customers to present gifts to friends) Customer reviews (e.g., ability to provide recommendations right on the order page) Asking customers to enter the details like birth date or important events upon checkout can also aid in personalizing viral marketing messages and building customer relationships. Credibility is key Viral marketing is becoming increasingly popular because of its low-cost (especially when compared with traditional advertising methods), high response rate from targeted users, and ease of execution. The obvious advantage is its ability to obtain a large number of interested people at an affordable cost. Its main weakness is that some tactics and/or overuse can come across as spam, risking damage to your brand. To avoid appearing as spam, companies should limit the number of techniques they use and choose the ones they do employ wisely. Here to stay With its proliferation on many popular e-commerce sites, online shoppers will use (and even come to expect) relevant viral marketing features. Online storefronts should be ready with the features that are most appropriate to their business. |
