Internetiturundus - interneta mārketings - internet marketing

There are a number of factors that affect an exporter’s chances of successfully selling online. Perhaps the most critical of them all is website credibility. This is especially the case for exporters from relatively new European countries like Estonia.

If your website is not credible then the buyer is unlikely to look deep enough into your website’s content to discover whether your organisation can fulfill their needs.

If your website credibility disappoints then all your other efforts are wasted.

In 1958 one of the most famous B2B ads from McGraw Hill agency (the Man in The Chair ad) summarised the point well:

1. I don’t know who you are.
2. I don’t know your company.
3. I don’t know your company’s product.
4. I don’t know what your company stands for.
5. I don’t know your company’s customers.
6. I don’t know your company’s record.
7. I don’t know your company’s reputation.
8. Now - what was it you wanted to sell me?

Obviously this ad was conceived way before the internet but nonetheless it has relevance today.

What the ad suggests to me is that an exporter’s website needs to instantly overcome those initial moments of visitor doubt that can lead to a click away, towards one of many competitors.

Gaining credibility online is no easy task. Doing it in an instant seems impossible.

To develop a credible online reputation requires you to demonstrate expertise and win trust.
Demonstrating your expertise can be achieved reasonably easily (assuming you ARE an expert at what you do) through careful website content strategy (choosing content vehicles that support your position as a reliable and trustworthy supplier of xx services/goods etc).

However, earning trust takes time.

So how can you be credible in an instant?

What is important is to get past that initial credibility gap, that critical moment when someone encounters your site for the first time.

Even if your website is not as positively credible as it could be that might still be “ok”.

So long as it is not creating negative credibility then the rest of the site might be able to hold the visitor long enough to persuade them to engage even further. This ‘extra time’ might give you enough space to earn enough trust to warrant a repeat visit.

What damages your website credibility the most?
What should you avoid to ensure your potential clients engage (with your website) further?

1. Spelling mistakes
2. Poor design
3. Broken links
4. Slow download times
5. Stagnant content
6. Wild claims and more…

What can be added to your site to enhance credibility?

1. Real names, addresses and contact details clearly displayed
2. Awards and testimonials
3. Trade organisation membership logos
4. External links to valuable resources and more…

In my opinion every online exporter should investigate website credibility, it would be time well spent.

My starting point many moons ago was the Web Credibility Project from Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab. Why don’t you start there too?

Despite Estonia’s justified reputation for e-innovation, e-business adoption levels are pretty low and/or unsophisticated.

I say to the e-business doubters: “Whether you like it or not, the e-economy is coming.”
In the e-economy, goods and services can be promoted and sold anywhere in the world as easily as they can be in Estonia.

However before Estonian companies can develop winning e-export strategies several pre-conditions must be met:

1. International trade agreements need to help, not obstruct, e-export
2. Buyers AND suppliers must believe their interests are protected
3. Facilities and resources must be accessible to both buyer and seller organisations
4. E-export must make good business sense

With recent accession to Europe these conditions are being met for many Estonian companies.

At the front end of an e-export strategy is the company website.

Initial research, by altex marketing, into the role of the website, and internet marketing specifically, in exporting Estonian companies has produced some obvious, and some not-so-obvious, findings:

1. More and more Estonian marketers realise the growing importance of e-business
2. Increasing sales and market share are high priorities for Estonian SMEs
3. The benefits of internet marketing have not been communicated clearly enough to executive management
4. Estonian exporters realise their website is an important sales and marketing channel but their web content strategy probably could be improved
5. Most Estonian companies do not measure the effectiveness of their website or their internet marketing activities (no surprise then, that its hard to justify increasing internet marketing budgets if businesses are not measuring results)
6. Estonian business decision makers will embrace ‘internet marketing’ when they have a clearer understanding of the benefits
7. There is a shortage of appropriate “internet marketing” skills in the marketplace
8. Awareness levels about internet marketing options are low
9. Due to lack of awareness, internet marketing budgets are often low, or even ‘zero’
10. Estonian companies who use internet marketing successfully and profitably are (usually) keeping quiet to prevent competitors catching up.

Combine these initial findings with the fact is that, up until now, there is no national e-business unit within government or a non-commercial NGO to support SME adoption of e-business means that reliable and current data is difficult to discover.

However I will keep you updated as we find out more..

Thanks for dropping by.
Welcome.
My name is Robin Gurney and I am a founding partner of altex marketing, a European internet marketing agency, based in Tallinn, Estonia.

If you export goods or services and are interested about how to take better advantage of the internet then this blog is for you.

You will encounter as little techno-babble as possible, I am a businessman with a passion for internet marketing, not a technologist.

Because I work in Tallinn (capital of Estonia) most of the information is aimed at Estonian exporters.
However I hope it gives value to anyone exporting from the European Union. .