Promotions and Your Web Site

On the topic of content-managed web sites, one of the most common changes clients want to make is adjusting monthly or time-sensitive specials.  The concept of the Internet-only special or “Check our web site for special deals” is fairly common.  However, if you don‘t run specials the right way you run a big risk of...

On the topic of content-managed web sites, one of the most common changes clients want to make is adjusting monthly or time-sensitive specials.  The concept of the Internet-only special or “Check our web site for special deals” is fairly common.  However, if you don‘t run specials the right way you run a big risk of lowering the bar both on value and the perception of value.

For starters, it’s important to understand your purpose for running a special.  Are you trying to create emergency cash flow, trying to cover your stretch for the month?  Are you trying to compete vigorously with a competitor or apply pressure to a competitor?  Are you introducing a new service?   Is there a seasonal reason why you would offer a special?

Today, I will focus on two of these reasons for specials, both of which can be accomplished with a Mission Control content managed site AND will not reduce the perception of value.  Using the In-Site Advertising feature on a Mission Control content managed web site, you can set up two campaigns like this:

1) Vigorously compete with specific competitors.  Let’s say that you have a competitor who overlaps you geographically.  You can set your In-Site Advertising feature settings to recognize visitors to your site who come to you from a geography close to these competitors.  For those visit only, you can program certain ad panels of your site with promotions that are specifically geared to compete vigorously with those competitors.  You may not want to offer the deal to everyone but you are willing to offer a specific deal to someone who is close to one of these competitors geographically.  This can apply specific pressure to patients in a certain geography you would prefer to dominate.

2) Introduce new or complimentary services. One way to use promotions is to vertically market.  You can use the In-Site Advertising feature on a Mission Control web site to accomplish just this.  By advertising residual injectable procedures that compliment the procedures found on your surgical pages, you can let the promotions on your site create some upselling potential.  For instance, on your eyelid lift page, you could have an ad panel that only runs an injectable special on that page.   By putting the two ideas right next to each other, you lay the groundwork for a discussion that includes injectables and an eyelid lift.  This discussion may happen anyway in consultation but if you drop the idea here and incentivize it with a special promotion, you may pick up a surgical patient and residual patient who comes in frequently after surgery for injectable treatments.

The Mission Control site can help you enable a lot of sophisticated and sensible marketing strategies.  If you want to discuss how Mission Control can benefit your Internet strategy, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.