July 2006
Learning about effective marketing from other industries
Earlier this week, I posted on my blog the following: Attention American Automakers: Your websites suck. I was surprised at the number of emails I got as well as comments and posts by other bloggers.
As you will see in the original post if you link to it, I pose a number of observations for the auto industry. However, the same issues are applicable for all web sites.
Why do automakers insist on copying one another’s slick, TV-influenced, one-way broadcast websites that feel like advertising? Visitors who actually want to learn something aren’t satisfied and sales are lost. Check out the big three automaker sites (I have included the headlines from today):
Ford: Model Year Clearance! 0% financing! 0 for gas!
Chrysler: Get employee pricing plus 0% financing!
GM: 72 hour sale!
Doesn’t it look like all three of these sites were designed and built by the same person (some Madison Avenue ad guy)?
As Steve Johnson of Pragmatic Marketing writes: “Websites are like software products: the real challenge isn't what to include; it's what to omit. Is your web site trying to sell or is it helping people buy? There's a difference.”
Read the rest of my original post and the comments here. What do you think?
Posted by David Meerman Scott on July 7, 2006 at 08:45 AM in Customer Dialogue | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
