Clearly, pushing TV shoppers to the Web is a smart move, albeit an obvious one. Not so obvious, however, is the fact that HSN finds that 40 percent of their Web customers don t come through their network at all. These are valuable customers, and they re not watching TV to shop. The method all three agree on is partnership with the major portals. E-mail marketing of targeted campaigns announces new lines, new products and Internet specials.
Contests are also popular.
Contests have proven a tremendous success driving traffic to our site, says Starkman. They are at least twice as effective as other types of online advertising. They re a much more efficient use of our online ad dollars. Kirby says the delivery of this innovative broadband shopping content moves far beyond the typical electronic catalog experience that has become the norm. Clearly, the rule for direct response marketers to attract customers to their Web sites is creativity.