How Companies are Marketing Online

I thought this was an interesting article that confirmed what I would have thought to be the biggest obstacles for companies trying to position themselves online, and definately for NPOs who don't have the money to pay for fancy infrastructure, etc. I agree that internet display ads function more for branding purposes than direct action functions, but I am surprised the companies acknowledge/realize that. I never click on display ads for fear of endless pop-ups, but I do occasionally go to their official website if I am really intrigued. Display ads for non-profs might have a little more credibility though.

I do think that perhaps the last page of the article about consumer habits was one of the most important pieces of the article. I am shocked that companies only project 32% (total) of their consumers to be buying services/products online. What??? That sounds like a gross underestimate of what consumers will be doing. I know from my own habits that I use phone books to prop up a leaning futon and research nearly everything online. I also purchase items from the internet regularly (provided their site is safe) because, well let's face it, Fayetteville is not the glamourous one stop shop for everything some might think it is, so I have to look elsewhere for products I want. Same could be true for NPOs...what if they don't have a local office in Fayetteville? Then my only choice is to try and find information on their website or at large online.

And I also think the companies surveyed are naieve to think that less than half of their customers are shopping their prices online, but that number could be due to selective information provided on websites in order to lure potential customers into persuasive sales reps. Overall, that last graph of projections seemed a little bit fishy to me.