George Mason University

One on One Marketing & Search Engine Marketing project


Select a Site to Promote

In this course, you are asked to use emails to market an online service.  If you do not have your own online service that you wish to market, you can market one of the online certificates or online courses at http://gunston.gmu.edu/healthscience   

Every week you complete a component of the plan and get input from others in the class.  Your task for next week is to describe the online service you wish to market.  The online service must have an associated database that tracks use of the service by the clients.   You can always change your plans as you proceed.  Keep in mind that during the next 15 weeks you will market the site chosen and report on the results of your marketing effort.  Choose your focus prudently so that you remain excited by the effort needed.  If you have to accomplish an online service for your work, you can propose it as your class project. 

For the web site that you have chosen, provide the following information and be ready to present this information in class:

  1. What is the URL of the site: 

     
  2. To be useful, the site needs to keep data on use patterns and you need to have access to this data.  Check here if this is true: 
     
  3. To whom should the service be marketed?  Describe the patients/people who will use the system and the people who will pay for the system.  Please do not assume that the patient will use the service.

     
  4. Why would the people you mentioned be interested?

     
  5. What is your email (use format name@server.com)   
     

Bring your response with you to class for open discussion and submit it by email to your instructor.


Plan Your Approach

 

Projects are due at end of semester.  These assignments are expected to facilitate completion of the project and are discussed in upcoming lecture.

 

Differentiate your customers

For both the payer (not user), identify subgroups that would be most likely to join your service.  Describe their incentives (what will you give them free, e.g. a published paper available on the web) and identify 10 potential clients you can write to and assess their interests over time.  Provide a brief description of the information you have collected on each of the ten clients

Provide a one-to-one sequence of emails

For the payers, identify 4 emails (contacts) that would occur before an offer or a sale pitch is made.  Title each email and describe the timing for each email (e.g. 2 weeks after first response is negative).  Compose first email so that it has the following format:

  • Opening paragraph should address how you can meet the clients' need (big picture).
  • The second paragraph should show you are familiar with their operation by giving details of their program.
  • The third sentence or paragraph should describe who you are and why you can help.  It should provide the URL to additional information.
  • The fourth paragraph or sentence should suggest a free service that might be of interest to them and set up a very small task that you can ask the client to do to help you.  The task should contain a permission for further contacts. 

See an example before you compose your own.   Then enter draft of the first email here:

:

In the second part, give the title of the second email, the timing of the second email, relationship to the first email.  Assume that the client's response has not responded.  It may help if your second email has the following components:

  • Opening paragraph that refers to earlier email but refocuses on what the client can get by responding (again big picture).
  • Quote the voice of the customer.
  • Give examples of how you and client can work together to approach the customer.  Speak to how the client will receive benefits from this collaboration. 
  • Ask for referral or assistance in modifying how you should approach the problem.
  • Include URL in signature.

In the third part, give the title of the third email, the timing of the third email, relationship to the first two emails, and anticipate that there has been no response.  It may help if your third email assumes positive response to first email and has the following components:

  • Opening paragraph should acknowledge the client's response.
  • If the client has visited the site, ask for help in evaluating the site's effectiveness.
  • The second paragraph should layout one scenario for collaboration and tie it to the client's organization and existing activities.
  • The third sentence or paragraph should describe a different scenario and tie it to the client's organization and existing activities.
  • The fourth paragraph should ask the client to recommend a course of action for next step.
  • Sign with appropriate URL. 

:

In the fourth part, give the title of the fourth email, the timing of the fourth email, relationship to the first three emails, and anticipate what will be done if the response is positive, negative or no response.  The fourth email may assume non-response and may have the following components: 

  • Opening paragraph that refers to earlier emails (again big picture).
  • Offer free services that engages client in review of your product.
  • Ask for input.
  • Include URL in signature.

Create a database

Create a database that will contain all the information you have gathered about your target group as well as the information for future contacts.  Bring a list of tables and fields for your data base to class.

Contact Information

Enter your first name: 

Enter your last name: 

Enter your email in the format name@server.com

Bring your response with you to class for open discussion and submit it by email to your instructor.  This assignment is organized to help you plan and there may not be a correct or wrong answer. 


Report on One on One Marketing

Prepare a narrated Power Point.  Include the following slides:

  1. List the title of the project and the initials of the team members on the first slide.  Do not list full names.  Do not include name of a business.  Identify the work was done as part of a classroom exercise.
  2. Record on your second slide whether you allow the instructor to post the narration to the web or whether you would prefer if the narration was not posted to the web.  Your choice does not affect your grade. 
  3. Give an overview of what site you were marketing.
  4. Describe the methods of one on one marketing.  Show a graph that describes the steps in the process.
  5. Describe how the population were differentiated to receive different emails.
  6. Include an image of text of first email to the most common group before it was merged with the data.  Highlight the variables that would be read from the database and discuss how the text will be different for different groups.
  7. Include a graph showing how different emails were planned for different responses to the first email. 
  8. Describe clients responses to your effort to date. 
  9. Review how trust was created over time with your approach, for example show the phases of information exchange, secrets shared, VIP treatment, etc. over time.
  10. Review what worked and what needs improvement in your effort.

What is your email (use format name@server.com)          

Bring your response with you to class for open discussion and submit it to your instructor.


Search Engine Marketing Start

What is the site you are marketing?

 What is its' Google rank? 

How many sites link to it? 

Why do other sites show ahead of your site in a Google search. 

Suggests changes in text of the site, keywords, description, and titles:

Check for improvements

After alterations have been made check for the sites rank order. 

Enter your email in the format name@server.com          

Bring your response with you to class for open discussion and submit it by email to your instructor.  This assignment is organized to help you plan and there may not be a correct or wrong answer. 


Progress in Projects

This section reviews progress you have made to date in your field projects.

(1) In the Search Engine Marketing project describe what progress you have made in the following areas:

  • Indicate if you have selected the site to be marketed through a search engine? 
  • Indicate if you have benchmarked the ranking of the site and the number of links to the site before you start on the project? 
  • Indicate if you have suggested changes to the text in the site that would improve search engine placement?
  • Indicate if your suggested text changes have been implemented. 
  • Indicate if you have planned to changes to keywords, site descriptions, titles and headings? 
  • Indicate if the keywords, titles site descriptions and headings have been modified as planned? 
  • Indicate if you have identified who you should contact in order to improve the number of links to the site?
  • Indicate if you have written to the people you identified to ask them to link to the site? 
  • Indicate if you have improved the ranking of the site and the number of links to the site so far? 

(2) In the One to One Marketing project indicate what Progress you have made in the following areas: 

  • Have you selected the site you will market?
  • Have you decided who should the site be marketed to? 
  • Have you differentiated the target group in terms of their interest in the site? 
  • Have you decided what immediate and free benefit you can provide to the target group? 
  • Have you obtained information about the target group from the web and other sites? 
  • Have you organized the database for tracking the text of material you will send? 
  • Have you sent your first email? 
  • Have you followed up with a second email? 
  • Has there been any responses from the people you have written to? 
  • Have you adjusted your plans? 

Bring your response with you to class for open discussion and submit it by email to your instructor.  This assignment is organized to help you plan and there may not be a correct or wrong answer. 


This page was created by Farrokh Alemi, Ph.D.  Last revised on 10/22/2011.  This page is part of the course on Electronic Commerce and Online Market for Health Services This is the session on One on One marketing forms.