• Who exactly is using the Internet?
• What is the WORLD WIDE WEB?
• How fast is the WORLD WIDE WEB growing?
• What are the benefits of being on the WEB?
• How does the Internet compare to traditional marketing?
• How much does it cost to establish a presence on the Internet?
  
  

Q. What is the Internet?

The Internet is a global system of public and private computer networks. It enables universities, governments, businesses and consumers to communicate via computers, modems and phone lines. There are over 85 million people in 190 countries using it.

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Q. Who exactly is using the Internet?

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology surveyed 4,566 lnternet users and found 72.5 percent were men, 27.5 were women, and the average age was 37.7. The average age of commercial online service subscribers is 39 according to Jupiter Communications. The Georgia Institute of Technology surveyed 4,777 WWW users and found that 56 percent are between 23 and 38 years old, 74 percent are male.

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Q. What is the WORLD WIDE WEB?

A seamlessly interconnected set of several thousand sites that all share a common format. The Web, which is growing at 15 percent per month. It is the hottest frontier on the Internet because it's extremely powerful, flexible and easy to use. The beauty of the Web lies in the way documents (which can be sounds, photos or text ) are directly linked to each other. A presence on the Web is referred to as a "Home Page". Return to top of page.

Q. How fast is the WORLD WIDE WEB growing?

Wired magazine's Internet Index reports that the World Wide Web grew 2,713 percent in 1997. It also reports the number of countries connected to the Internet grew from 137 in 1993 to 190 in 1997.

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Q. What are the benefits of being on the WEB?

1. You can deliver your marketing message to a worldwide audience of millions.

Everyone with access to the Internet (the current estimate is over 85 million people) can see your message at any time day or night. A potential customer can view your promotional material from the comfort of their own home or the convenience of their own office. The Internet can make vast amounts of information accessible to anyone with a computer. With personal computers currently outseIIing televisions -- and 70 percent of those PC's being purchased for home use -- you are tapping into a medium that has endless possibilities.

2. You can communicate directly with your clients/customers.

Through the use of e-mail, customers can send requests or receive information quickly and inexpensively. You can, for instance, provide information on special sales, last minute promotions or upcoming events to millions of people all over the world without print or postage costs. By the same token, your customers can send you requests for promotional material or provide you with valuable feedback.

3. Create a virtual store, a new channel for sales.

New and secure encryption software now allows you to sell products and services directly over the Internet. This new technology allows customers to place orders by credit card without the fear of having their card numbers stolen.

4. Position yourself for the future and stay ahead of the competition.

In the near future, almost every business will be online because this technology will continue to improve and expand. You don't want to be left behind. The key is to stay ahead of your competition by using this technology to your advantage. As of March 1998, there were over 40,000,000 Web sites of which 27,000,000 were commercial.

5. Create a profit center by selling advertising space to third parties.

Your Internet site can be a source of new revenue by selling ad space to third parties. In the case of the Travel Industry, this could mean: tour operators, car rental companies, hotels, cruise lines, etc.

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Q. How does the Internet compare to traditional advertising and marketing?

1. It is more expansive, yet far less expensive.

Consider a typical print ad in a newspaper advertising a vacation package to Rio de Janeiro: It may include the price of the tour, a two or three line description of the tourist attractions, phone numbers for the airline and tour operator and maybe a small black and white graphic.

The same ad on the Internet can include all of the above plus the following: several pages of descriptive information on the hotels used, flight schedules, site seeing tours, prices and more. There can be several full color graphics of beaches, cities, and mountains. There can be built in "links" to other places on the Internet with information about things to see and do in Brazil. A comparable amount of ad space in a newspaper would cost many times more than the price of having a presence on the Web.

The Internet allows you to make a vast amount of information readily available and easily accesible to your customers.

2. It is interactive not passive.

Traditional forms of advertising are passive; you listen to a radio ad or read a newspaper ad without interacting in anyway with the content of the advertisement. The Internet allows for the customer to be directly involved in the flow of information. The user is in control of what he or she sees.

In addition, your site can be configured to immediately provide customized information based on a users input.

For example, a form can be presented to the user when they first come to your site asking them what their interests are. The form may ask: what destinations are you interested in? When would you like to travel? What is your price range? In response, the user may answer: Rio de Janeiro, October, less than $1,200. Based on those responses the user would be presented with a list of vacation packages to Rio in October for less than $1,200.

No other media allows for this type of dynamic, customized marketing and advertising. Only the Internet provides you with this very powerful means of reaching your customer base.

3. It is global not local.

The Internet can be accessed from over 174 countries. To reach the same amount of people by a television commercial would be astronomically expensive. To do so by newspapers, magazines, or direct mail would be a logistical nightmare. On the Internet however, your marketing message is available to someone in New York City as well as in Russia or Japan.

4. It is a permanent presence not a brief "blurb."

Your Internet site is active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is always there for your customers to access. A radio spot or television commercial is over in 60 seconds, a print ad is usually set aside after it is read. The material in a Web site can be reached by a customer whenever he or she desires. It is not limited to certain days of the week or hours of the day. Your Web site is permanent presence for you company; giving customers important facts, answering their questions, and creating an interest in your products and services. It is a sales person/marketing department that never sleeps.

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Q. How much does it cost to establish a presence on the Internet?

Getting a worldwide presence on the Internet doesn't have to break your budget. FCC has several inexpensive and cost effective solutions to get your company on the Web quickly and easily:

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