Understanding the "Market" of our Web Sites

By Al Alegre, Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA)
May 2001

The obvious basis for any marketing effort for our Web sites is an analysis and understanding of our target audiences. Web managers of civil society organizations (CSOs) are often less focused on what information our actual and potential users need, as opposed to what information we want to give ("We should put this on our Web site because they have to know this!").

"Market Analysis" is a term that, though coming from the business sector, CSOs must also learn. Simply put, it is the discipline of analyzing your desired audience and, eventually tailoring your products and services to that audience. CSOs are often intimidated by the whole concept of "marketing," thinking that this is in the realm of for-profit companies. However, CSO work has always been in the realm of "social marketing"—i.e., getting your "society" to "buy into" your social vision, your institutional programs and projects, and your particular mission-related issues. The Web is merely a tool that extends your "social marketing."

Any sound marketing plan should be embedded within your overall Web site strategy, as any Web initiative should be based on clear communication goals which are targeted to a specific audience. For many organizations now, this is an integral part of an "enterprise/business planning process" which also examines possible income streams in the quest to make our projects sustainable (this usually includes a Market Analysis, as well as a Product/Service-Client Mix).

Some important considerations and helpful tips:

1. Know, respect and serve your user

Always keep in mind the information needs of your target user. For one, there is so much information out there—on the Web, in print, on TV, etc.—that many are on the verge of information overload (For Web sites alone, latest estimates are 100 million Web pages all over the world!). Hence, they will tend to tune out to anything but the most useful information to them. Your Web site must be compelling enough for people to visit it, and the user experience must be positive so as to make them return.

For this you have to know your user. Although most of us must feel that we "intuitively" know them, it is very helpful to systematize this process by undertaking data-gathering and research activities. This could range from formal user surveys, focus group discussions, and various usability/functionality testing all throughout the Web development process (or even during redesign/makeovers).

After profiling your users, it would be good to ask yourselves, "Why would s/he visit my site?" and not "Why should s/he visit my site?"—with the latter being oriented to what we want to give our audience, as opposed to the former being oriented to what our audience will want (or even better—need) to receive.

Respecting your user means putting him/her at the top of any planning exercise involving Web content and functionality. It is considering his/her needs and wants and seeking ways in which these will be satisfied.

2. "Competition?": Keep it in mind

Part of traditional market analysis is the mapping of what others are doing, who either have a similar Web site (or Web site product or service); or who are planning to set one up. In a business environment, "competition" is to be expected and this may help drive a process that will lead to better Web products. However, for non-profit CSOs, it may be less about competing, but more about avoiding overlap (finding niches) and even collaborating and exploring strategic partnerships with other organizations.

3. "Divide and Conquer!": Segment your market

Many CSOs make the mistake of looking at the potential audience of our Web sites as a single homogenous group. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Civil society users are different from government users. Even within broad civil society, the "user segments" are very diverse: operating NGOs have very different needs and expectations from donor agencies, as well as with academic researchers, policy-makers—all who could be part of your targeted audience.

On another level, CSOs also need to further segment the target audience even within organizations. If we are targeting CSO users, are we addressing their leadership (e.g., Executive Directors/CEOs? Boards? Management committee?) or are we addressing Program Managers (who tend to have project or program-level needs)? Are we targeting their information officers and communications staff? Will our site specifically target trainers/educators? Or network builders? Or even administrative support staff?

Some people would refer to this as "Target Marketing", acknowledging that the Internet has fueled the continuous segmentation of the market to many niches. It would be helpful to come up with graduated/segmented user profiles to which we can assess if our site—and the various information products and services within it—will be useful.

4. Nurture your internal market

Again, managing your internal audiences (co-workers in your institution, organizational leaders, key program/project staff) should be part and parcel of the overall strategies which encourage "buy-in" by strategic people to any Web project at the earliest possible time. Strategic leaders within an institution determine much of the political and financial resources that one could hope for in any initiative such as this, and their support is crucial.

But even for more "tactical" purposes, it does make sense to involve your internal network, especially if they perform regular "marketing" functions for the institution. For example, the CEO/Executive Director (aside from having a big say on the allocation of resources for any marketing plan) is also probably the institution's primary "networker"—one who meets with donors and other important stakeholders, attends conferences, gives lectures, etc.—s/he may be the best marketer for the Web site. Keeping him/her "within the loop" as it were makes good marketing sense if s/he will promote the site in all his/her external functions.

Some concrete tips to convert your internal audience to effective external marketers for your site:

• Feature program/project updates and accomplishments within the site. This will make them feel that the work they are doing is indeed important and worth publishing. It becomes an incentive to visit the site if they know their content is there.
• Keep them informed regularly of site developments. Utilize existing information and communication tools and processes your institution uses to update them. This may include (both online and off-line): office intranets, e-groups, internal mailing lists, newsletters, bulleting boards and regular meetings.
• Feed them with (good) user statistics. Nothing encourages colleagues more than finding out the popularity of on our institutional products. Not only does it encourage a sense of pride and ownership, but it also creates an impression about the usefulness of the site. For strategic leaders of the institution, this could redound to more political and financial support to the Web project.
• Solicit feedback. Encouraging feedback shows that you value their opinion. This also serves to mainstream them into the Web communications initiative, thereby nurturing stakeholding.

Strategic audiences which should be nurtured:

• Internal Audience 1 ("Inner Circle"): this refers to co-workers, institutional leaders/principals, important groups within the institutional structure. (See above)
  
  
• Internal Audience 2 ("Outer Circle"): this refers to institutional stakeholders and those who you already communicate with: project partners (donor agencies, co-implementers, beneficiaries), members of your Board or volunteer corps, people on your mailing list, your service providers and consultants, etc. The advantage here is you are able to do "warm marketing" (as opposed to "cold marketing" to those who you do not know) with a network of people:
• • who you already know better (you have a much better handle on their profile);
  • who share with you a sense of partnership;
  • who have reached a higher level of trust with your institution because of previous relationships.
    
    
• Media practitioners/workers: this is a group that has as its main function the publicizing or newsworthy or interesting events, therefore they should be targeted! These may include individual print, broadcast (TV/radio) or Internet media practitioners (or their associations).
  
  Keep them informed of site launches, product developments, other campaigns that have a Web component, etc. Use press releases. Call their editors. Submit articles or entire information packets. Don't discriminate who among them you approach:
• • news and public affairs staff are always on the lookout (every day) for newsworthy content;
  • lifestyle section writers always have an eye towards human interest stories (our development content is full of them);
  • many newspapers now have an IT section which may also feature our sites as part of a regular site review or a special feature.

  Example

  The Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) has nurtured its links with the Philippine CyberPress, the trade association for IT writers in the broadsheet and computer trade magazines around the country. FMA has been given access to the CyberPress membership list to send press releases and program invitations to a network of hundreds of writers all over the Philippines.

• Academic Community: These include professors/teachers/administrators of schools and other educational institutions. These have a "captive audience"—their students; they can give plugs about our sites, or even require them to visit them as part of their course outline/materials.
  
  We can also include here a particularly strategic sector: the youth/student sector It is a natural Web audience, being of the Internet generation, and—for the idealistic ones—a perfect group to market our development content.
  
  

• Example

  FMA works with a number of online communities to manage its women and gender site (http://www.salidumay.org). One of these communities has approached the Women's Studies Association of the Philippines (WSAP) to develop partnerships in making salidumay.org one of the main resource sites for its member-teachers.

• Donor Community: Aside from obvious financial implications, donor agencies have their own constituencies—their other partners, beneficiaries, and usually an eminent Board that could be perfect target users of our sites.