The Internet is compared below as a trackable marketing medium against Advertising, The Yellow Pages, Public Relations, Direct Mail and Catalogs.

Click to see a chart comparing the strengths and weaknesses of these media.

Advertising is the fastest way to establish product awareness and brand, and lets you present your message exactly your way, and at your timing.

However, effective ad buys are costly because many repetitions are involved to get results. Also, ads give all audiences the same message regardless of their interests. Ad impressions and readership claims don't mean every reader looks at every page, especially ads. Ad response is cumbersome or absent, and results are hard to measure directly.

Advertising is strongest in building Awareness and Interest, but weaker in moving to Decision and Action. NetPromotions' entire method is to attract audiences by their interests and to then move them to action, tracking them every step of the way. Each visitor gets the depth of information he/she wants, is compelled by his/her own needs, and every visit is tracked. Response is easy and immediate. The best of both worlds is to use your advertising to build awareness and interest, and to extend your advertising to decision and action on your Web site.

The Yellow Pages and Business Directories enable prospects to find you when they need you, and tracking is simply a matter of counting calls.

However, it's too expensive to list in all relevant categories in all local Yellow Pages. Also you cannot make in-depth explanations or demonstrations, or track where you are losing prospects. Generally your listing cannot be changed for at least 12 months, precluding any use for test marketing or promotions. Integrating your Web site with your Yellow Pages and Business Directory listings solves all these problems.

Public Relations can give excellent value, and is reasonably fast, providing major media coverage at a fraction of ad-buy cost. PR also extends implied 'Third Party Endorsement' to stories that are picked up.

PR's weakness for promotion is that you can't control it. The interpretation, accuracy, pick-up and timing are entirely up to the media's editors and broadcast personalities, with no appeal. Once your story has been run, it's old news. Generally, there is no way for prospects to find you or respond, and PR tracking only covers placements, not impressions.

You can support your PR on your Web site by making sure audiences can find you easily as the result of a story, and by presenting your press releases and correct information as you sent them out. If PR is part of your plan, NetPromotions will establish a 'Press Room' on your site with latest releases, archives, backgrounders, high-resolution graphics, executive bios, product fact sheets and contact information.

Direct Mail (postal) targets groups of people by zip code, historic demographics or a dBase and can be very successful if the offer and branding are right. Response tracking is good, but is not designed for in-depth market research.

Direct Mail is best for highly targeted promotions, rather than ongoing offers or customer relations. Its best use with your Web site is to support the mailing's promotion on your site, supplying greater information and fulfillment. This way, your mailer is a general offer, and your web site tailors it to each prospects' needs.

NetPromotions' Direct E-Mail can be the best of both worlds. It is comparatively low cost, can be graphic or text, clicks through prospects to your Web site, and gives fast tracking and response. It's response rates are currently considerably higher than the 1% average return from postal Direct Mail.

Catalogs are very targeted, enable in-depth explanations, are trackable and responsive, and maintain repeat sale relations. For B2B, many are kept on a shelf as a reference. A well-done catalog can build considerable customer loyalty.

On the downside, catalogs are expensive and impractical to update. Probably no catalog goes out 100% correct. As with Direct Mail, distribution is determined by available lists rather than by prospect interest.

Catalogs and Web sites seem made for each other. Catalogs enable Web sites to extend beyond Internet access, and Web sites enable smaller catalog distributions, targeted appeal, online explanations and promotions, enhanced tracking, and fast low-cost ordering and response.