Continued from page 1
In
typical scenario, a handful of users will click on company XYZ's ad, and they may, in turn, take additional actions that determine
ad's effectiveness. With closed loop marketing, however, marketers use Internet and database technology to extend
relationship with their site's visitors.
In
closed loop example,
same handful of users clicks on company XYZ's ad. This time, however, they are directed to a web page where they are asked to provide some additional information in exchange for something of value (e.g., a white paper, contest entry, etc). When
user completes
form, their information is stored in a simple database.
At this point, a relatively simple VBScript will enable you to track your user's activity on your website at this point without
use of cookies. With each page
user visits during
initial session,
script writes to
database you created. Now you can see, in a very user-friendly format, which resources your visitor accessed on your website.
You now have a database that includes your visitor's contact information, as well as
visitor's interests as they were represented by
pages they visited. You can now craft personalized email messages to
visitors with their specific interests in mind.
Ideally in closed loop marketing, marketers gather more specific information from their prospects with each interaction. By carefully planning and developing a closed loop marketing program, you will extend
average lifecycle of your prospects and experience substantially higher conversion rates.

Scott Winterton is the president and senior consultant at Inuvo, a full-service marketing and technology consulting firm. His experience ranges from startup companies to Fortune 500 organizations in a variety of industries. A partial list of consulting clients includes Prophet, Martin Investigative Services and Ellie Mae, Inc. Scott holds his Bachelor's degree from the University of California at Davis.