Online marketing and e-commerce in Valais – 16th TEWI-Forum
Nowadays, companies located in a peripheral region can acquire customers better than a few years ago. In the past, their customer base was mostly limited to the region. Thanks to new technologies, such as the Internet, they now have access to a supra-regional, national or even international market.
SMEs from Valais are already successfully using these new technologies to open up larger markets. Good e-commerce solutions and successful online marketing are of central importance. At the 16th TEWI-Forum, the audience learned from proven experts what constitutes good online marketing and what opportunities are available to Valais SMEs to successfully market their products. Interesting insights were given into e-commerce solutions of successful Valais companies.
After the welcome address by Prof. Dr. Thomas Myrach, Dr. Oliver Blattmann, a staff member of the Institute of Information Systems at the University of Bern, spoke about the quality of information on the Internet. Google’s search engine provides its users with the information they need with the help of complex algorithms and well over 200 criteria. Websites with a high quality of information have a better chance of coming out on top. The presentation used concrete examples to answer the question of what consequences this has for the internet presence of a Valais winegrower.
Then Pascal Seiler of disclog Seiler & Co. in Glis spoke about the topic “From the online video store to the logistics centre for internet video stores”. What started as fun was then the first and only logistics centre for internet video stores in Switzerland. The family business disclog, Seiler & Co. advanced to become a serious player in the rental business. A 100% e-commerce model that is location-independent and can therefore be operated very well from Valais.
Pascal Zenklusen from Braintec AG (Brig/Zurich) then reported on the efficient use of social media in e-commerce. Since the beginning of August 2011, Dr. Devious has been providing innovative and intelligent products throughout Switzerland on the new website of the online shop I.I.Q.P (www.iiqp-shop.com). The fictional character of I.I.Q.P. AG is the mastermind who repeatedly tested innovative and intelligent products in the in-house laboratory before they were sold in the online shop. With Dr. Devious, I.I.Q.P. AG has developed a character who not only creates a stir as an advertising figure, but also represents a community in search of innovative and intelligent quality products. The ideas he came up with can be followed on Twitter and Facebook.
Finally, Lukas Baumgartner from iQual GmbH discussed successful marketing with a system. The internet offers an enormous variety of possibilities for market cultivation. Accordingly, the question arises as to the effectiveness and efficiency of the possible measures. In this complex environment, iQual GmbH demonstrates a systematic approach to building and operating a web presence and measuring success via a new online marketing tool, which Baumgartner showed in his presentation.
