FINDING 4: Most Companies Are Web Marketing Novices

Web 2.0 has to wait until Web 1.0 marketing is mastered. Other than e-mail newsletters and search engine optimization, organizations make limited use of the many sales and marketing tools the Web offers. One reason, besides their novelty: Web marketing tools are often less helpful than expected. Web 2.0 technologies such as social networking are rarely used for marketing, although companies monitor blogs and Web sites, and IT executives are interested in the use of social networks. Web marketing technologies have promise; they are more often part of the mix at companies with above average online revenues. CIOs can help by advising line managers how these technologies can be used and what doing so would involve.