hypertrails.com - for trade associations

......for trade associations
For UK-based trade associations, hypertrails offers e-directory services, on-line marketing support, email broadcasts and banner advertising support
e-directory services Examples: ABTA CAA-ATOL	For trade associations the Internet offers a real opportunity. It presents them with the facilities to promote the services of their members. Trade associations automatically have the 'critical mass' that many would-be community sites would give their eye teeth for. But they need to marshall all the information they have about their members, and present it in a helpful way to the online consumer. The hypertrails e-directory service allows them to do just this. It accepts data in a variety of formats and presents it online in a listings format, which may be keyword based, in effect creating a community search engine. hypertrails will help trade associations compile and organise their member information, and create tailored e-directories which generate sales leads for members. The resulting online traffic can often create potential advertising revenue streams for the association. By taking this proactive approach associations can position themselves at the heart of their members' business community. The alternative is to see the value-added networking function taken over by new community websites with a consequent long term threat to the value of the trade association.
On-line Marketing	Trade association sites must also be promoted to maximise their effectiveness. Because of their inherent critical mass, they often benefit from being linked to by a variety of other sites: both their own members and directory services. However, one weakness of database driven sites is that there are a shortage of 'portal' pages for the search engines to find. This can be remedied but it needs specific attention.
Email broadcasts	In a trade association context, the main use of email broadcasting is to provide tailored information to members. Used carefully, this facility can save the association considerable operating costs.
Advertising Support	Trade associations exist to promote their members. But the information they have about their members is generally rich enough to attract consumer interest on-line (if marketed well). This in turn can generate advertising sales revenue. However, the single minded pursuit of this revenue can lead to the membership being forgotten, and the association can lose control of its own future. A balance needs to be struck. hypertrails can provide the banner advertising scripts and infrastructure which enables the association to manage advertising on the site and give good management information to its advertisers. It's experience in the balancing of member interest with potential revenue may also be valuable.