Marketing 101: Have the web site truly reflect the brand. (Smart Marketing).(Brief Article)

Companies have always turned to marketing to build their brands. Tactics such as ads, commercials, direct mail and public relations are used frequently. Nearly all feature web addresses as a method for responding.

That's when things start to go awry: The web site doesn't live up to the visitor's expectations.

The culprit? A web designer would point to the site's "look and feel." An Internet developer might say the site lacks functionality or "stickiness." The company executive behind the site may single out internal challenges, technical hurdles or budget limitations.

However, the real culprit, to me, is the failure of the site to embody the company's brand -- the one thing that sets the company …