Whether you sell products in a store or a catalog, or on a Web site, marketing the experience of ownership is critical in making the sale. Studies show that even with high-ticket items like cars, consumers are driven more by desires than product features. The fantasy of experience offers rich opportunities for creative exploration on Web sites – and can lead to greater audience involvement and increased sales.

Certainly the goal of every e-commerce Web site is to engage the prospect and sell the merchandise. But it has become necessary to look beyond traditional formulas. The measurements we base success on -- session length, page views, conversion rates, etc. -- will remain stagnant if new experiential techniques are not employed.

Get flashy. Employing Flash and other rich media can give your customers a case of the oohs-and-ahhs. The Dutch department store Hema took a seemingly simple page of everyday products and created a fanciful display of Flash genius. By the number of times this reviewer has received this link, its safe to say it’s a worldwide hit.

If you liked this … E-commerce has provided marketers with a wealth of customer data never before imagined. If your Web site creates an intelligent (and responsible) recommendation system, the result can be fantastic. Netflix and the iTunes Store use recommendation systems remarkably well.

Communicate touch and feel. Customers seek meaning beyond the base-level selling proposition. Help your customers visualize how the product will benefit their lives. Try a 360-degree-view photo tour, video of your product in use, a full-screen view or colorization options.

Set up the scene. Are you selling a barbeque grill or a sunny day spent with good friends? Take your visitor to an aspirational setting. This can be achieved online with interactive environments that show valuable content and products. AT&T created the AT&T blue room -- a micro site that pulses cool and connected. Visitors can check out exclusives on music, sports, movies and more, all the while seeing AT&T ads for DSL broadband and other related services.

Get your blog on. Regularly update tips, trends and special offers in a conversational manner on a blog. You don’t have to hide the fact that your people write it -- as long as they’re entertained and informed, customers will come back. And of course, you can cross-sell your product. Wal-Mart does a wonderful job of maintaining a company blog.

Let them be heard. User-generated content is at the core of Web 2.0. If customers rate and review products on your Web site, tell your visitors about it. They can find out which products have the best reviews and give feedback on prior purchases. Amazon.com is an exemplary model of user-generated content at work.

Use personalized URLs. PURLs -- Web pages filled with merchandise based on the individual’s past purchase behavior -- are proven to engage customers at a higher rate. eBay has created millions of unique PURLs that give up-to-the-minute deals on relevant products.

Remember e-catalogs. A hybrid vehicle, e-catalogs mix the page-flipping catalog experience with the click-and-buy e-commerce experience. Customers find the end result to be familiar, easy and fun. Additionally, the e-catalog can incorporate multimedia to enhance the customer’s product consideration experience.

These bells and whistles will keep your Web site fresh and your customers engaged. But without strong copy, it’s all for naught. Pictures invite. Words sell. One last, classic link: the Oh-la-la pants from the J. Peterman Web site, a terrific example of hard working copy powered by story.