Marketing on the Internet:
The not so good, the very bad, and the ugly.
by Andrew Shedden
As published in Small Business Canada Magazine
Where's my sunny sky?
When asked about the results of their Internet investment, most business owners I meet express profound disappointment. In fact, some of them become downright hostile. Many feel they were swindled or duped by the purveyors of the new economy. Some better-informed business owners have gone so far as to wish that Al Gore didn't even invent the Internet. Interestingly, these same business owners are aware of another little known fact, while Al was doing this I was inventing gravity.
Is the Internet just a load of hype?
It is patently unfair to write the Internet off as some kind of technological aberration.
The Internet has forever altered both societal interactions and the way we conduct business.
The Internet has democratized communication.
The Internet will continue to mold and influence our perceptions.
The Internet has brought tremendous discipline in the marketplace and has widely disseminated global thinking.
With all these positive occurrences why has the Internet been a disaster for so many companies? While many companies have profited by their Internet involvement, for many small business owners these success stories have been the exception and not the rule. For every positive experience there are ten horror stories. Have small business owners been victims of the great high tech swindle? Well…
Great Expectations wasn't just a book by Dickens
Great Expectations would make a great title for an as yet unwritten expose about the early years of the Internet. It would rapidly become required reading for all business school students.
Imagine you are sitting in a business school class in 2030. Picture how the 1990's business landscape will be described to the eager young students. They will be regaled with tales of great fortunes that were made and lost on the wild, wild, web. They will be reading about companies that scaled great heights only to become unceremoniously humbled.
The early Internet years will be viewed as being akin to the lemmings that rushed west in the 1840's to California to make their fortune moiling for gold. That crazy time in the past will be viewed as another South Seas Bubble, perhaps more like another IOS Fund of Funds. The combined expectations about the role of the Internet in the new economy by the media, investors, and business owners were all totally unrealistic. It was a large serving of greed, naiveté, and hype.
Get real
Many philosophers have put forward the argument that the major cause of unhappiness is unrealistic expectations. I believe this is the major cause of disenchantment with the Internet. According to prognostications by the early media, once your web site was created you would have to be prepared for the inevitable onslaught of business. The services of Brink's would soon be required to deliver ever-burgeoning bags of cash to your privately owned bank.
While many of the early adopters were waiting for their Internet millions to roll in perhaps they availed themselves of other get rich quick opportunities. Perhaps upon reading a full-page ad in the tabloids about yet another effortless money making venture they rushed $19.95 to Postal Station A in Los Angeles to receive their very own copies of "How I made 10 Million Dollars in Two Months doing Nothing but Fishin' and Drinkin' Beer."
You know, it's funny, I've yet to discover a way of making money that didn't involve some form of work.
Ask not what the Internet can do for you but what you can do for the Internet
Perhaps the most unrealistic expectation of all was that the "new economy" would somehow escape the surly bonds of business reality. The simple fact is that in many respects the Internet world is a mere reflection of its real world counterpart. This manifests itself in many ways but none more apparent than the obvious truth that many companies don't market well.
I've yet to meet with a business owner who didn't deeply care about product or service quality. I constantly encounter business owners who are running companies and struggling with marketing.
Poor marketing and positioning usually can be attributed to a lack of differentiation present in their business. This is a common marketing problem in both the real world and the Internet.
The sheer size and complexity of the Internet makes differentiation simultaneously more important and more difficult. Business owners are competing globally while trying to influence locally. The question that begs to be asked is this, "If you can't market your company effectively in the real world why do you expect to do so on the Web?"
The simple fact is that The Internet didn't fail business. Business failed the Internet.
What can you do to improve your Internet investment?
Recognize the Internet for what it really is
Your web site is merely another weapon in your overall marketing arsenal. You should no more rely on the Internet as a panacea for your marketing needs than you would a marketing brochure. Having said that, the Internet still contains great promise as an excellent marketing communications resource.
Make a commitment
If you're trying to market your company in the 21st century without a web site you are at a serious disadvantage. The good news is that you don't need to spend a bundle to get your business on the Web. You can get a perfectly good site designed to effectively market your business for $2,000 to $5,000. If your site isn't up to scratch you can have it redesigned for about the same investment.
Have one site objective
Once you have decided to have your site designed or redesigned you need to determine what response you want from your site visitors. Having your site as merely an "online brochure" seriously underutilizes the potential of the Internet. Capitalize on the capabilities of the Web. Do you want your site to sell your product or service? Should your site be used to generate sales leads? Should your site be a vehicle to get visitors to subscribe to your e-mail newsletter?
Consider a primary and secondary response. For example, if you visit my site the primary response I'm seeking is that you will fill in a web form and request my services. This allows me to identify "right now" clients. The secondary response I'm seeking is that you will subscribe to my free e-mail newsletter. This keeps my company in biweekly contact with you in an informative and positive way.
Content is king
People use the Internet as an information resource. Effective customer-centred content is what will position and differentiate your business. Spending a great deal of time describing how wonderful you are is a total waste of bandwidth. Before writing a word of your web site copy be mindful that prospects are concerned with their problems and what you can do to solve them. Provide timely and unbiased information on your web site and become known as the resource in your industry. You'll soon see prospects become customers.
Having a great site isn't enough
Spending the time and money creating a killer site and not marketing it is like having the world's greatest invention hidden in your basement behind the portrait of your eccentric Uncle Fred. The Internet is a pervasive force in marketing communications that requires vision, planning, and effort. Consider the response you seek, create an informative and customer-centred site, and commit to actively marketing your business on the Web. To profit from the Internet remember two words, marketing matters.
