Cape Futurex Show & How To Profit In
Competitive Internet Markets
Seoza News October 18 2004 Number 420.
Based on FutureX Cape Town, I have to
say that there is a growing awareness of
what Internet Marketing is all about.
But, having said that I still see masses
of misperception that abound.
For me, the journey onto the World Wide
Web, which started about 8 months ago,
when I first met Tony Roocroft and read
his water gardening book, and then made
contact with him only to discover his
passion for the Internet, involved a
fundamental mind shift. Tony's made it
and is entrenched in it he no longer
sees it as a mind shift. I'm getting
there, slowly.
It's not easy learning Internet stuff.
No learning curve is ever easy and it is
frustrating. Not knowing what you are
doing makes it much easier to give up in
disgust, or to leave it to 'experts'.
It's actually quite similar to the
practise of law and accounting in South
Africa - what I call the 12th official
language. No-one understands it or wants
to understand it - they rather pay
someone else to translate it for them,
and they they pay when these people who
do the translation (but take none of the
responsibility) get it wrong.
It is exactly the same with web design
and Internet Marketing in South Africa.
And yes, this is aimed at you Mr
Chairman, Mr CEO and Mr MD. The good
news about the Internet is that it is
substantially easier to learn than just
about any other business facet. It is
entirely driven by common sense and it
is measurable in terms of the results it
delivers to 2, 4, 6 or 8 decimal points
on the rand or dollar. In other words,
exactly.
And Internet Marketing has NOTHING to do
with offline real world marketing.
Nothing, zero, zilch, niks! Nadda.
Nuttin.
I battled with this for months. I still
battle with this. I continually trip
myself up on the simplest of truths
about the Internet. And each time I do,
I catch myself and re-assess my
thinking.
The only commonality between Internet
Marketing and Marketing is the word. I
have tried to come up with a different
word for it, but then people don't or
don't want to understand - new words
these days are treated as jargon and
that's one thing that doesn't work with
or for me. All the best CEOs and
captains of industry I have ever met
have been remarkably jargon free people,
until they recite speeches written for
them by others. CEOs and MDs understand
the need for clear communication. They
understand the need for delivery of
results. They manage the doings and
goings on in their business and if the
jargon reaches their level, it's
normally reduced into plain English.
Internet Marketing has nothing to do
with you or your brand. At all. It has
everything to do with your website and
it's interaction with a visitor to that
site. It has everything to do with
understanding that single visitor
intimately and measurably to a degree
that offline market research can never
even vaguely approximate.
And most importantly, it has everything
to do with attracting that visitor to
your website at the lowest cost. A
number one ranking on Google is free.
You don't pay for it.
My latest re-assessment of Internet
Marketing goes as follows. Between the
keyboard and the computer monitor is
where Internet Marketing takes place. I
cannot control what people see. I cannot
control what sites they visit. I cannot
control what they are thinking about or
what they are looking for. I have NO
influence on them whatsoever. My website
counts for nothing if my intended
visitor does not find it. It is an
infinite expense - an un-necessary cost
with a zero rate of return.
It's tough to accept this without
question.
Try and find your own website on the
Internet - using one simple Internet
Marketing rule. If the word is not in
the (very) short pocket book Oxford
English dictionary, you may not use it
in trying to find your site. For
instance: 'Ashley Isham' is not in the
Pocket Oxford dictionary, but 'young
london fashion designer' is.
Here's the rub: If you are in financial
services, and your name is First
National Bank, typing in First National
Bank is not particularly useful - these
are people who already know about you!
That's the sign of success of your
sponsorships, TV, print and radio ads.
So you have to find yourself using the
words 'financial services' to assess
your Internet Marketing success...
When last were your log statistics
presented to you? What was the average
time spent on your site by visitors?
What did they look for? What did they
find? How did you appeal to them? How
much did they cost you? How much did you
make and what did you sell them? Did
they come back? Can you make contact
with them again? These are all questions
that can only be answered by Internet
Marketing.
much did they cost you? How much did you
make and what did you sell them? Did
they come back? Can you make contact
with them again? These are all questions
that can only be answered by Internet
Marketing.
