Seoza News October 18 2004 Number 420

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Contents

Tuning into Radio WII-FM

1. Cape Futurex Show & How To Profit In Competitive Internet Markets
2. Johannesburg (Bedfordview) Workshop dates 08.00 start

3. Admin Section

We didn't know what to expect from our involvement in the Cape Town Futurex show and William and I were very pleasantly surprised. Yes I'm afraid the  Cape seem to be streets ahead of their Joburg counterparts in understanding the power of the web and the need to get found and market to targeted customers

Next week is important ... insights into world trends in Internet use and buying on-line. This is fascinating intelligence just published in September 2004. Look out for this, do NOT miss this info .....

1. Cape Futurex Show & How To Profit In Competitive Internet Markets

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. u make contact with them again? These are all questions that can only be answered by Internet Marketing.