The difference between marketing and internet marketing
I want to share some very interesting observations which I have made about marketing on the internet. The first thing which strikes me about internet marketing is its definition. What constitutes internet marketing? Is it SEO? Is it the Google pay per click, AdWords, AdSense and related stuff? Is it a geek thing which is better left to a web site designer? It is difficult to put your finger on it and say this is it. In fact there is a certain lack of form and body which can be recognized as internet marketing.
What about traditional marketing? Conventional marketers are a totally different species. For them internet marketing is anathema. There seems to be no element of marketing which is recognizable to them – I mean the 4 P’s- Price, Placement, Promotion and Product.
Obviously the twain don’t meet. And the end result which we see is that website designers become de-facto internet marketers. And who are the website designers- erstwhile coders who know nothing about user behavior. What we get is therefore what we deserve – a website which says nothing and an internet marketing campaign which doesn’t go beyond some generally accepted misconceptions. One of the requests I get from my clients is to provide a title on their home page which says “Five great reasons why you must buy XXX “, or “ Twenty secrets of NNNN” as if mentioning numbers is a kind of mantra which will attract clients . Other than this teaser, internet is bereft of ideas . This is an outcome which is neither good for the internet nor for marketing.
The four P’s of marketing
The basic tenets of marketing don’t change whether it is the internet or traditional channel. Product, Price, Promotion and Placement are the 4 P’s on which marketing principles are based. The product is the beginning of all sales. You must ensure that whatever you do is first class. If you try and sell junk on the internet, you will be exposed within no time. The anonymity of the internet cannot save you. Unfortunately, most of us don’t understand this or don’t want to understand it. I am aghast at the hundreds of scams being run on the internet, most of them claiming to make you a millionaire in a few days- come on, does it seem possible? But even smart guys like us fall for it. Maybe greed or get rich quick mentality or whatever. But we fall for it anyway. I would suggest that you look at the product and judge according to its merit. If someone says that he or she became a millionaire selling xyz and is ready to reveal the secret for a few dollars, there is certainly something wrong somewhere. Why would anyone earning millions let you into the secret? Will you?
The product is the most important aspect of marketing. You must be able to project the positive aspects of your product clearly and objectively. Don’t make tall claims. State the advantages and let your reader evaluate. Here again, I meet clients who want to make their product look like something which it is not. There are those who want to understate everything lest it seems like a pushy sales guy selling his wares. We need to have a balance. Sparkling copy with some home truth mixed in the right proportion. Still, I keep reminding everyone- your product should be the focus. Rest will follow. Your SEO, your keywords, your copy – everything must speak about your product.
With great web pages optimized to attract the search engines you will climb to number one ranking but if the reader doesn’t get impressed with your product, you will never make a sale. This is the most important lesson of marketing or traditional marketing and remains constant even for the internet. Make no mistake about it.
Another great misfortune which we embrace with open arms is the web designer. We expect him to be some kind of a magician who will open the golden gate and flood you with riches. It is just the opposite. A web designer knows nothing about marketing. It is simply not his job. He has never been trained for selling. To me, a geek is the worst salesman ever. I am sure most of us have made this mistake of handing over our internet marketing to a web designer.
But what is the alternative. There is no professional course or degree on internet marketing. Then how do we choose a marketer for out internet venture? I yet do not have any answers. Today, as things stand, we must be our own marketers. And not let our web designer become an internet guru for us.
