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Hi:
Re; Donna & Cheri's posts...
I see so many people in the same position. The general confusion regarding marketing online is a combination of several things, but perhaps the biggest factor is this;
Most "marketing gurus" today learned from the "old greats" that I also studied - some 30 years ago.
Fact is, the consumer marketplace has changed. When the old greats were great, men made most of the consumer buying decisions. Men bought stuff for themselves, for the house and for "the little woman."
The styles of selling that were taught, and have been passed down generation after generation worked when men were the buyers.
Today the number one spending demographic isn't males. It's women. Women make or influence 80% of all buying decisions today.
The group that spends most are working females aged 24-55, although that will be taken over by Boomer women before too long.
Women don't respond the same way men do.
A recent article in Business Week magazine said women "...are less likely to be influenced by ads. Today's woman is the chief purchasing agent of the family and marketers have to recognize that."
You'll find that many of the internet marketing 'gurus' who used to put out their pitch letters 2-4 times a month 5 years ago are now putting them out that many times a week. Ever wonder why?
Pair that up with the fact that most marketers treat the Internet like it's a direct marketing letter and it's a recipe for disaster. Direct marketing typically gets a 2% response rate if the letter is exceptionally good. Hitting the back button is even faster than the 98/100 that throw the printed letter in the trash.
I've redeveloped "salesletter" websites and increased the response every single time.
The trick, then, becomes to find someone that has knowledge and experience in layout and design, marketing in general, internet response patterns - and understands women's shopping patterns and behaviours.
There's not many of those folks around. Yet. Somehow, I suspect that as a new crop springs up, they'll be women and a few men that can learn - from women - how to market in today's environment.
: )
L
P.S. I'd love to be a 24/7 encyclopedia. My greatest buzz comes from teaching and helping others to succeed. And, with that suggested structure you came up with, I'm working on doing just that! Now if I could stay out of Adland a bit more, I'd get it done a LOT faster. lol
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