![]() |
Internet Marketing Information |
|
|
All Along the Digital Watchtower
It's no secret interactive (web-based) marketing has arrived. The IDC research group just released a study in late June of this year indicating 99.9% of a survey of executives and entrepreneurs said they currently conduct online marketing activities, or, are in the process of implementing or initiating some form of interactive marketing. The problem or challenge that many of these executives (marketing, management, etc.) and entrepreneurs (marketing, principals, etc.) have is how do they measure their online presence? Most interactive marketing types, whether they are agencies working for/with clients or in-house personnel, typically just measure a company's return for a specific process or period of time. Many never think to actively monitor what a company's competitive position is vis-ŕ-vis Search Engines or Directory Listings, the number of links they have pointing back to their web site or what type of "net buzz" is being generated (positive or negative) via the Usenet/Newsgroup community. In short, its digital warfare and the fog of war is obscuring the battle lines. Entrepreneurial competitive intelligence sounds like a real mouthful, or much more than it is. Basically it's using off-the-shelf tools (software or ASP services) to understand what your page 1-3 keyword rankings are versus:
Usenet/Newsgroups can in fact be an extremely valuable resource for unearthing competitive intelligence about a direct competitor's products or services; "Usenet/Newsgroup mining" certainly works well for United, IBM, Microsoft and many other corporations. These digital touch points fill in competitive intelligence gaps and you don't need to have an advertising budget in the 4-6-figure range complemented with a large staff to consistently monitor your competitive position. You can do much of this by hand, and/or use free tools offered by many of the search engines or portals (small plug: we offer a free and low cost Competitive Intelligence service via our web site). But, be forewarned, if you don't use some technology to leverage yourself, it can take a great deal of time to assess these metrics, but well worth the effort. In the end, you will know what your online market presence is and be armed with actionable business intelligence that enables you to understand how to maximize your marketing dollars by knowing where you need more of an online presence. And, most importantly as Sun Tzu once said, "if you know your enemy and yourself, you will win every battle." Sound advice from a master tactician who had no idea his pearls of wisdom would be shaping the digital age! About The Author Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience - he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.intelective.com a results-driven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies. Lee@intelective.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Internet-Marketing - Google News |
RELATED ARTICLES
The Free Viral Marketing Technique You Cant Afford to Pass Up Have you ever seen the movie "Pay it Forward"? This incredibly simple, yet effective viral method requires doing exactly the opposite; that is, paying it backward. Read on to see exactly what I mean. Marketing Trends from the Digital Frontlines The web and ways to market on the web continue to evolve at warp speed - we see some positive and negative changes occurring - our observations du jour:1. Publishers are finally starting to charge for branded content. 10 Ways To Get Your Ads Or Messages Noticed Do you post to message boards, e-mail discussion lists, classified ads sites, FFA sites or newsgroups? People will usually read the subject line before they read your ad or message, so it's important they get noticed. Below are ten simple, but powerful tips to get your ads or messages noticed. Internet Marketing Secrets Spiel Wouldn't you like to know all the Internet marketing "secrets" that have made me the man I am today?I live in a house way too big for my beautiful wife and myself. We eat three square meals a day and can snack anytime we feel like it! We drive our luxurious Cavalier to the beach and swim anytime we want (when I'm not busy making money on the Internet and the beach is not closed because of E. Internet: The Darling Of Business Internet has become indispensable in our lives. It has become the biggest source of communication and information for us. Beneath the Surface of Internet Marketing To most people Internet Marketing looks like a good way to make money from home, which is possibly the main reason while people start. The shame is that people like this don't realize that they are only scratching the surface. Ways To Outsell Your Competition Competition is fierce on the Internet. There are a multitude of people selling products that are similar to yours. Five Proven Methods for Internet Marketing Success There are hundreds of ways that you can promote your online business or website, some more effective than others. These five proven methods will help you to generate traffic to your site and also to generate income into your wallet. A Tip to the Beginning Entrepreneur: Know What Marketing Means Internet Marketing has been a buzzword for over a decade now, a short time by ordinary measure. And yet in terms of Internet reckoning, this is a very long time. 5 Ways to Educate Your Prospects for More Sales It's impossible to sell a product or service without demand - no matter how low the price or how big the discount.Education-Based Marketing creates demand by showing the prospects why they need your products and services, how to make intelligent buying decisions, and how to best use it after they buy. 5 Things More Important to Internet Buyers than WHAT Youre Selling II Web commerce is all about courtship, not salesmanship. In life, a suitor can't go from first date to the engagement ring in one afternoon. 6 Steps to Establish Your Expertise Like the Internet itself, online marketing resources such as blogs, chat rooms, and user groups are vast and puzzling. On one hand they offer that elusive "promise land" of free and effective marketing. If You Build It They Will Come - Not Without Web Marketing! I'm sure everybody has received an email from a company promising to get their website placed first on all the major search engines. Maybe some of you have even tried these services or may be thinking about it right now. How To Create an Offer Your Buyers Will Love With the creation of the Internet, it has become easier than ever to start a business, especially online.You can automate all of your business processes, and with a professionally done web site, you can have a 24/7 salesman handling most of the work for you. The Undeniable Value Of Differentiation With all the people offering products and services online, what sets yours apart from the crowd?You can't argue this, to succeed you need to differentiate yourself.Online businesses come and go every day and about 90% fail. How to Make Money from Your Website Using Advertising You have managed to get your website to that magical point where you have established popularity, traffic, loyalty and a community of fans. Your site contains a wealth of information, resources and services that you provide free because that's just the kind of person you are. Internet Marketing Strategies The right strategies to win a share of the Internet pieEvery move in life needs a sound strategy to succeed. Now that you are keen on making some serious money on the Internet, what you need is the right strategy to help you attain your goals. The Psychology of Online Selling Why do we buy things? Well, some thing are out of necessity; we need food and water to survive. But which food do we buy? You see we do have a choice, which means we make decisions to buy one kind of food against another. Look Smart Not Small Business Friendly There is a firestorm of negative press regarding LookSmart's recent marketing stumbles via numerous discussion groups, including two of the oldest and most influential, I-Search and I-Advertising Digests. Most of the critiques center on LookSmart's inability to develop viable programs for SMB/SME ("small to medium business or enterprise"), the difficulty in managing their new pay per click "Small Business Listings" advertising program, and their overall lack of customer service responsiveness. 10 Deadly Joint Venture Profit Killing Mistakes 1. Not sending out another mailingSending another mailing (to the subscribers who haven't bought) will often bring 50% or so of the previous response. |
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |