A Lesson for Web Marketers: Forget About Cool and Think About the Consumer

By • Nov 17th, 2009 • Category: internet marketing

Cool Marketing GuyA couple of weeks ago I informally polled my newsletter readers to find out how they *really* feel about web marketing. It’s been pretty clear to me for a while that small business owners and other entrepreneurs just aren’t “getting” the Internet. They’re interested in it. They know it’s a happening place. And they’re keen to learn more about how to make money online. But the fact remains that 10 years post-dot-com-boom-bust, business folks remain overwhelmed, confused and downright jaded by the Internet economy.

What’s more, many who themselves provide web marketing services are jaded. They are tired of being associated with the hype, and truly, they just want clients and the business world at large to respect the process, ever-changing as the protocols might be. (What was the Internet like before twitter and Facebook?).

Do We Need a Third Tribe or a Third Dynamic?

The community at Copyblogger might call this group of marketers the Third Tribe. That’s cool, though I prefer *not* to pontificate over which tribe I belong to or don’t belong to. Rather, I think a lot about how I deliver marketing to my clients, and how I market my own business. I tend toward what I call the “Third Dynamic.” Something you’ll be hearing more about soon ….

So what of this sorry state of affairs insofar as consumers of marketing are concerned? And should I as a marketer accept that smoke and mirrors is what makes my industry sexy–that it’s what gets me more clients? I’m all for sexy; I ain’t for BS.

My survey results, while taken from an admittedly small sample size, do speak volumes. They also align perfectly with what I see everyday in my business, online and off, in talking with business owners on the phone, on the forums, on the microblogs, in person. A survey, however, is just so raw and inviting though, much as the question I posed which was this (and this is exactly how it was stated in my newsletter):

“WHAT’S YOUR MOST BURNING QUESTION -OR EVEN ANNOYANCE- WITH THE WEB MARKETING SCHTICK?”

Yes, there was some suggestiveness to my question. Whatever. I felt pretty safe in assuming that most biz folk have annoyances with the web marketing gig. Anyway, check out what some of my readers had to say in their state-of-the-union questions and commentaries:

“One of my biggest annoyances has to do with SEO and those who guarantee that it’ll be an almost instant success. *sigh*

I become frazzled with clients who wonder why no one is coming to their site despite having just launched it yesterday.

And a burning questions {of sorts} for your manifesto: How SHOULD someone measure the success of their online/web/internet marketing efforts?”

Dawn Martinello, MondayMorningVA.com

“Dilution. Everyone wants to be a so-called expert without necessarily taking the time to be 100% informed or trained. They muddy the waters with half of the story or even down-right bad advice and worst of all people pay for this. I’ve seen this damage businesses when the business owner invests their own time and resources, trusting that they are in capable hands and coming to find out it has been a waste of time because the information is not current, up to date, or correct.

Having an expert who truly is an expert, with real results, real education, and who is fully informed is invaluable!”

Maggie Ruch, AdvancedVirtualAssisstantServices.com

“My biggest annoyance is all the ‘hype’ emails — they’re formatted basically the same, with the same ‘we are so great’ message and it’s hard to determine who is credible and who is not. They provide testimonials and other stats as their proof, but one really doesn’t know how true these are. And the ‘gurus’ are all pushing the same thing — use this same format, same basic wording, etc (and even the same products). It’s hard to sift through all the hype and find a true expert. And then there’s information overload…!

I only recently discovered your site and resources. I enjoy them very much – very informative!” [Aaw, thanks!]

Kerry Mueller

“You have nailed it right on the head. I provide Social Media Marketing and Blog Marketing. I guarantee I will increase traffic to clients sites by Social Media Marketing and Blog Marketing; however, I do not guarantee their website visitors will convert into customers and I don’t promise immediate results. It takes work and patience to see results. I ask that they fill out a Client Questionnaire to get us both on the same page re expectations and clarifications. And I give them a report on their website and how well it is set up with a ‘call to action’ and communicates their brand and their products/services and their SEO.

I always follow other marketers to learn more tips and tricks. But I also get bombarded with marketers who have all those ‘sure fire’ tips to give away with many ‘catches’ and their constant bombardment to ‘share their secrets’ for a price. I have gotten to the point that ‘I disbelieve’ more than ‘I believe’ and since they all use nearly the same huge ‘guaranteed’ promises (squeeze pages), hype and undefined solutions, I probably wouldn’t recognize a ‘genuinely’ good offer if I saw it. I even tend to disbelieve all the testimonials they provide. And what about the web designers? I have found that many have created websites the clients want but neglected to optimize their sites (which I think is part of their job).

That’s my bitching for the day!” [You're not bitching at all. You're explaining your frustrations as a consumer of marketing.]

Diane L. Coville, AlternativeOfficeAssistance.com

“My biggest annoyance is the idea that web design is easy and that anyone can do it. When someone asks me how much does it cost to put up a website and I start asking questions about their expectations and needs, they shoot back with ‘just tell me how much you charge per page.’ What do they think goes on when a website is built? I know it isn’t just what it looks like or how it reads; those are but two of the many elements that go into a web design.

I tell prospective clients the type of web designs I make and show them examples. It’s not easy, and not just anyone can do it. That’s my biggest annoyance.”

Barbara Rowen, VirtuallyEverything.net

“My question is ‘How do you get other sites to add your website link to their site without it costing a fortune?’”

Sue Risser, SueRisser.ca

[Who told Sue that it costs a fortune to get back links to your website? Hmm...]

And here are some comments from subscribers who shall remain anonymous (unless they give me permission to post their name/URL):

“Great job on dialoging with your community. Always enjoy your updates.

In regards to the ‘web marketing schtick’ here are a couple of thoughts.

Being in marketing myself, I see too often the offer of the ‘promise’ that Internet Marketing and Social Media Marketing are the ‘end-alls’ that will fix your business, make you millions and ‘that you donâ??t have to do a thing.’ Internet marketing and social media marketing is not the ‘one size fits all’ solution.

With most of our clients in the B2B realm, we integrate Internet Marketing and Social Media Marketing with traditional advertising, PR, print collateral, trade show and seminar participation as well as other ‘face to face’ opportunities. The small business owner needs to look at a ‘holistic approach’ to marketing and integrate new technologies and marketing strategies where appropriate.

Thanks for the opportunity for feedback. Keep up the good work.”

“Really enjoy your content, although I must say, I struggle with keeping up with my reading.

My most burning question/annoyance has got to be SEO and all of the hoopla surrounding it. One camp is trying to sell us all of these secrets to getting web traffic without earning it, while the search engines themselves are doing everything in their power to make sure that SEO doesn’t work — in other words, making sure that sites which don’t deserve hits, don’t get to the top of their lists. I think what is often lost is that SEO without paying attention to the message is just nonsense. Even if we can achieve a short-lived windfall of customers coming to our site, if we have nothing to keep them there (or if our ploy failed to get the right customers to visit us) then the windfall was an empty success. SEO does not equal MARKETING!

Keep up the good work!”

Gee, ya think us Internet marketers have some work to do?

The voice of hype–and maybe our voice as marketers period–seems to be drowning out the good stuff. Are we really listening to what consumers of web marketing want? More importantly, are we hearing what they need?

What say you about the state of web marketing today? Leave your (honest) comments below. It’s important.

  • http://www.kimiweb.com Kim Taylor

    I think my biggest annoyance w/SEO is the attitude of many professional SEO-ers. They can be very condescending to individuals who are trying to learn more about SEO and even to perspective clients. The truly good SEO’s don’t often share their “secrets” and so the internet is full of misinformation, often taken as gospel by people reading the articles. Since online marketing is a relatively new industry, I think SEO’s should take more time to educate their clients. (You are doing a great job of that Karri!) Even though sometimes the effort will be wasted, we can’t expect people with little knowlege of the internet to automatically understand and grasp a marketing tool that is still evolving.

  • http://www.brmwebconsulting.com/blog Benedict

    I think that the web is still really in Gold Rush fever. We have so many hopeful but inexperienced prospectors that there is still a huge market for wizzardry, secret maps, snake oil and cheap spades.

    Any area takes time and experience to develop. No one in their right mind would build an aeroplane or house without involving some seriously bespetacled and bearded fellows but they are prepared to build a sales process with no plans whatsoever.

    I was asked yesterday how much it cost to build an e-commerce site. I said how long is a piece of string? I suggested that he build some plans and then a real quote could be generated. His answer was that Wellington didn’t go into battle with any plans and that’s how he beat Napoleon. Ummm?

    Wellington collected and trained his Generals and troops very well. He knew what his options were and he had not one plan but several contingencies too. W was able to be confident that his troops would stand under fire, advance when required and wheel to the left to take advantage wen it presented. That is a great plan.

    Someone will build this man’s website. Will his web sales outlet work? Will customers enjoy the process? I think not. Of course he will blame the internet for the failure. The ‘developer’ will feel happy that he did what he was asked to do so and he has the cash. No one wins but there will be another eager prospector in line…

    :-)

  • Karri

    Well said @Benedict.

    The string analogy is fantastic, and makes me think of a (really) old post I wrote over at Search Engine Guide: How Much Will it Cost to Get More Traffic to My Website?

    Of course, the flip side to marketers who don’t think too deeply about the client are clients without a willingness to engage in and own their marketing. We facilitate marketing – we don’t work miracles.

    @Kim I hear you re the high and mighty ;) We must be willing to have meaningful dialog with those who consume our marketing services. The web marketing industry can feel a bit incestuous at times, no?

  • http://www.brmwebconsulting.com/blog Benedict

    Hi Karri

    I agree fully.

    Clients not wanting to be part of the process (other than to pay a low fee) are the real problem here. If clients become more part of the process then the flim flam providers will find themselves on thinner ground and fade away. Plus, better involved clients create better profits.

    That is the whole reason for my business – to educate clients in what and how to create a Sales Flow rather than simply how to turn on WordPress and OS Commerce.

    :-)