SiteCrafting Blah Blah Blog
Nov. 2, 2006 at 10:21am
The Web is not a Field of Dreams.
How to succeed on the Web by really, really trying
With apologies to the fine classic baseball movie…We can build it, but it doesn't mean "they" will come! I was having a conversation about this with a few people from SiteCrafting, who asked that I contribute my thoughts to the Blog.
It's long struck me that many new businesses have an idea (maybe even a decent business plan) but have very little idea about how to get their business out into the public eye. (Often, that's where ad agencies and marketing consultants come in.)
But the mentality that flipping the switch on an "open" sign is enough, and that marketing is an "extra" is bad enough with brick and mortar businesses. At least most of them realize that if you open a business on Main Street, you have to minimally let people know what kind of business is behind that glass door. Most put up a sign and/or some kind of window display. And for some, that's enough marketing and they do okay.
But the internet is very different. A lot of entrepreneurs feel that if their product or service is good enough, and if they build a good website (with the right meta tags and content) they'll get good search engine placement, and paying customers will follow. In essence their search engine listing becomes their sign and window display.
Even though the analogy is a little dated, the Internet really is more of a superhighway--it's sure not Main Street! Most users are speeding along looking for something specific. They're not cruising through your neighborhood reading the signs along the way, or reading beyond the first 4 or 5 listings on a Google results page.
If you want to get noticed on the internet, good marketing is more important than ever. No matter if you've got the greatest breakthrough product or service of all time. You have to let your target market know you exist, tell them what makes you better than your competition, and tell them where to find you.
Your business model and market should determine what kind of marketing you invest in. (And that's a whole different conversation). But the bottom line is this: building a website is just part of the journey toward success. Without a well thought out marketing plan, it's likely that success on the internet will just remain a dream.
Posted in Deep Thoughts, Marketing by Scott Nelson
Comments (1)
Remember kids: A dream is a wish your heart makes when it is fast asleep ;)
1 | Left by RR Anderson | Nov. 2, 2006 at 12:34pm