Internet marketing now versus in the future

August 9, 2006 – 7:30 am

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I know we can’t predict the future, but we can always speculate. That’s part of the fun of being human. And I have to tell you, I can’t imagine that the way things are going right now will be the way things are in the future. Personally, I think most of “search” is a doomed concept, and I’d encourage anyone to spend more time learning viral marketing than SEO. But I say that, and in a way I’m being hypocritical, because I still make most of my money using these “outdated ideas”, and a very small percentage is coming in through new means.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the whole internet business is changing. It always has been, since the earliest days, and it probably always will. Because the internet is one market that I think of as “hyper-competitive”. You have a world full of brilliant people who have very little barriers to entry, and you better believe they’re launching internet ideas all day, every day. No way will this target stay still.

So if you are still trying to survive in an outmoded paradigm, might I suggest you start tap-dancing right now and try to save yourself? There’s still time. In the next few years a number of new disciplines will likely emerge from the tattered remains of their predecessors. Whatever they look like, exactly, won’t matter. What will matter is that you stay on top of it, for the sake of expanding your business. If you don’t, you’ll face a shortage of customers.

The best thing for any business )(online or off) to do is to execute for their paying customers. Making your regulars come back time and again is the surest road to profitablity. If you always have to market to get new people, your advertising costs will stay high. Word of mouth from satisfied customers is always you best route. Rather than spend 10 minutes today working on “Search engine marketing”, I suggest you double check your customer systems and try to improve people’s experience in ordering from you. I feel that will give you a greater boost than spending time on attracting new prospects.

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