What a great topic, Emile.
Ten years ago there was a lot of hype about the “New Economy”. Well, it’s here now and it’s creating many more and bigger changes than we ever imagined back then. We’re already seeing them.
One of the best books on this subject is What Would Google Do by Jeff Jarvis. I advise everyone who hasn’t read this book to go to Amazon and get it immediately. It’s like a bible for the New Economy, which can now just be called The Economy.
It’s here. Get used to it. Learn to prosper from it. Learn how to avoid being run over by it.
Today one disgruntled blogger can undo millions of dollars of advertising in a few days and bring Fortune 500 companies to their knees. This is revolutionary stuff. As more and more customers use the web to research products before they buy, Push Marketing (tv, radio, print, billboards) is being replaced by a two-way conversation.
A few years ago, if you searched for information about Dell Computers, right under the company’s own website you would have found a website called dellsucks.com. This one blog attracted so many visitors and cost Dell so much business they had to completely change their entire marketing strategy and actually begin to LISTEN to their customers.
Today marketing is about dialogue. What will this do to traditional ways of advertising and marketing? We’re already seeing the changes. More and more advertising dollars are moving to the web. Newspapers and magazines are going out of business. There are painful changes here for those who are not nimble and still don’t get the New Economy. There are fantastic opportunities for those who do.
Small businesses can now compete with large Fortune 500 companies and eat their lunch. How much you spend on advertising and how flashy, funny and attention-grabbing your Super Bowl spots are is no longer as important as the value you actually provide to your prospects. This is an enormous change.
Today one of the best ways to advertise and market your company, products and services is to offer truly valuable information or product samples for free. This is how you begin the dialogue. If the information or product samples are truly valuable, more valuable than the competition, you can easily convert your generous offer into hard cash, and lots of it. And this isn’t a one-time deal. You keep making generous offers until you have a devoted customer for life. And you always go the extra mile to provide fantastic customer service, always exceeding any expectations.
Yes, it’s hard work. But the web will reward you many times over. And failing to do this can cost you big time, as Dell and many other large companies all too painfully discover.
Small companies have a distinct advantage. The Internet has leveled the playing field. Because small companies are closer to their customers and can act far quicker than large companies, this will always result in a financial advantage for those who are paying attention. In today’s Internet Age, changes happen at the speed of light. If you want to be successful, you have to keep up. You have to keep changing too.
My own company website is a good example of this. We offer tons of valuable information and marketing resources absolutely free. Our free 44 page Special Report: 5 Things You Must Do Today To Instantly Increase Your Online Sales . . . Especially In This Tough Recession brings in targeted traffic, proves to our prospects that we know what we’re talking about, and helps convert a very high percentage of visitors.
You can download the free Special Report and check out all the other resources on our website.
http://www.studio525.com
The Special Report offers many specific ways to put the changes in the New Economy to your financial advantage and avoid the common mistakes that will leave you in the dust.
May we all turn the changes in the New Economy to our advantage.
Good luck and good selling,
Peter
Peter Cutler
Principal/Creative Director
Studio 525
http://www.studio525.com