LIVING LARGE IN THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE
Its amazing how times have changed. Its even more amazing how the rules of the game are changing at a rapid rate. Since I have turned against the traditional roads of marketing I got to tell you that I am enjoying the fruits of freedom.
I believe that in 2010 people are more impatient than ever.
In 2009 we lost two major newspapers - the Ann Arbor News and the Oakland Press. We also lost The Phenomenews paper that reported on all things related to mind, body and spirit. As troubling as these events were little has changed on the local front. Retail stores still struggle to get the word out about their businesses...... Without the support of the newspapers the other logical choice would be to run side by side with the Yellow Pages....
This is a grim proposition. It is tough to stand out against so many similar listings. This is true for just about every industry.
GOOGLE VS THE SEARCH ENGINES
Getting a thumbs up in the Kawsasaki ATV Parts market is tough these days. There are roughly 15,000,000 competing pages on the web. Getting noticed in the motor sports industry is getting tougher than ever. That is why a lot of them are doing pay per click to stay out there in the public eyes. For some companies this is an ideal choice.
Google PPC accounts have been reported to drop over the recent weeks. In fact, a lot of these accounts were reported to be "kicked out" of the system. This leaves the advertisers in search of greener pastures... literally. Keep in mind that a good 86% of the online public prefers to rely on organic searches on the web. The choice for these advertisers may be to start creating organic online marketing campaigns.
If you can't rely on the PPC system to take care of you whats left.... the Yellow Pages? Maybe. Over the last few months the Yellow Pages has been making strides to do a little "video" for the retail store owners. This is nothing compared to the magnitude of "Viral Marketing" where it is possible to create 40,000 online links in just a few months as opposed to.... 2-10 ... tops with the "other guys".
Kawasaki parts dealers are better off using organic SEO to help propel their companies on the web. It may be their only option. The newspapers are not coming back anytime soon. In a way its very depressing yet... at the same time, very uplifting.
Google is picking up in popularity -- and print.... in general, is dead. Thats what I am told constantly when I meet retail store owners. And seriously, on the street, (and that is where I spend 80% of my time) nobody is forking over money on stamps to do mailing campaigns.
ONLINE MARKETING IS CHANGING TOO
Whenever I hear the buzzwords for "Webinar" I get nervous. That is usually a red flag for the following.... It means that people who love meetings, (but rarely buy) will be stealing time from me before they make a commitment. I think that level of marketing is finished too to an extent.
It used to be like this....
1. Soft Launch - webinar, phone calls
2. Pre-Launch - webinar part 2, phone calls, teleseminar
3. Drip Campaign - Mail, and drive people to a "Squeeze Page"
Now I think you just need an idea, a sales letter, and maybe a power point and thats it. You don't need to wait weeks upon weeks to get your point across. I find that people who like structure and "meetings" are usually cash poor to begin with.
I don't have time to entertain these people. I need to find motivated individuals who want to become customers at some level... and they are out there.
So this level of online marketing has also collapsed. Sad but true.
2010 will be a year of great impatience, a year of speed, and a year of significance. You will need to know what you want. You will have to choose sides and pick your fights quickly.
And in 2010, you had better learn how to sell.
The job "scene" has greatly deteriorated.
There is too much opportunity out there. Opportunity is not the problem. The real issue is that many entrepreneurs out there have absolutely no clue how to build value and sell their goods.
Times up....
Ted Cantu posted this Dec 31, 2009 -
