The Four Shifts In Marketing Caused By The Internet

No one would disagree that the Internet has changed the way we all view marketing. After 25 years in traditional advertising, marketing and brand building, most of which was spent watching the degeneration of the ad agency model as centric to the marketing process, I now wake up in the mornings with the knowledge that I am ahead.

Let me repeat. I am ahead. And for all those still in the ad agency world I just want to say, I am ahead.

Why? How?

My company has pioneered an Internet Marketing strategy, better labeled as a process known as Non Linear Internet Marketing or NLIM. NLIM is the process of delivering ever increasing, qualified traffic to a targeted website without the use of a Search Engine or Pay Per Click Advertising or Traditional Media.

We use the Internet to deliver traffic to the Internet. What has caused this to be so effective are four major shifts that have occurred in the marketing world. It is imperative for marketers to understand why their jobs are in danger or at least in danger of changing dramatically. Drive traffic to our website, is the order of the day.

Understanding why that is the order of the day comes from identifying and understanding the four fundamental shifts in marketing caused by the Internet.

SHIFT 1 From Advertising to Marketing
Marketing was the naturual evolution of a mediated nation. As media began to spread nationally with radio, television and print in the 1950s, the cost of selling goods took on national boundaries. This meant companies creating new products for sale had much higher associated costs of sales. Higher costs meant more risk. When risk increases, companies become more focused on what they are doing to make money. This focus caused corporations to employ research that told them what the American public wanted; before the product was manufactured. Once a need or desire was identified, the risk of creating a product that met the need was greatly reduced, especially if no other company was doing anything to meet the identified need.

Marketing became the order of the day. Companies who had Vice Presidents of Advertising suddenly had Vice Presidents of Marketing. After all, the number one job of management is to make things predictable according to Peter Drucker. As time evolved, all the major needs and desires of the American consumer were met. Identifying new markets became increasingly difficult. Marketing devolved into a misnomer. It became the process of coordinating sales and advertising and events and public relations. But, identifying opportunities and needs disappeared. There was nothing new under the sun, after all.

The other day, we discovered there were 130,000 searches a month for sausage pizza on the Internet and guess what? There were precious few companies competing for that traffic. A need was identified that no company was aggressively pursuing to fulfill. Our client is much the wiser now. So the circle is complete. The Internet allows us to identify pent up demands with varying degrees of competition. Find a need with relatively low competition for Internet visibility and then simply do the math of Non Linear Internet Marketing to determine how much effort is required to reach targeted sales goals.

SHIFT 2 Content to Connectivity
In the old, traditional media world, there were three television choices: ABC, NBC and CBS. On the weekends, there was one college football game, one pro football game and Heidi to choose from. Sometimes, Heidi even supplanted football. In that world, content is what attracted the eyeballs. This is no longer the case. Now, every website can sell advertising.

If it quacks like a duck, its a good chance its a duck. Every company with a website is now in the media business and every business needs qualified eyeballs. The problem is attracting those eyeballs. With 6 million additional pages indexed by the Search Engine world every day, the Internet will grow to unfathomable numbers. That means it will become harder, not easier to attract the eyeballs. To do so, content is less important. What counts is connectivity: how many places does your link show up and how many places on the Internet can people hear, see, read about you that will cause them to come to your site and eventually buy what you are selling.

Look at the shift to connectivity as a billboard advertising campaign for your city. Your city has roads and highways and intersections that have varying degrees of traffic. So does the Internet. If you could place a billboard at every intersection of your city, you would create a unavoidable awareness for your company. The Internet is no different except that you are dealing with millions of potential intersections and many of them are free and many more millions are waiting for you to create them.

Part of NLIM demands that you create your own intersections, but that is the subject of another article. This shift to connectivity can be seen in cultural phenomenas, like Myspace and Youtube. Content does not exist except for the purpose of connecting people through a common experience or a common set of beliefs.

SHIFT 3 Quality to Quantity
Spelling no longer matters. Spelling is the linchpin of the old world values which are based on the somewhat antiquated concept known as quality. What was the ubiquitous Ford slogan of the last 20 years? Quality is job 1? See where the Ford stock is lately?

In the traditional world of a few TV and radio stations, the standard of quality for what was sent out was very particular and strictly enforced. In the new world of Connectivity, the emphasis is on quantity. Why? Because its not even important whether or not your spelling is correct as long as the link is listed properly.

Email and text messaging will place things like LOL into Websters dictionary in the not too distant future. Why? Because we are able to communicate to more people more often which means we have to IM ASAP. If you dont know what I just said, you are over 35, which makes you an alien to this plan; literally.

Communication is defined in every Communications 101 class on every college campus as a message with a sender and a receiver. It was always assumed that quality was inherent in the message. No longer. Blogs are replacing traditional news sources such as NBC and the New York Times. And most of those blogs are filled with grammatical and spelling mistakes. No one cares. Ask a 20 year old if they read the newspaper and they laugh. Ask them if they watch TV while they are watching TV and they will look up at you from their computer which has 99 percent of their attention; while they are watching TV.

Multi tasking has taken root in all our communications because we are inundated with opportunities to connect to people and websites through our computers. The need for this shift is underscored when you consider the rapid expansion of the web.

SHIFT 4 From Demographics to Words
The most compelling shift in the marketing world involves the queen mother of all marketing icons: demographics. This is easy to understand. If you were responsible for marketing pools, which would you rather have, a TV commercial viewed by a woman 25 to 49, your target demo, or anyone, regardless of gender or age who clicks over to your website? Most products and services have targeted demographics but in reality, those products and services are experiencing great shifts in the targeted demographic anyway.

Take automobiles for example. Just 20 years ago, car dealers laughed at the idea of selling a car to a woman. Then, 10 years ago they laughed at selling cars over the Internet. When someone fills out a form of interest on the Internet, the car salesman doesnt care if its a woman or a man. Its a lead, period.

As our society has become more complex, as vanilla and chocolate has evolved right past 31 flavors to include whatever the imagination can create, as pepperoni pizzas have evolved to include pineapple and chicken, so has the concept of targeted demographics evolved.

In fact, if you look closely enough, those targeted demographics only exist in the traditional media. On the Internet, its about what words you want to own. Word ownership is not something you will hear much about unless you begin to explore the methodology of Non Linear Internet Marketing. All traffic moves on the Internet based on words. Those words take people from site to site. Those words are what the battle for Internet Visibility is all about.

What words do you want to own?

Switch to Satellite Internet to Experience High Speed Internet

Millions of people in United States are still unable to get cable or DSL Internet. The reason behind this situation is that they are living in a community that does not have access to high speed Internet. Satellite internet is an ideal way to access the Internet for a small monthly amount. Satellite Internet is a better way to get high speed Internet than dial up or cable Internet. Nowadays, broadband satellite Internet service can be affordable to everyone as most satellites’ plans are befitted to everyone’s budget. All of the home schools, online classes and offices require high speed internet.

Instead of long commutes for work, satellite Internet allows you the probability of living where you want to and work from the comfort of your home. Satellite internet allows you to install the satellite your self and save money. You can update the firmware for your MP3 player or your ipod, watch TV shows right from your computer, or listen to the Internet radio from your computer. When installation is complete, entire information goes from the satellite straight to your computer.

Over 90% of satellite internet customers are using the Internet and have been completely satisfied. Satellite internet provides ubiquitous, single platform solution that allows customers to manage their high speed platform needs effectively. Everyone is living at different location; therefore satellite internet service providers offer different levels of solutions. These solutions include simple high speed Internet access to super high speed with the freedom of wireless access, be it for personal use at home or commercial use at office.

There are numerous satellite internet providers are available out there, so if you are looking to buy satellite internet, then search online. You will find thousands of satellite internet service providers that offer high speed internet at affordable price. So, don’t be left out or keep your slow internet service. Get on with the satellite internet and experience a new world of speed and reliability.

Cosmosatellite offers various unlimited satellite internet plans for both personal as well as commercial use. Cosmosatellite is renowned for providing high-speed way satellite internet at affordable price.

Compare Internet Phone Provider Pricing First before Calling Friends and Family This Holiday

If you won’t be visiting India for the holidays this year, you can still have lots of opportunities to connect with friends and families using one of the many internet calling services that specialize in international long distance. In fact, rates have never been lower. However, with a wide variety of pricing options, calling plans, and promotions it can be somewhat confusing to determine what the best service is for your specific needs. It definitely pays to comparison shop and to make sure that you understand all of the fees and restrictions before you sign up with any provider. Here are a few of the best options for calling to India.

MediaRing Talk

With a rate of 1.7 US cents a minute and no connection fees or hidden charges, MediaRing Talk has the lowest rate for making PC to phone calls to India. PC to PC calls are free. The company currently has over 2.6 million users and is particularly popular with consumers who want an easy-to-use service for calling anywhere in the world that requires no monthly subscription. The service also offers additional features including instant messaging with presence and multi-user voice conferencing which can be extremely useful around holiday time for impromptu family phone get-togethers.

MediaRing Talk is able to offer this low rate because it utilizes a unique business model that derives income primarily through non-intrusive display advertising. Many industry experts are predicting that this ad revenue model will eventually be adopted by other internet phone providers if they want to remain competitive. In the meantime, MediaRing Talk’s innovative approach has made it among the best options for individuals wanting an inexpensive and flexible solution for calling India.

Skype

Undoubtedly, Skype is the most famous and ubiquitous internet phone provider. Like MediaRing Talk, it also offers free PC to PC calls, instant messaging, and voice conferencing. It also includes free video calls for those who have webcams.

For calling landline or mobile phones in India, Skype has two billing options. Their “Pay As You Go” plan allows users to purchase Skype Credit. Rates to India start at 9.2 US cents a minute plus a connection fee of 3.9 US cents a call. For frequent callers to India, they also offer subscriptions that start at $14.95 for 300 minutes of calls per month.

Besides long distance calling, Skype includes a variety of premium services including voice mail, call forwarding, and an online number to allow others to call you from a landline or mobile phone to reach you on Skype.

Lingo

Lingo is another internet phone provider that offers an inexpensive option for calling India. Per minute rates to India are 2.9 cents per minute. The company heavily promotes its World Max subscription plan that advertises a price of $4.95 for unlimited calls to over 80 countries including India. Besides unlimited calls, the plan includes voicemail, caller ID with name, call forwarding, caller ID block, 3-way calling, and a variety of other services.

However, with this plan, it’s important to read the small print. After the first month, the plan’s rate jumps to $23.95 per month. They also charge an activation fee and a $99.95 disconnection fee for cancelling your subscription before the two year contract has been completed.

Lingo is a good option if you want to primarily use an internet phone service instead of a landline and if you make regular calls to India or other global destinations. It might not be the best choice though if you are prone to frequently changing internet phone providers or if you only make occasional internet phone calls.

Vonage

Vonage is often just thought about as a provider of low-cost domestic phone service, but they also offer an affordable rate plan that includes unlimited calls to 38 countries. For just over $35.00 per month including service fees, users can make calls to both landlines and mobile phones in India. It’s important to note that there is an activation fee of $29.95 that must be paid the first month of service. Like with Lingo, Vonage can save considerable money for those who make a large number of international calls.

MediaRing Talk, Skype, Lingo, and Vonage all offer low-cost calls to India and other features that can be extremely useful when trying to stay connected with loved ones overseas. There are also a growing number of other internet phone providers to choose from. The key, though, is to compare prices and plans to determine the right provider for your particular usage pattern. This will enable you to maximize the money you spend on long distance and provide you with the most satisfaction from your service provider.

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