I know I harp on this subject but I do it for a reason. I have seen far too many SMB’s (small and medium business) run out full speed and headlong into the brick wall of Internet marketing without a helmet. You know what the result of that is? Pain and confusion. Why put yourself through that? There are options to help make the move into effective online marketing activities that are best suited for the particular market and the SMB’s capabilities. These options require some things that are sometimes in short supply with SMB’s: patience, investment and planning.
So is there some magic potion that the SMB should be taking to magically transform their business from a Yellow Pages mindset to that of the online world? Nope. There’s nothing magical at all. In fact, it’s just practical. It’s called research.
Now, if you are an SMB yourself reading this I will tell you to stop saying you don’t have enough time. We got that already. It’s an old tape that is wearing thin. In fact, it has moved from being a fact to a whine. No one wants to hear it. Get over yourself and your busy life.
If you are a service provider you need to listen too because this is one area that Internet marketing services providers are woefully deficient in. Doing considerable up front research will keep you from having ticked off clients. When you “cookie-cutter” Internet marketing offerings because you are trying to scale your business the big loser is the client. If you can’t customize a delivery to fit a client’s real needs you should not take the business. It’s that simple.
I am going to talk more about the research aspect of Internet marketing in upcoming posts. This is an important topic and it needs to be addressed in a real fashion. Otherwise you just get more of the same: SMB’s looking for a silver bullet and Internet marketing service providers shooting blanks.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I would love to see more content on market research and target market segmentation, not so much on keyword research and how to do that but more on what tools to use and where can I find specific targeted market data. As well as, shopping habits, trends and etc. to help with reaching and targeting specific customers better.
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Thanks fr the feedback Joyce. There is a heavy emphasis on keyword research because it is important but I agree that there is no need for more information In fact, I think it is the easiest one to get to (not the easiest to do but the most available) but even KW research should have business data behind it and not just numbers of searches etc.
I appreciate you stopping by and giving your thoughts!