October 1995 edition
Contact: Paul Nolan, Editor
50 South 9th St.
Minneapolis MN 55402
800/328-4329
Internet Marketing! It's become the latest bandwagon
to jump on. In theory, it sounds great-- 30 million users worldwide who
can be reached without postage, paper and press runs.
And it truly is a wonder. From a home computer in a Boston suburb, I've
contacted the Capitol, the U.S. Information Agency in Manila. a dermatology
served in Nuremberg and a Japanese news agency server. (This tells you two
things: the "Global Village" is truly a reality, and I have some
eclectic interests.)
But enough with the "gee whiz, isn't technology wonderful?" stuff.
Before we get on the Internet Bandwagon, let's decide if the band is playing
a tune we can dance to. Yes, there are 30 million people surfing the World
Wide Web, but let's ask another question first: Are your customers out there?
Hold on a minute: Isn't that the same question I ask when I'm renting a
list? Or when I'm buying radio or television time? For some reason, marketers
have decided to stop asking the question when they jump on the net. They
also seem to have forgotten some of the other basics of direct marketing.
No Dull Copy
You have only a few seconds to get someone's interest at a web site.
It's the cyberspace equivalent of getting someone to open the envelope.
There are a lot of commercial Web sites that contain dry, lifeless copy
and graphics. No one wants to spend their online time reading your company
history or copy devoid of benefits and features. If it wouldn't make the
grade as conventional direct marketing advertising, it doesn't make it on
the Web.
If they're not direct response buyers to begin with, they're not going to
buy on the Web. It's safe to say that direct response buyers are a special
breed; they are used to buying without seeing the merchandise. Conversely,
if they're the kind of prospects that have to kick the tires before they
buy, they are not going to be any more inclined to buy in cyberspace than
they would be through the mail. And if they are a direct response buyer,
they're on your list or a competitor's rented list.
Despite all the talk about the computer revolution, the computer is still
not the household fixture that the TV or stereo is, The PC industry has
been trying for 156 years to market the idea of a home computer, and it
hasn't sold. (in fact, 1994 was the first year in which computers outsold
TVs in the U.S.) Most of the PCs and Macs out there are being used in business
by computer enthusiasts like me. and as glorified arcade games. (Why else
is it that your local software outlet has a bigger entertainment section
than productivity section?) This leaves a relatively small segment that
is going to have the equipment and initiative to go to your Web site (There
are an estimated 7 million Internet users in the United States.)
Unwelcome Solicitors
Folks on the Net are more sensitive to privacy issues than most. Want
proof? Look at the fuss that was created when America Online went to sell
their list of subscribers. Prodigy played upon this furor by advertising
that it doesn't rent its list of subscribers to anyone. While we're at it,
forget about conventional prospecting in cyberspace, sending sales pitches
to online user will get you nothing but hostility. In fact, the major online
services (Compuserve, America Online and Prodigy) specifically forbid it.
Also, the regulators are moving in. The trend is to treat cyberspace users
as broadcasters, and I have no doubt that within five years electronic marketers
will have to wrestle with similar regulatory burdens as conventional direct
marketers.
Should you be aware of the possibilities of the Internet? Absolutely! Does
the Internet have a future as a marketing resource? Of course. Do you have
to set up a Web site and FTP server? Only if you're in a business where
you have to be on the leading edge(if you have to ask, you aren't.) If,
like me, you market to middle America and live and die by the $30 order,
take your time. The only folks who are going to come to your Web site are
buyers you've already captured.
Conventional direct marketing will be
with us for some time yet. Twenty years ago, a pundit noted that
"the revolution will not be televised." For direct
marketers, it won't be in cyberspace either.