There seems to be a debate amongst many marketers (I really do prefer the term marketer—it reminds me off Willy Wonka!) between the proponents of internet marketing and classical marketing strategies. The argument is heated and peoples’ businesses are at stake, so it is important to understand both sides of the debate, the pros, the cons, and those involved.

The fact is that marketing is a field which is ever changing, often subjective, sometimes unquantifiable, and is dabbled with psychology and sociology. The field is arguably as old as mankind, but in its current form, with highly analytical and scientific notions, it is easily dated back to the industrial revolution. Any one of these facets would understandably make for a debatable subject, but all together, the mix makes for a messy, messy situation.

In my years working for a street-level/guerrilla-esque marketing firm, I heard over and over, “Sure internet’s great, but it takes too much time,” “SEO takes months or even years to bring results, and business owners don’t understand how to wait that long to see a return,” or most nasty of all, “No matter what happens in the advertising world, they’re always going to need us.”

I also spent my share of time involved with a web marketing group in my early years. There the statements ranged from “There just isn’t anything as cost effective or as worthwhile as SEO and web marketing’” to “Web marketing can do everything that other forms of marketing can do cheaper, better, more strategically, and with more traceable results.”

I challenge these attitudes. Neither marketing tactic replaces the other, and there are many scenarios in which either medium alone falls short. Take these two examples, and see what sort of strategies you would propose:

1. A law firm is opening a new service which relies upon unique customers calling in. Their marginal cost is low but fixed operational costs are high. It is therefore important that any proposed strategies create a bang. It simply isn’t cost effective to keep lawyers in the office, sitting around waiting for phone calls.
2. An established mechanic finds his business in heavy competition in recent years. Many shops are popping up around his, and he is seeing a steady decline in business and must lower his rates to stay competitive. He doesn’t want to spend a fortune on marketing as his operational costs are significant, but he can’t fathom a 20 thousand dollar a month advertising strategy.
3. A toy company is considering a radio campaign. Their website is a mess, but they are launching a new product and can’t afford to wait for search engine marketing to return results.

I will break these examples down in the coming posts, but for now, think about them, and challenge yourself to think of a deliberate and dynamic marketing strategy.

If you need a little help—here you go. The reality is simple. Nearly every company needs an effective web presence. Every business knows that the larger their footprint, the better the chance of catching the attention of their potential customers. A web presence is much like having another store operating in a busy thoroughfare. A website is basically the least expensive satellite store you will ever be able to open. Still though, how you do you capture the attention of the masses of those for whom a website would mean nothing (those in their car, outside, too busy to peruse, or not net-savvy)?

Stay tuned for part 2.

Last year I was able to travel to many different countries, and suffice it to say that I was astounded by the differences between marketing strategies across geographical boundaries. Successful pubs in England, for instance, are in a relatively unique situation in which they often keep a customer for life. In Norway and France, however, clubs seem to be hot one week and not the next. Businesses are therefore forced to develop strategies which are truly tailored to their target markets. This is square one, I typically tell my clients. The fact is that Industry A may benefit from strategy A and industry B may benefit from strategy B, but not vice versa. Many business owners are left scratching their heads when they find that their marketing tactics which were successful in previous ventures are slow to have an effect in current ventures.

Now, I will get to the point. In the last month, I have been counseling two businesses in Santa Clarita—Valencia, California to be specific. In my market research I have found that Valencia (but Santa Clarita as a whole—Castaic, Newhall, Canyon Country, etc.) hosts a unique and eclectic mix of consumers. Market trends are actually quite easy to predict in these areas, and captivating the desired audience is very practical. For example, in what is perhaps a perfect microcosms for entrepreneurial efforts, restaurants go through very typical cycles, and when considering their target market, such research leads to a far more likely success.

As a tip to businesses in the area, in my work thus far, I have found SEO (search engine optimization) to be the name of the game in these Valencia businesses. For these businesses, search engine optimization has been the most affordable, most targeted, and most dynamic of strategies. I nearly always recommend that businesses put quite a bit of effort into proper (though ingenious and clever) web marketing, and in future posts, I will go into some more detail about how I have been able to capture the consumers’ attentions in the Santa Clarita Valley.