ONLINE MARKETING : Ignorance Can Kill

What's the secret behind Google's dominance of the internet? The same secret that makes people pay up to four times more for an Apple Mac than a PC.

Its 'secret' is making life easy for its customers/users. Good, really intuitive useability is what really makes web 2.0 tick. It has the potential

Useability has traditionally been the domain of web developers and software programmers. But it should also be natural to marketers, trained in the "soft" disciplines of psychology and human motivation.

Trouble is, sometimes our ignorance is killing our customers' experience. How much useability is lost because those who understand the business issues aren't talking the same language as those who understand the technology issues?

Recently I spoke with the information services manager of a fast-food delivery company. He doesn't develop websites (not for the company, at least), but he does act as a translator, taking the vague concepts they come up with in marketing and briefing the web design agency on what can actually be done. It's frustrating work.

Wouldn't it be better if marketers knew for themselves the limitations and possibilities of websites, online advertising and social media? In 10 years, they will. Today's graduates are getting a fuller, more hands-on education in practical marketing. But what about those of us Generation X-ers and Baby Boomers stuck at the coalface of day-to-day marketing? How do we get educated?

Glad you asked. Try these and call me in the morning:

1. The Marketing Association's brand new Certificate of eMarketing, presented by Fiona Morris, who's tutored the Certificate of Direct Marketing for the past several years and comes from a solid DM background.

Due to overwhelming demand, the course is running two nights a week, instead of one as originally planned.

http://www.marketing.org.nz/cms/Events_and_Training/4068</A>

2. CAANZ Media School is working with the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) to include some in-depth information on online in their course. www.caanz.co.nz</A>

3. Searchmasters seminars in Auckland are coming up in May. www.searchmasters.co.nz/seminars</A>

4. Search Engine Bootcamp returns to New Zealand in June or July. www.searchenginebootcamp.co.nz</A>

5. Search Engine Room is coming to Auckland in November 2008. www.searchengineroom.co.nz

Those are all things you have to pay for. Here are some you don't:

1. The Internet Bureau's regular email newsletter. www.internetbureau.co.nz</A>

2. The weekly Jump In! video show. www.ijump.co.nz</A>

3. The Marketing Over Coffee podcast - it's from the United States, but these guys dig deep into the practicalities of marketing. Lots of numbers! www.marketingovercoffee.com

4. The MarketingProfs email newsletter. Again, from the US, but a steady torrent of big-picture expert opinions on marketing. www.marketingprofs.com

5. Google. Not just the search engine aspect of it, but tonnes of free tools to help you understand the possibilities of online. Google is taking over the world and its biggest job in 2008 is getting people like you educated.

Everything I've mentioned so far is fantastic. The best advice I could give you, however, is to get to know your IT team. Shout them coffee. Give them beer. Make friends with them and pick their brains.

If you really want to get prepared for the future, attend the monthly web developers' meet up (www.meetup.co.nz - it's free, and fully catered with pizza and beer). You'll meet a group of passionate people, passionate not only about their specific areas of geekdom, but also about the future of business.

Take notes, especially of terms you don't understand. Ask someone what the terms mean, or search for them on the internet afterwards.

Why? You'll get to understand some of the specifics about how the web works. And how the web works, is how the world works these days.

Yes, it'll take precious time, but the principles you'll learn will never go out of date, even if the technology in question does.

Got an opinion on online?

Email: simon@simonyoungwriters.coM