TO ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE, ONE MUST STUDY;
BUT TO ACQUIRE WISDOM, ONE MUST OBSERVE.
Quote - Marilyn Vos Savan

Internet Marketing is fun with lots of opportunity for interactive learning! Marketing can be placed anywhere and in creative ways. This Guide is designed to provoke thought and ideas. Maybe you have or are starting a business of your own or possibly just want to understand Internet Marketing better (for whatever life brings). 

One of the things that makes Marketing (on-line or off) so interesting is it involves both business and personal psychology.  It rests at this intersection and requires an understanding of how money is made and how people think. Online advertising can lead to great things including revenue growth, increasing customer base and brand awareness. It is a cost-efficient way to market a business. It creates opportunities for Small businesses to effectively motivate their customers, sell their services and finally, provide information about their business.  However it is not easy. It requires thought, observation, and work to be effective.

The Internet presents marketing challenges. Today's Internet marketer must quick, innovative, and observant.
      Items to Consider in Internet Marketing
      1. Target each customer individually while creating a virtual community.
      2. Design your marketing to target your desired customer.
      3. Brand your product and service.
      4. Engage your consumers as co-producers.
      5. Use creative pricing.
      6. Be prepared to ship anytime, any place (and simplify everything).
      7. Design your advertising to promote communication, education, and entertainment.
      8. Reinvent your marketing research into a useable model.
      9. Experiment and observe.
      10. Continually redesign to target your customer. (Isn't learning a great thing?)

Thought Starter -  What do the "Items to consider" mean? How do you think marketing online should be done? What are the major differences in online marketing compared to other methods? What online marketing tactic annoys you the most.

Thought Starter - What do you think of buying on eBay? What would have made your purchase experience better? How can you incorporate that "better experience"?

Bill Gates has said: "The Internet will help achieve "friction free capitalism" by putting buyer and seller in direct contact and providing more information to both about each other." EBay type auction sites are certainly an example of "friction free capitalism" -- where both the seller and buyer get to rate each other. A great motivational tool.

How about the contest below to generate customer excitement?

John Doe acknowledges that Product X mowers are made in the USA and that Product X represents the best that great American brands have to offer. “The  Product X brand has such a rich heritage and a tremendous following of fans,” he says. “The enthusiasm dates back to the days of the two-wheel tractor and carries over to the newer commercial zero-turns. We wanted to create a forum where diehard  Product X fans could display their passion and share their hard work with  Product X fans everywhere.” To do so, beginning on Jan. 1, 2006, and ending Mar. 31, 2006,  Product X owners can register at www. Product X to vie for the title of “biggest fan.” Entrants will be asked to upload a photo of their equipment and answer one of the following three questions:
        What is your biggest accomplishment with your  Product X?
        Why is  Product X a “Great American Brand”?
        What would you be willing to give up before you’d give up your  Product X? 

Product X fans who don’t have equipment to display online will have the opportunity to visit the Web site and vote for their favorite entrant       beginning on April 1, 2006. The five entries to receive the most votes each will receive a  Product X anniversary t-shirt and hat, a set of 
Collectors’ Series Trading Cards, and will be invited to display their  Product X at the 2006  Product X Mow In  where  Product X's Biggest Fan will be announced. (company name and brand removed to comply with ebay guidelines)

Thought Starter - What do you think about this online marketing promotion by Product X? How successful and cost effective was it? Could any of the marketing ideas be useful to you?

Blogging seems to be gaining as a political campaign marketing tool and also a marketing tool.
      The rumor was posted to an anti-U.S. Rep. (Name removed) blog at 8:44 a.m. on Tuesday. 
      (name removed) the Kansas GOP chairman, would resign his post within a
      week, the Web site proclaimed. The anonymous author didn’t say how he (or
      she) had uncovered this information.
      No matter. Within hours the information spread to other Kansas blogs
      across the political spectrum, most of them also anonymously written,
      including the “Fire Name removed” site, for example, as well as the
      conservative Kansas governor’s race blog and the more liberal “Thoughts
      from Kansas.”
      By mid-afternoon Tuesday, Name Removed was telling reporters he was
      keeping his job. And state political observers were left to ponder the
      power and reach of the growing number of online blogs focused on Kansas
      politics.
      “I tell you what,” said the, executive director of the Kansas
      Republican Party, “it could greatly change the landscape and campaigning
      in general.”

From the Article Bloggers inundating Kansas politics
 
Thought Starter --What do you think of Blogs as a marketing tool and can it help your business? What are your customers saying?

Thought Starter -  If eBay eliminated approximately $.75 of an items costs (the auction listing fees), what products would you be more willing to buy on eBay? (The question assumes the $.75 savings is passed onto you, the customer.) Would this effect the pricing and volume of sales of your product?

Thought Starter - Search the web for on-line marketing "twist".  For example: Turning a customer submitted photo into a custom postage stamp or turning digital pictures into custom wall or floor tiles. What twists can you use to improve your customer base?

 Explore Internet Marketing on my eBay Blog and see the Unit Study