MARKETING POWER OF NETWORKS
The Best Approach to Web Marketing
By
PAUL “THE SOARING” SIEGEL
A complementary copy, courtesy of…
MANAGING DECISION- PRIORITY- MENTAL ERROR /
ONLINE BUSINESS & LEGAL RESEARCH ASSISTANCE
* Excellence * Honesty
* Ethics
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Helpfulness
Marketing
Chapter 2 Learning
Chapter 3 Cooperation
Chapter 4 Community
Chapter 5 Networks
Chapter 6 Summary
Chapter One - HELPFULNESS MARKETING
"The value of a network
like the Internet is at least of the order of N-squared, where N is the number
of users of the network."
So says Bob
Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet and founder of 3Com. The marketing power of a
network may be even greater if members of the Network apply the principles of a
new marketing philosophy.
A new marketing
philosophy is needed because the Internet is radically different from all
phenomena of the past. The Internet is NOT a highway for cruising. It's NOT a
beach for surfing. It's NOT a medium for advertising. It's NOT a library for
reading. The Internet is a dynamic, chaotic, living, thriving, growing,
learning society.
A NEW society.
Discover the
essence of a society and you'll realize the type of marketing
philosophy that
will bring you success.
MARKETING
PHILOSOPHY
The essence of
the old Industrial Society was this:
THE VENDOR
IS IN CONTROL
Typically, a
manufacturer would set the pace. First he would produce a
forecast of the
future demand for widgets. Then he'd prepare a plan of how many widgets to
build and sell and to whom to sell. This would set the stage for mass production,
mass advertising, mass distribution, and mass selling.
The favored
Industrial-Age marketing philosophy revolved around products. Product marketing
was highly manipulative. We played on people's emotions and insecurities in
order to make them want products they did not need.
The essence of
the new Learning Society is this:
THE INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER IS IN CONTROL
On the Internet,
no one is boss. It is a thoroughly decentralized system.
Each individual
has a voice. Anybody can send messages to anybody.
We all have
"printing presses." Individuals can find out anything about
vendors. It's
easy to make comparisons. The power of the individual
consumer is
rising exponentially.
The favored
Learning-Society marketing philosophy should revolve, not
around products,
but people.
PEOPLE MARKETING
True enough,
there has been a definite trend toward people marketing. Two recent best
sellers demonstrate this:
·
ENTERPRISE 1 TO 1, BY DON PEPPERS AND MARTHA
ROGERS - They say: Instead
of product marketing, do relationship marketing. Instead of market research, do
customer research. Form relationships with individuals. Through 1 to 1
dialogues, learn about their needs and supply them. Find out who are your best
customers and lavish attention on them. Take advantage of data base systems to
maintain the 1 to 1 dialogues.
·
PERMISSION MARKETING, BY SETH GODIN - The author is concerned about
advertising. He calls it interrupt marketing because it interrupts the consumer
in whatever he's doing. He advises: Don't advertise relentlessly. First
interrupt mildly to get permission to send messages.
Although the
techniques presented in these books are a vast improvement
over
old-fashioned marketing, neither is fully in sync with the new society. Both
still depend on manipulative approaches to influence the consumer.
THE KEY IS HELPFULNESS
If you recognize
that the individual is in charge, you'll stop all manipulation. How then do you
get the visitor to do business with you? By helping him. By helping him learn.
By helping him make his own decisions.
In the New
Society, helpfulness brings the visitor to your site. Helpfulness makes him a
client. Helpfulness keeps him loyal.
There are three
major approaches to helpfulness:
·
LEARNING - Because the Internet is constantly changing, we all must be
constantly learning. And the best way to be helpful to visitors is to offer
learning experiences.
·
COOPERATION - Competition will always be with us. But
one of the best ways to get visitors to your site is through cooperation. In
this vast network, all of us need help. You help other vendors; they'll help
you.
·
COMMUNITY - By getting a group of people with similar interests and
concerns communicating with each other, you may achieve credibility, trust,
loyalty - and profit-improvement ideas.
An advanced form
of community is the
NETWORK - Community members, not only communicate ideas, but work
together for common goals.
Each of the above approaches is discussed in
one of the subsequent
chapters.
Chapter 2 - LEARNING
The Internet is
NOT, as the conventional wisdom has it, an information
highway. The
closest thing to an information highway is TV, where the elite dish out
information to the masses. The Internet, in striking contrast,
enables any
individual to communicate with any other individual or
individuals in
the network. And the primary purpose for such communication is learning. The
Internet is a leaning network.
Information.
Learning. What's the difference? The difference is tremendous, and goes to the
heart of the difference between TV and the Internet. The following 2 statements
clarify the difference:
TV:
INFORMATION is offered by the VENDOR
Internet: LEARNING is sought by the VISITOR
On the Internet
the individual, the visitor, the consumer, is in control; not the vendor.
To be able to be
helpful on the Internet, you must first learn about the ever-changing Internet,
and then offer learning experiences to prospects you want to serve.
LEARN
THE INTERNET
Effective
marketing people understand the environment they are working in. Your first
job, then, is to gain a good working knowledge of the Internet. The best way to
do this is through networking. Some networking tools are:
1.
NEWSLETTERS - to find out about changes in technology,
products, companies, people, and events
2.
PUBLICATIONS - to stay informed about developments in
your field
3.
WEB FORUMS - to discuss problems and issues with others in your field
4
- CHAT ROOMS - to learn from
prominent specialists
5
- MAILING LISTS - to get involved in
problem-solving discussions with colleagues and experts
OFFER
LEARNING EXPERIENCES TO VISITORS
Your website is
the means for expressing your vision. Your vision, in the
most generalized
sense, defines whom you want to help, and how. To reach these people - your
prospects - you begin by helping them learn things that are important to them.
You offer learning experiences. You make your website a Learning Fountain.
A Learning
Fountain does not present "content," "information," or
"copy." It acts as a learning catalyst: It sets up an environment
that is conducive to
learning. It
offers visitors choice and means for interaction and involvement.
A Learning
Fountain is visitor-centric. It does not keep the visitor waiting
while a page is
loading. It focuses on a specific subject, so the visitor can
decide quickly
if he is interested. And the subject is covered in depth.
Transactions for
information and for sales are accomplished smoothly,
privately and
securely.
The main
attribute of a Learning Fountain is that it helps visitors learn. There are 5
types of Learning Fountains:
1.
REFERRER - It directs you to companies, people, sites, ideas, events.
Yahoo and AltaVista are examples. A Referrer may be useful for intermediaries,
travel sites, and companies that have many locations.
2.
INFORMER - This is the most common type. It presents practical
information, opinion, and how-to articles. The popularity of Amazon.com is due
to its being an excellent Informer. It presents extensive reviews. If you tell
Amazon which authors and subjects you're interested in, they will notify you
when an appropriate book arrives. If you are selling high-tech products -
computers, software, communication devices - creating an Informer may be a good
way to go.
3.
ADVISOR - This type uses expert know-how to give advice. One such
website is AllExperts, at http://www.allexperts.com. You ask a question in one
of many fields, and an expert answers your question. The Advisor may be useful
to those offering professional services: financial, legal, medical,
technological, etc.
4.
CONTEXT PROVIDER - Instead of helping you solve your problem
this website presents a tool that enables you to solve the problem yourself.
The tool may be a calculator, a checklist or a simulator. nVestor,
http://www.investorsleague.com, has a simulator that helps you learn how to
become a good investor. The Context Provider is good for tool vendors, real
estate agents, financial consultants, and others who depend on specialized
tools to help them make a sale.
5.
LEARNING COMMUNITY STIMULATOR - This is probably the best type and also
the hardest to create. These sites have forums, chat rooms and other
interactive features. But, if they lack a spirit of helpfulness, they will not
build a true community. A good example of an excellent Learning Community
Stimulator is Dr. Koop's site, at http://www.drkoop.com. Here you'll find
almost anything you want to know about any health subject, as well as advice
and support. If your business caters to a community - kids, parents,
professionals, hobbyists - you'll be wise to create a Learning Community
Stimulator.
DESIGN
A LEARNING FOUNTAIN
Once you make
your choice of Learning Fountain type, you are ready to
design it. There
are quite a number of things to consider. Here are some of
the most important:
1.
THEME - Based on your vision and the type of Learning Fountain you
want to create, develop a theme that speaks to your chosen prospects. It is a
composite of your business philosophy and principles, and the feel you want the
site to convey. Basically, you want your site to exude a spirit of helpfulness.
Choose the way to do it that conforms to your personality.
2.
STRUCTURE - Define the organization of your site. Follow George Miller's
Rule: No more than 7 sections to the site. Each section may have up to 7
subsections. Each section may have up to 7 sub-sections, so you are not limited
by size. This will make it easy for visitors to choose.
3.
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT - This is the meat in each section. You may
have articles, tutorials, forms, forums and chats. Introduce as much
interactivity as possible, ask for feedback, and offer extras by email.
4.
NAVIGATION - Introduce menus that represent your organizational
structure. Make navigation simple and easy. Don't allow it to be obtrusive.
Build links throughout your text, separate from the menus.
5.
EMBELLISHMENTS - A logo in the spirit of your theme is
good. Other images should be used primarily to reinforce the message presented.
Spurious images are worse than useless.
6.
NAME - After you've decided on all the above features, pick a name
for your site as well as a domain name. You do this last because ot its extreme
importance. Pick a name that encapsulates the message of your Learning
Fountain.
BOTTOM LINE
A Learning
Fountain presents the visitor with immediate positive proof that you want to be
helpful. If she is happy with the help received, she will be disposed to do
business with you.
Chapter 3 - COOPERATION
Competition.
Competition. Competition.
We are harangued
about the value of competition. Competition is the
essence of
capitalism, we hear. Competition boosts our standard of living.
Competition is
building our society.
All true. But
cooperation has its powers too, especially on the Internet. In
this vast
network, how can a person find your site without linking? And how can you form
links?
Cooperation. Cooperation. Cooperation.
Cooperation is
needed in the following types of linking:
·
DIRECT - with text links or banners
·
INDIRECT - through press releases and articles
·
EMAIL - through signatures, ad swapping and direct communication
To accomplish
the linking, you need to cooperate with:
·
COMPETITORS
·
COMPLEMENTORS (explained below)
·
PUBLICATIONS
·
PROSPECTS/CLIENTS
COOPERATE WITH COMPETITORS
To cooperate
with competitors flies in the face of everything you have been taught. However,
if you shift your focus from your competitor to your visitor and prospect, you
see a different point of view. If a link to your competitor will help in your
exposition of an idea or increase the visitor's appreciation of the learning
experience he is receiving, make the link. The visitor will appreciate it.
You're not
really sending a visitor to a competitor. Remember that your visitor is already
aware of your competitor. Once you add the link, send your competitor a note
requesting a link from his site to yours. The chances are good that he'll agree
to reciprocate.
Cooperation brings links
even from competitors.
COOPERATE WITH COMPLEMENTORS
"Although it's hard to get used to the idea,
sometimes the best way to
succeed is to let others do
well, including your competitors."
The above is a
direct quotation from the book, Co-Opetition, by Adam M.
Brandenburger
and Harry J. Nalebuff. They are the originators of the word
"complementor," which is any company whose fortunes are related to
yours. Here are a few examples of complementors:
·
Writers and
book stores
·
Computer
hardware vendors and software vendors
·
Motels and
travel services
·
Real estate
agents and furniture retailers
Make a list of
Internet sites that are complementors to your business.
You'll be amazed
to see how big this list is. Think of ways you may be
helpful to
complementors and then approach them with suggestions for the exchange of text
links, banner links, or articles.
COLLABORATE WITH PUBLICATIONS
There are many
publications, ezines and email newsletters that are eager
to receive
articles. They do not pay for them. But include a short bio and a
link to your
site. Send articles they need and you'll earn a link.
COOPERATE WITH PROSPECTS/CLIENTS
We have seen how cooperation with other sites increases traffic
to your
site. But the
greatest value of the helpfulness marketing approach is that it
brings you more
and better clients.
When a visitor
comes to your door - your site - cooperate with him in as
many ways as
possible. Design your site to encourage visitors to ask
questions and
present problems for you to solve. Place interactive
opportunities at
many locations on the site. And when you receive these
messages, treat
them as jewels. The more you cooperate, the better you
help them, the
more likely you are to convert visitors to clients, and regular clients to
loyal ones.
Organize your
helping efforts with a newsletter. Most people view the
newsletter as a
one-way message. Not much cooperation here. But you
can make it a
two-way message by asking readers to submit questions,
which you answer
for the benefit of all.
COOPERATE TO BUILD POPULARITY
Not much
cooperation is needed to register your site with search engines.
But cooperation
will help bring your site's URL closer to the top of search
results. Search
results are determined by keywords used and the search
engine's
calculation of the relevance of a given site to these keywords.
Here's how
cooperation fits in. Through cooperation, you increase the links to your site.
The more links you have to your site the greater its popularity. And some
search engines increase relevance - and place the URL higher on the list of
results - the greater the popularity of your site.
BOTTOM LINE
Cooperation is
one of the most powerful marketing tools you have. It makes your site inviting,
and doing business with you enjoyable and fruitful.
Chapter 4 - COMMUNITY
Competition.
Competition. Competition.
Instead of 2
people cooperating with each other, why not several? Why not get a group of
people with common interests and eager to help each other, working towards a
common goal? You, as the instigator of the community, are building an
environment of outstanding helpfulness. Creating a community brings excellent
results.
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY?
A community is a
group of people getting involved for a common purpose. A common purpose alone
is not enough. Degree of personal involvement is what matters most.
Think of an
auditorium that may be used for several purposes. If you screen a movie, people
come for a common purpose - to see the movie - but you will surely agree that
they do not constitute a community. Similarly, AltaVista, EBay, and other
popular Internet sites are not communities.
People
congregating at this auditorium to hear a prominent speaker, to be
part of an
Olympic planning committee, or to attend a political convention, are more
likely to be communities. Especially, the latter, because of the greater degree
of involvement of participants.
LEVELS OF COMMUNITY
The following
are the major characteristics of the four levels of community
on the Internet,
from the weakest to the strongest:
1.
INTELLECTUAL DISCUSSION - Forums and lists, where people discuss
ideas or people they are interested in.
2.
PRACTICAL DISCUSSION - These may be lists or hubs where the
exchanged information has practical use. Included here are Internet-Sales
(http://www.adventive.com/).
3.
ACTION - A group gets together in order to do something. An excellent
example is the Linux Open Source group, which designed, wrote, critiqued and
modified the Linux Operating System (http://www.linux.org). Another example is
the Learning Fountain Network, which is discussed in chapter 5.
4.
EMOTION - A greater binding factor than either discussion or action is
emotion. People who are emotionally involved in what they do make a powerful
community. A good example is the alt.support.cancer Usenet group, where members
offer emotional support to help fellow members cope.
HOW TO BUILD COMMUNITY
Tools for
building community are many. The most important requirement, though, is not a
tool, but and attitude - an attitude of helpfulness.
The basic steps
are:
1.
CHOOSE YOUR MEDIUM - You may use a website forum or chat room,
a newsletter, or an email discussion list. The forum, the chat room and the
list require more active participation and thus are better vehicles for
building a community than the newsletter. The forum and chat room require
people to visit your site; the mailing list comes to them via email. Get to
understand your chosen medium. Give your group a meaningful and catchy name.
2.
ENTICE LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE TO JOIN - Get people to subscribe from your site by
setting up a simple subscription form. Enter the name of your group into
universal directories and search engines, plus directories devoted to
discussion groups. Also, exchange reciprocal links or reciprocal ads with
others, who have similar groups.
3.
ENCOURAGE DISCUSSION - Maintain interest and stimulate
excitement. Forbid blatant selling and caustic personal exchanges. Maintain
your focus on a specific subject area, and don't allow members to wander off
course. Offer suggestions, present controversial ideas for discussion, and
compliment members who offer good posts.
4.
INTRODUCE COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES - To gain greater involvement, try to get
members to do something. At the very least get them to spread the word about
the group. Encourage members to request help, and for other members to provide
the help.
5.
BUILD EMOTIONAL SUPPORT - Unless your group deals with emotional
problems, this is difficult to do. But it's worthwhile trying when an
emotion-laden situation arises. Whenever possible, try to build empathy among
members.
ADVANTAGES FOR SMALL BUSINESS
Small Business
can build community easier than Big Business. Big
Business is
encumbered by big markets and mass audiences. It's hard to
see how they may
get all those people to relate to each other in a
community. Small
Business deals with smaller audiences and is skilled at
developing
client relationships.
Here are 3
important advantages of communities:
1.
INCREASE YOUR CREDIBILITY - Moderating a group, if skillfully done,
will demonstrate to members your professionalism, your mastery of the subject,
your reliability, your willingness to help, your scrupulous privacy policy.
Members will get to know you well enough to trust you. Such trust is worth a
fortune.
2.
DEVELOP LOYALTY - You are daily in a position to
demonstrate what you can do for your clients. You learn about their problems
and support solutions.
3.
GAIN NEW BUSINESS IDEAS - A community discusses all sorts of things
you'd never dream of on your own. Someone may have a problem which stumps you,
but which another member has the answer to. Another may have a problem that can
not be solved with current technology and a member of the group suggests
innovations that may prove a boon to your business. You may also use the group
as a sounding board for innovations of your own.
Chapter 5 - NETWORKS
Let us go back
to Metcalfe’s statement:
"The value of a network
like the Internet is at least of the order of N-squared, where N is the number
of users of the network."
He's saying that
a network of:
·
5 members is
25 times more powerful than a single entity
·
10 members is
100 times more powerful than a single entity
I believe that a
network whose members practice Helpfulness Marketing can increase their
marketing power by as much as N-cubed!
COMMUNITY AMPLIFIES POWER
Metcalfe's Rule
applies even though most people on the Net are not part of a community. Suppose we put together a specific network
of thoroughly involved people or companies, people working together in an
advanced form of community, people helping each other solve mutual problems,
what would its power be?
Not only do you
have here a powerful network, but it's combined with a
powerful type of
community, where members are not merely discussing, but working on, mutual
problems. Can you imagine the helpfulness that can be reached with this system?
Yes, it is easy to see how such a network could have a
marketing power of N-cubed or more.
COMMUNITY NETWORKS
Several different types of networks may be discerned on the
Internet. Not all of them are community networks:
1 - REFERRAL
- Website owners refer business to each other. They may do this on an ad hoc
basis or may form an organization. There is an organized network for
consultants at http://www.referrals.com
2 - AFFILIATE
- A vendor with a product or service to sell, enlists a group of website owners
to advertise his wares, and offers them a commission for sales executed at the
vendor's site. Amazon.com does this very well. Most affiliate programs are not
run as communities: The managing company sets the rules, and the affiliates
follow them. Imagine how much more powerful an affiliate program can be if it
is a true community, where ALL affiliates contribute actively to its success.
3 - HUB
- This is a network of companies in a given industry. It enables
suppliers
and producers, for instance, to come together to enhance their
trading
relationships. One such hub for the chemical industry is Chemdex, at
http://www.chemdex.com.
4 - COOPERATIVE
- Here members get together in order to cooperate with each other, usually
according to some principle. This is an excellent approach for companies
dealing in services. Service requires more knowledge and discussion. Service
requires a higher degree of confidence of the client in the vendor. Service
requires more cooperation between client and vendor.
The Learning
Fountain Network, http://www.learningfountain.com, is a
cooperative
network, which combines the 3 principles of Learning,
Cooperation and
Community. Each member site is a Learning Fountain.
Members
cooperate with reference to referrals and marketing. It's a true
community where
members work on, and don't merely discuss, business
problems. In
addition, to entice visitors, they pledge to abide by their motto:
* Excellence * Honesty * Ethics
Chapter 6 - Summary
There are 3
basic marketing rules:
1.
Do People
Marketing, not Product Marketing
2.
Be helpful,
not manipulative
3.
Service is
supreme
There are 3
basic marketing principles:
1.
Help others LEARN
2.
COOPERATE with prospects, clients & even competitors
3.
Create a COMMUNITY to magnify your helpfulness
NETWORKS are powerful. Their power may be increased by applying the 3
principles represented by
LEARNING
- COOPERATION - COMMUNITY.
This
e-book is presented to you
Courtesy
of
MICHAEL
GASPARD
Managing Decision-
Priority- Mental Error /
Online Business & Legal Research
Assistance,
who
has taken the
PLEDGE:
To provide each
visitor/client;
ü
EXCELLENCE:
Ø
A
great learning experience
Ø
Outstanding
service
ü
HONESTY - in all
communications with prospects and clients
ü
ETHICS - in all dealings
with prospects and clients
ü