Effective online marketing depends more on sound marketing principles than on technological glitz, a leading international sales consultant and trainer says.
Whether Web sites or ads on Web pages dazzle people, in order to be effective they still must motivate those people to take action, says Mike Blinder, a Tampa-based multimedia sales specialist.
Blinder, who's giving a free workshop here Thursday on how to grow your business online, says that's been the mission of marketing for centuries. The only change is the means of achieving that mission.
"In the 1600s, to sell a cow you nailed a note to a tree. Nothing's changed, just the note and the tree. The Web is just another tree. The (Web) page is just another note.
"You're still trying to sell the cow," said Blinder.
Blinder warned against assuming that having a Web site means you automatically have an effective online presence.
"A lot of people believe, once they build a Web site, they'll start making money. Nothing could be further from the truth...," he said.
"You can't just throw up a Web site. There are lots of people who know technology but don't know marketing. Just because it flashes and has color, just because some geek can build you a site doesn't mean it was properly researched.
"That's why I get frustrated when I meet advertisers who say, 'The Internet doesn't work for me.' People are still people. They need to be motivated to make buying decisions," said Blinder.
To be an effective sales tool, he explained, online marketing needs the same fundamentals as other marketing. It must present an appealing offer that requires a prompt response. The offer has to reach the right audience with enough frequency to be noticed.
But online marketing can achieve other things.
"Most people believe the only reason to use the Web is to sell something online. But you can use the Web to promote your business and sell things traditionally. You can use it to get people to stop by the store or pick up the phone...," said Blinder.
"There are other ways to leverage the Internet other than trying to sell someone a widget on their credit card."
Blinder heads The Blinder Group, serving more than 250 media companies worldwide. He also owns and manages
OperaWeb.com, the leading interactive marketing firm for the classical music industry.
Blinder will speak Thursday at Penn Cinema from 9 to 11 a.m. A continental breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m.
His talk is sponsored by Lancaster Newspapers Inc., publisher of the Lancaster New Era, Intelligencer Journal and Sunday News. For more information on the seminar, call 291-8801 or e-mail
bmiller@LNPnews.com.
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