200-Proof Marketing

The first available media for advertising was paper(ex. Direct Mail, Magazines, Newspapers, etc), for which Print Advertising was developed.

Then came Radio, and along with it came new types of advertising that made use of it’s unique capabilities.

After that came TV which adapted yet another new set of techniques for selling(Image Commercials and Infomercials) that fit the capibilities of TV.

Now we have the Internet and exponentially more capibilities than any other media. Why are we trying to turn it into a peice of paper?

The most powerful aspects of the Internet are that it can be Interactive and Adaptive. We can do almost anything we want with a little programming but I’ve yet to see anyone put this to good use in selling. I’ve seen some try but nothing close to what I’m talking about.

People have tried using Infomercials on the net but they aren’t very effective when used alone. However, when partnered with a traditional long copy sales letter they often excel.

So is that the future of Advertising on ‘net? Long copy sales letters with infomercials included?

It makes sense as the next step but it still doesn’t use the real capibilities of the ‘net.

I’m talking about something that learns from the visitor and adapts throughout the sales process to offer the most effective sales message possible. Something that allows the visitors to focus on the information which excites them the most.

I guess the best way to decide how to make such a thing would be to first decide what the most effective sales method is. Sales Letters? Infomercials?

If I was in a “gun to my head” situation where I HAD to make this one sale or die, I wouldn’t pick either of those.

What would I pick?

Face to Face Selling… Without a doubt!

When your selling to a person that’s right in front of you, you can adapt your sales message to fit their concerns, push the right buttons for their personality type, and focus on the benifits that excite them the most.

You just can’t do that with any other type of selling.

How would you make this happen on the ‘net? I have no idea.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 30th, 2005 at 9:53 pm and is filed under Marketing Under The Influence. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.