Making the Complex Simple: A Lost Marketing Art
Power Point Poison has reached an all time high. Don’t you feel the pressure to put so much detail into power point presentations so as to try to address all the possible solutions, outcomes, and questions that someone might ask? What ever happened to the old rule of if the idea can’t fit on a 3x5 index card it’s too complex. For those that don’t know a 3x5 index card was what we 40 something’s used to use to jot down ideas. Post-it notes we’re the next evolution of this form factor.

In my view, we as marketers have lost the art of delivering truly powerful communication which is really about making the complex simple. I forecast that this lost art will be the next frontier in tech marketing service agencies. A new industry will spring up to help marketers make communication simpler across complex solutions and technologies. Now this is a conundrum….helping marketers simplify their communications and communicate in plain English. Wow, who would have thought that it would have come to this? There is already one early company cashing in on this new art. Common Craft goes back to the Analogue tool box of video, paper cut outs, and easy to understand copy on complex solutions.

Internet marketing also referred to as online marketing or Emarketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet. The Internet has brought many unique benefits to marketing including low costs in distributing information and media to a global audience. The interactive nature of Internet marketing, both in terms of instant response and in eliciting response, are unique qualities of the medium.

Internet marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the internet, including design, development, advertising and sales. Internet marketing methods include search engine marketing, display advertising, e-mail marketing, affiliate marketing, interactive advertising, online reputation management and also Social Media Marketing Methods such as blog marketing, and viral marketing.

Internet marketing is the process of growing and promoting an organization using online media. Internet marketing does not simply mean 'building a website' or 'promoting a website'. Somewhere behind that website is a real organization with real goals.

Internet marketing strategy includes all aspects of online advertising products, services, and websites, including market research, email marketing, and direct sales.

Business models
Internet marketing is associated with several business models. The model is typically defined by the goal. These include e-commerce, where goods are sold directly to consumers or businesses; publishing, or the sale of advertising; and lead-based sites, where an organization generates value by getting sales leads from their site. There are many other models based on the specific needs of each person or business that launches an internet marketing campaign.

Internet marketing refers to the placement of media along different stages of the Customer engagement Cycle, through Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Banner Ads on specific sites, email marketing and Web 2.0 strategies

Advantages

One of the benefits associated with Internet marketing is the availability of great amounts of information. Consumers can access the Internet and research products, as well as purchase them at any hour of any day. Companies that use Internet marketing can also save money because of a reduced need for a sales force. Overall, Internet marketing can help a business' expansion from a local market to a national or international one, faster. Compared to traditional media, such as print, radio and TV, Internet marketing can have a relatively low cost of entry.

It should be mentioned that, although it may seem a relatively simple task to enter the world of online marketing, sound business strategies still apply. There is still an emphasis on business goals, namely CVP analysis when determining strategy and the overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

There are a few important characteristics that differentiate Internet marketing from "off-line marketing":

- One-to-one vs. one-to-many approach: the targeted user is typically browsing the Internet on their own, and the marketing messages reach them personally. This can be very clearly seen in search marketing, where the users find advertisements targeted to specific keywords that the users asked for.

- Demographics targeting vs. behavioral targeting: off-line marketers typically segment their markets according to age group, sex, geography, and other general factors. Online marketers have the luxury of targeting by activity. This is a deeper form of targeting, since the advertiser knows that the target audience are people who do a certain activity (upload pictures, have blogs, etc.) instead of just expecting that a certain group of people will like their new product or service.

- Measurability: Almost all aspects of an online campaign can be traced, measured, and tested. The advertisers either pay per banner impression (CPM), pay per click (PPC), or pay per action accomplished. Therefore, it is easy to understand which messages or offering are more appealing to the audience.

- Response and immediate results: Since the online marketing initiatives usually require users to click on the message, go to a website, and perform a targeted action, the results of campaigns are immediately measured and tracked. On the other hand, someone driving a car who sees a billboard, will at best be interested and might decide to get more information at some time.

Since exposure, response and overall efficiency of Internet media is easy to track compared to traditional "off-line" media, through the use of web analytics for instance, Internet marketing can offer a greater sense of accountability for advertisers. Marketers and their clients are becoming aware of the need to measure the collaborative effects of marketing, i.e. how the Internet affects in-store sales, etc., instead of relying on the siloed approach to marketing. Internet marketing, as of 2007, is growing faster than other types of media

Limitations
Because Internet marketing requires customers to use newer technologies than traditional media, not all people may get the message. Low speed Internet connections are one barrier. If companies build overly large or complicated web pages, some Internet users struggle to download the information on dial up connections or mobile devices.

From the buyer's perspective, another limitation is the inability of shoppers to touch, smell, taste or try-on tangible goods before making an online purchase. However, it is an industry standard for e-commerce vendors to have liberal return policies and in store pick up services to reassure customers.

Security concerns
For both companies and consumers that participate in online business, security concerns are very important. Many consumers are hesitant to buy items over the Internet because they do not trust that their personal information will remain private. Recently, some companies that do business online have been caught giving away or selling information about their customers. Several of these companies have guarantees on their websites, claiming customer information will be private. Some companies that buy customer information offer the option for individuals to have their information removed from the database (known as opting out). However, many customers are unaware that their information is being shared and are unable to stop the transfer of their information between companies.

Security concerns are of great importance and online companies have been working hard to create solutions. Encryption is one of the main methods for dealing with privacy and security concerns on the Internet. Encryption is defined as the conversion of data into a form called a cipher. This cipher cannot be easily intercepted unless an individual is authorized by the program or company that completed the encryption. In general, the stronger the cipher, the better protected the data is. However, the stronger the cipher, the more expensive encryption becomes.

Effects on industries
Internet marketing has had a large impact on several industries including music, banking, and flea markets, as well as the advertising industry itself. As Advertisers increase and shift more of their budgets online, it is now overtaking radio in terms of market share.[1] In the music industry, many consumers have begun buying and downloading music files (e.g. MP3s) over the Internet in addition to buying CDs.

More and more banks are offering the ability to perform banking tasks online. Online banking is believed to appeal to customers because it is more convenient than visiting bank branches. Currently, over 150 million U.S. adults now bank online, with a high growth rate. The increasing speed of Internet connections is the main reason for the fast growth. Of those individuals who use the Internet, 44% now perform banking activities over the Internet.

Internet auctions have gained popularity. Unique items that could previously be found at flea markets are being sold on eBay instead. eBay has also affected the prices in the industry. Buyers and sellers often look at prices on the website before going to flea markets and the eBay price often becomes what the item is sold for. More and more flea market sellers are putting their items up for sale online and running their business out of their homes.