First, let me start by saying that I’m a huge fan of Robin Robins and what she teaches – every MSP should be a client of hers.
Second, I agree with what she has to say about 95% of the time.
But in Robin’s November issue of her Marketing Strategy Brief – her monthly newsletter to members – I think she has led
her members astray.
Let me clarify.
In this issue, she has an article titled “Expensive Lessons and Unfiltered Facts Every Small Business Owner Ought to
Know BEFORE Spending a Dime on Google AdWords” that she apparently wrote for the Wall Street Journal. In it, she had this to say about Google AdWords:
“Google AdWords is simply another form of media, just like direct mail, Yellow Pages ads, or radio advertising. There’s no magic in it.”
The rest of the article is filled with great advice, but I think this statement is dead wrong.
Why?
My reasons are simple yet powerful. The most important reason is summed up in one word:
SEARCH.
AdWords is of course part of the Google SEARCH Engine. SEARCH is the operative word here. Every day, depeding on the products or services you are selling, hundreds of thousands or even millions of people are SEARCHING for your products and services!
SEARCHING! THEY ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!
Please don’t let the power of this simple statement go in one ear and out the other. This is the simple reason that Google has exploded onto the business scene, becoming a goliath in only 11 years.
It’s the reason why online marketing is now surpassing television, radio, and many forms of print advertising
in many of the major markets of the world.
It’s the reason why small businesses are rapidly moving their advertising dollars online.
It’s the reason why Everon has been able to average 50 inbound managed services leads per month for years now, enough to give our business a growth turbo-boost.
And it’s the main reason why Google AdWords and other forms of search marketing are more powerful than other media.
With the exception of the Yellow Pages, every other form of media is an interruption. This is why the Yellow Pages has traditionally been the most successful form of advertising for many businesses for years. The only reason someone opens the Yellow Pages is to search for something.
So then is it fair to compare search engines to the Yellow Pages – it’s just another media, right? Ask the executives at the Yellow Pages companies if Google is “just another media”. They’ll try to answer you through their tears as they look at their rapidly declining Yellow Pages revenue!
Which brings me to the second reason why online marketing is not just another media:
ADAPTABILITY.
There is no other form of advertising where you can place an ad, get results, modify the ad, get more results, decide to include a video in your ad, then change your mind and take it down – all in a 24 hour period!
If something isn’t working online, change it that day and test your new results! Can you do that with a
newspaper ad, direct mail, or the Yellow Pages? No!
And all of this can now be done by a non-technical person, like me. I manage all of Everon’s online advertising and I don’t have a technical bone in my body. The result is that small businesses are now truly empowered to take marketing into their own hands.
And finally, the third reason:
PAY FOR PERFORMANCE.
No other media lets you advertise to millions and millions of people without spending a penny until somebody responds to your ad. This single innovation has opened up marketing to an audience of advertising buyers that would probably have never advertised otherwise because they saw the risk of spending money on traditional media as too high.
Now…hear me loud and clear. I’m not saying this is the only media that should be used. I’m a big believer in the value of direct mail, radio, and television advertising when used properly. They are still very effective in many cases. But online advertising is hot for a reason, and it’s not just because there are a lot of people out pitching online marketing services, as Robin suggests.
Online marketing is hot for one reason: IT WORKS.
AdWords and online marketing just another media? That’s like saying a Ferrari is just another car.
Sorry Robin, but I have to disagree with you on this one, and I have to strongly encourage ALL small businesses – including managed services providers trying to find more powerful and effective ways to market their business – to explore the incredible online marketing opportunities that are available to them.
Mike
