They LOVE to buy but they HATE being sold to.

(SANEPR.com) June 10, 2009 -- You're driving and you pass a billboard for that new phone. You probably should be concentrating on driving but there it is: a beautiful woman and that phone.
You don't even notice that you nearly drove the car next to you into the guard rail. It's OK, they didn't notice either because they were talking to someone on that phone.
You park your car, and there she is again on the bus shelter with that phone. You get your mail and walk inside. Junk mail, bill, bill, junk mail ... hmmm ... that phone. Pause. More junk mail, a letter from SARS. Long pause. More junk mail - trash.

You are left with four pieces of mail one of which you are not opening. You go online to pay your bills, and bam there's a banner ad for that phone. CLICK.
What caused that conversion? Everything. You know that, so why don't you view your online marketing efforts the same way? Online Marketing is a conversation and not a series of disjointed campaigns. Consumers are not objectified "others". Once you start thinking that way you run the risk of believing that something complex like a collective of unpredictable consumers can be expressed as a fixed variable to put into a formula.

This may seem out of the ordinary, but as a marketer you should know that human behaviour is what drives all marketing. It's the understanding of how your customers behave that drives the communication channel you choose to spend money in. Currently, human behaviour has changed drastically. The preferred means of communication is electronic (email). The preferred information source is online – and the preferred pre-purchase research channel is Google.

So, you ask yourself – Is it because I'm not sending enough promotional emails? Am I not spending enough on my Pay per Click campaign to attract clicks from the highest search terms? No, you're wrong. It's because you are so obsessed with finding the 'correct' answer. One of the worst aspects of formal education is the relentless focus on finding the 'right' answer to a particular problem.

Ok, I admit. This approach helps us function in society; however it suppresses creativity if you ask me. Real life issues are known to be ambiguous. It's an innate characteristic of human psychology to desire certainty – but it's a creative thinker who rejects the false comfort of clarity when it's really not appropriate. Ambiguity is your friend if you are looking to innovate. So, yes think about your customers first when you devise your online marketing strategy. Think of your consumers as humans with emotions as well as a mammoth of intellect.

Because if you don't you run the risk of upsetting them. And trust me they can be very ill-mannered when they want to. The moral of the story: you need to focus on the consumer first and on the tactics and big ideas second. You'll avoid a lot of confusion.

Ferocat Internet Marketing Consultants is a full-service online marketing agency offering cost effective, tailor-made solutions that directly impact your bottom line, turning new or existing businesses into a well-oiled profitable machines!