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Along the Digital Watchtower
Written by Lee Traupel
Its no secret interactive (web-based) marketing has arrived. The IDC research group just released a study in late June of this year indicating 99.9% of a survey of executives and entrepreneurs said they currently conduct online marketing activities, or, are in the process of implementing or initiating some form of interactive marketing. The problem or challenge that many of these executives (marketing, management, etc.) and entrepreneurs (marketing, principals, etc.) have is how do they measure their online presence?
Most interactive marketing types, whether they are agencies working for/with clients or in-house personnel, typically just measure a companys return for a specific process or period of time. Many never think to actively monitor what a companys competitive position is vis--vis Search Engines or Directory Listings, the number of links they have pointing back to their web site or what type of net buzz is being generated (positive or negative) via the Usenet/Newsgroup community. In short, its digital warfare and the fog of war is obscuring the battle lines.
Entrepreneurial competitive intelligence sounds like a real mouthful, or much more than it is. Basically its using off-the-shelf tools (software or ASP services) to understand what your page 1-3 keyword rankings are versus:
your direct competitors via the top tier Search Engines (Google, AltaVista, Excite, AOL/NetFind, HotBot, Netscape, Magellan, Lycos, Web Crawler)
how and where your company is listed via the blue chip Directories (Yahoo, LookSmart, Open Directory)
whats your link popularity (number of links pointing back to a web site) and/or
how many Usenet/Newsgroup posts are being made about your company, products or services
Usenet/Newsgroups can in fact be an extremely valuable resource for unearthing competitive intelligence about a direct competitors products or services; Usenet/Newsgroup mining certainly works well for United, IBM, Microsoft and many other corporations.
These digital touch points fill in competitive intelligence gaps and you dont need to have an advertising budget in the 4-6-figure range complemented with a large staff to consistently monitor your competitive position. You can do much of this by hand, and/or use free tools offered by many of the search engines or portals (small plug: we offer a free and low cost Competitive Intelligence service via our web site).
But, be forewarned, if you dont use some technology to leverage yourself, it can take a great deal of time to assess these metrics, but well worth the effort. In the end, you will know what your online market presence is and be armed with actionable business intelligence that enables you to understand how to maximize your marketing dollars by knowing where you need more of an online presence. And, most importantly as Sun Tzu once said, if you know your enemy and yourself, you will win every battle. Sound advice from a master tactician who had no idea his pearls of wisdom would be shaping the digital age!
Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience - he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.intelective.com, a results-driven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies. Lee@intelective.com
Lee@intelective.com
Additional Articles by Lee Traupel
Absolute Top Five Search Engine Marketing Myths Uncovered
Creating Effective Optin EMail Campaigns
Developing a Winning eCommerce Strategy
Dont Become Another com Road Kill
Driving Qualified Traffic Using Directories
Email Newsletter Marketing Essentials
Emerging Methods for Effective Search Engine Ranking
Forwarding your Business with Instant Messaging
Forget Conventional Marketing Embrace the Web
Fundamental Strategic Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
Googles AdWords Selecttm Groundbreaking Program
Smart Not Small Business Friendly
eting Maxims for Todays Challenging Times
Marketing to Todays Distracted Consumer
Marketing Trends from the Digital Frontlines
Maximizing ROI via Web Site Traffic Analysis
Realities for EMail Marketing
Online Advertising Sinks into the Abyss
Speed Kills on the Web
The New Marketing Landscape
Winning the Search Engine Wars
Your Design Firm Run Amuck With Your Web Site
Raising Capital in Todays New Economy
Redefining Distance to Market your Company
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