February 10, 2006
I have been continuously touting the need for businesses to branch out into several markets as a safety net and a vehicle for growth. Along with that I have been mentioning that promotion of your online business cannot be along only one medium, as the segmentation of different devices, means of use, and needs of consumers is demanding a multi-faceted approach. a
This article reported in the L.A. Times confirms what I have been saying for a while: This year will be the year for the online line marketer to develop different marketing strategies for the increasingly segmented market. a
Look at this report on Google. If they are having increasing trouble growing in their niche with their market capitalization, and see the need to extend their offerings across the broad media, do you think that your smaller business may need to also take this into consideration? a
What Google is doing is offering advertisers opportunities to bid online for space in 28 magazines in an effort to expand its reach into print media.
In another area that is trending unstoppably is the customization needs of all types of consumers. One of the ways that Google is addressing this need is to offer customers the ability to choose the size of the ad, where it appears and how much they are willing to pay.
Here are a few key things that the article says:
“The print program reflects Google's ambition to use online auctions to sell advertising in media beyond the Web. Google began buying space in PC Magazine and Maximum PC last year. Publications in the new phase of the test include Car and Driver, Budget Living, Martha Stewart Living and Information Week, according to Google's website.”
"Google would like to be the mechanism advertisers use to place ads across virtually all media," Ben Schachter, an analyst at UBS, wrote Thursday in a note. Investors are "taking a wait-and-see attitude as to whether this can turn into a real business," he said in an interview.”
”Clients seeking print ads can see the circulation of the publications they are interested in, as well as demographics of the readership, including average household income and age.”
”Google offers quarter-page, half-page and full-page ads, according to the website. After selecting the desired date of the publication, clients bid the most they are willing to pay for the ad. Ads run only if the client wins the auction."
I quoted these things extensively because it is a primer on how to offer a service in the increasingly competitive marketplace.
Every aspect of the transition has been taken care of. All the potential advertiser has to do is to outbid their competitors. Everything else is prepared, including the demographics. This is an extraordinary teaching lesson to apply to your company at whatever level you are at. Customization along with advertising across various mediums will be the killer marketing app of the next several years.
Here are three other articles I posted recently on the need to diversify your business. They are offline businesses but very relevant in looking for ways that go outside the box and find new outlets for your products.
