The online marketing boom is in full swing. This tech wave is different from the previous ones we experienced in the 90’s. This goes way beyond CD-ROM’s and DVD’s and corporate presentations. This new tech wave is about search engines working at breakneck speed and it’s about cutting out the middle man. It is a tech wave that supports the seller and the consumer with very little wiggle room for any major advertising firm.
There are pros and cons to advertising giants. They have been with us forever but now for the first time the business model has shown significant cracks in its foundation. The main difference goes straight to the concept of broadcasting. In the past we had three major networks, ABC, NBC and CBS. Now thanks to digital cable and satellite there are lot more than that. Some cable systems have 900 stations. When you add in digital radio stations, millions of competing web sites and countless forms of digital media including blogs and videos you need to stand out from the crowd.
“Automotive dealerships still support newspaper advertising and direct mail. But is that a good enough solution? In just the last year S.E. Michigan has lost several newspapers including the Ann Arbor News, and the Eccentric newspapers. This has limited local retail because now they have to go back to television to get the word out and pay expensive air time fees. In this economy that can absolutely cripple budgets. Some of the more technically savvy dealerships have resorted to online advertising as an alternative.” Says online marketer, Ted Cantu.
The Michigan based Cantu has been promoting retail businesses online with his popular video marketing site, Hot Metro Finds.Com. As traditional media collapses new opportunities emerge such as the ones that Ted Cantu develops and sells.
Kawasaki motorcycle dealerships, and Yamaha atv parts dealers have embraced the web and have used search engine technology to gain significant leverage. This has resulted in top page placement on popular search engines as Google, Yahoo and Bing. These companies are similar to the automotive industry because they are in highly competitive markets. Automotive dealers can learn from these early adaptors because many of them are making significant progress and more importantly sales.
This could mean the difference of leaving your doors open and receiving more business. This can also mean the difference of closing your doors forever. This is an information economy that is going to rely on more heavily on the Internet. The ability to reach people at a faster pace is going to play a bigger role in how these companies stay alive in this economy. The idea of “Narrowcasting” is radically different than broadcasting. Where broadcasting goes more for the masses the idea of narrowcasting is a sharp contrast because it is only directed at a select few number of people who are really interested in getting the service. The conversion rates are a lot higher too when you put this in a sales context.
