global market Archives by Mark Murnahan

Hypocrisy in Hiring Social Media Services

Many companies want a bigger, stronger, and more productive online audience. So, it makes sense to look toward the Internet when they need help, right? It seems a common answer is “no”.

It may seem strange that so many companies need and want help to market themselves better online, but yet, turn to an offline connection to help them do it. A lot of companies who are in the market to hire a consultant for their online marketing are seeking a warm handshake, meetings in-person, and looks in the eye. They are understandably cautious about this sort of service. It makes sense, but yet it doesn’t.

The topic came up in a conversation with a friend earlier today. He is excited about partnering with a company that provides social media consulting services. He gave me the web address, and said he had spoken to them about how I am able to help them with their online presence. It sounds crazy, right? The social media consulting company needs social media help.

What shook me was that he said they have more business than they can presently handle, but their online presence is miserable. How miserable? They have sent under 100 tweets on Twitter, their latest video on YouTube had under 50 views and was uploaded over a year ago, and more than I can express, it was simply atrocious! Even the big rage online marketers have been touting lately … Klout (the online influence measurement company) did not have a profile for them.

Oh, but they’re selling like mad, so it really made me question the logic. How can somebody be successful at something without a demonstrated ability to do it? Even if they can do it, how can they be taken seriously if they don’t practice what they preach? This may sound just a bit jealous, but for many years, I thought I actually had to prove that I know my business. I have been wrong, and I see similar instances all the time. I think they must just smell really good, but I’ll explain that.

This is one side of the hypocrisy, but I’m not to the good part yet … the buyer’s hypocrisy.

Smelling is Not Due Diligence … Research Is!

I certainly recognize and respect the human aspects of doing business. It feels good to look somebody in the eye, and a lot of people believe they can tell a person’s integrity from their body language. Of course, it helps if you have training in the field of psychology, or spent some time as an F.B.I. agent. Let me tell you, though, there are plenty of people who will fake anything for money … I’ve met some of them.

I’d like to point out some things I’ve learned from over a decade and a half in a line of work where I have met less than one tenth of one percent of my customers in person. It really doesn’t hold the benefit to the client that most people imagine and hope for. It actually turns out that it is a whole lot more beneficial to the seller than the buyer.

Here’s where the buyer’s perception gets screwy. Think about this for a moment: Doesn’t this seem hypocritical to imagine a company that wants to sell more online, but cannot make their own fact-based judgments online? Companies often seek the faith of their customers online, but they, themselves, do not have the faith they ask from others. They have the tools at their disposal for making rational and logical decisions, but prefer to use a less effective and less objective tool set, in their meeting room. What’s worse, it often hurts the buyer, by opening them up to whatever brand of fairy dust is being pumped into the room.

Meeting in person will not tell you if somebody knows the Internet as accurately as their demonstrated abilities online will show. In fact, it will show a whole lot less than spending some time with our old friend Google. The only thing shaking hands and talking in a meeting room will reliably prove is whether they know more about the Internet than you do. It will not prove whether they know more than your competitor, and it will not prove whether they know how to produce an appropriately targeted audience, or even a fraction of what they say. Spending time researching them online is what proves those things.

Sitting across a table will not tell you if they are a crook. Ironically, you have to look online for that! The only thing it will really tell you beyond what you can learn online, over a telephone communication, or a Skype video conference is how they smell.

I’ll just tell you right now … I smell like cigarette smoke and coffee, but I can bend a crooked online marketer over my knee and whip them like the crybaby sissy bed-wetter they are.

Rational Thinking Eludes Confused People

It may just be a little too rational for companies to seek social media services where they can actually shop and compare, and can see who has demonstrated abilities or does not. Companies are made up of people, and people are not rational and logical about things they don’t fully understand, such as social media marketing, search engine optimization, and other areas of online marketing.

I’m too deep in the online side of this equation to be objective, but I categorize this as an absurdity. It seems as hypocritical as it gets for a company to ask customers for faith in something they fear too much to embrace. My best guess is that they are just waiting for a good smelling pitch man.

What do you think? Please share your comments on the topic.

Oh, but wait … here is some bonus material.

Where Can You Find Good Marketing People, and How Will You Know?

Just when I thought I was done writing about this topic, I realized that it leaves a question open about a better way to seek an online marketing professional. I do not have all the perfect answers, because that question has a lot of possible conclusions. I’ll give you a couple thoughts that may help you.

First and foremost, consider how you arrived here. If somebody sent you here, ask them what else they know. Sure, there may be a few dummies reading my blog, but I would suggest that many of them I have encountered are pretty bright, and have a strong interest in the areas of social media marketing and/or SEO. Look at the comments here on this article and check those people out. If they have been reading for a while, they probably have some pretty good ideas about marketing online.

Of course, if you arrived because I brought you here … call me … ask questions. I am for hire! Even if I cannot help you, I’ll try to suggest a good match and avoid a costly catastrophe. I am not a good fit for everybody, and I only take on one to three clients at any given time, but I sure know a lot of quality people in my line of work.

Your best fit will depend on your needs and expectations. If you want marketing excellence, it may require more digging, and the investment will be much higher.

If you are trying to keep within a small budget, or you have a tight time frame, be sure to understand how and why it will affect you return on investment. Discuss this with any potential marketing professional you are considering. Be sure they have an acceptable answer for you.

I must suggest, just as I have previously explained about search engine optimization, many of the best marketing people are not looking for you. It is also true, in my case, and I believe many other do not enjoy the sales process of their work as well as they enjoy the work they do. So, it may be best to not expect them to do a lot of schmoozing.

In any instance, the most important factors regarding their experience and knowledge will be found online. If they are good in their line of work, they will be very easy to discover with a search for their name on Google. Look at what they are doing online. Check them out. See what others are saying about them. Read their blog … a lot! It will give you a much clearer view of their ideas and their methods.

Finding the right fit will be worth your effort. Due diligence takes patience, but it will save you a lot of money and hassles! On the other hand, a horrible mistake I see companies endure is believing that because a friend, acquaintance, or somebody in their area knows just a little about Twitter or Facebook, they are safer with that, than to risk the effort and do a little research. Maybe they really are the right one, or maybe they are not. If the way they smell is used as a primary measurement, the company gets what they deserve. It is often how companies end up with fakes like these “marketing experts”.

OK, so I’m asking again … What do you think?

Photo Credit:
NO MORE PROTESTS by hobvias sudoneighm via Flickr

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13 Reasons to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

It seems that the whole world is coming down pretty hard on BP these days. The company has been in a spotlight of bad press, but is all of the negativity really called for? I think it is time that we all take a moment and look at the bright side. Let us look at these reasons the BP oil spill is really not all that bad after all. I think we should go easier on BP and stop being so darn negative, so I have come up with a list of thirteen reasons we should give BP a break. In order to emphasize my points, I have included videos for your review and consideration. I also want to invite you to share your ideas.

Reason One to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Animals Were Dying Anyway

Those fish, birds, turtles, and other wildlife were going to die anyway. Nothing lives forever. Heck, most of these animals would just be eating each other if not for the oil spill. BP practically did them a favor. Who wants to be eaten?

Reason Two to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: It Was Not BP’s Accident

Just take it from BP’s CEO, Tony Hayward. As Mr. Hayward said, “It wasn’t our accident.” So there you have it. Get off their back!

Reason Three to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Tragedy Makes People Stronger

What does not kill you makes you stronger. Those people in Louisiana will thank BP someday. BP is just helping to toughen them up. Besides, they are providing alternate jobs to fishermen, and does anybody really like fishing? Why are these people so ungrateful? In the end, they will have more strength than they ever thought they would have. Didn’t Hurricane Katrina teach us anything? Some people called Katrina a disaster, too, but BP knows better.

Reason Four to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Spill Was “Relatively Tiny”

The explosion happened way out at sea. It is not like it happened in downtown Los Angeles. Besides, as BP’s chief executive Tony Hayward said “The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean.” In fact, he said this spill is “relatively tiny”, so why do people keep making such a big deal out of this?

Reason Five to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: It Got Grannies to Say “Friggin” and “Suck”

The Deepwater Horizon disaster got grannies to say things we may otherwise never see. I mean, how funny is it so hear an old lady say “friggin”. Is the humor worth nothing to you people?

Reason Six to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: All the New Jobs

It may have cost a bunch of oil workers their jobs, but look at all the cleanup, legal, and public relations opportunities it has created. See, and all this time you thought this was just a disaster.

Reason Seven to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: BP Makes Greece Look Healthy

Considering that the expected cost of BP’s oil cleanup and lawsuits far exceeds the amount of money Greece seeks from the International Monetary Fund, it should make us all feel better. After all, a lot of people are complaining about bailing out Greece, but it starts to seem like only a small amount of money when you compare it to BP’s upcoming losses.

Reason Eight to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Politicians Reveal Themselves

The Deepwater Horizon disaster helped to uncover where politicians stand. It often shows how stupid they are.

Reason Nine to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Diversion of Bad Press

BP chief executive Tony Hayward now has a worse approval rating than Barrack Obama, Sarah Palin, or Toyota. Somebody had to take the heat off. BP helped divert millions of eyes from other screwups. I mean, does Toyota really seem so messed up now?

Reason Ten to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: More Socialism for USA

This may not seem like a win for anybody with a sound mind, but it sure is a windfall for some idiots. With so many Americans looking for ways to become a socialist nation, this greatly expands opportunities for the government to run more business. Some have even suggested USA government seize BP the way President Harry Truman took over steel mills during the Korean War. With deeper roots into private industry … the oil industry … this could be a huge windfall for big government.

Reason Eleven to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Conspiracy Theory

If we never had something so extreme as oil spills or terrorist attacks, how else would we ever uncover all of the USA government’s plans to destroy the world and kill all its inhabitants through the decades?

Reason Twelve to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Fun With Nukes

Maybe you think it is silly, but just think about how infrequently we get to blow stuff up with nuclear explosions. Never mind any side effects, at least it could stop the oil spill. Besides, consider the great stories we could tell our grandkids about the three headed fish and how we saw it all get started.

Reason Thirteen to Give BP a Break About Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Tony Hayward Wants His Life Back

Tony Hayward just wants his life back. Shouldn’t we respect the wishes of such a powerful man, after all?

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The Lazy Internet Culture: A Culture of Internet Marketing

Do You Understand Global? — Do You Understand Globalization?

The Internet has created a lot of change in culture around the world. It is not true for everybody, but on a large scale, globalization and greater awareness of the world is a reality. People learned more about the other side of this planet in the past decade than in all those thousands of years prior to the Internet. We have embraced other cultures that we were not previously aware of, and we have blended into a larger culture … the Internet culture. The Internet truly has been instrumental in creating the more global society we know today.

I am an American. I live within about an hour drive from the geographical center of the continental United States. I am about as far away from another country as you can be while within the USA boundaries. At the same time, I would estimate that I have more experience in dealings outside of the USA than 99.9 percent of United States citizens. Much of that is due to the Internet, but not entirely. I have traveled extensively, and I have spent time in many other countries. I have done business in countries all around the world, and learned a lot of interesting things about many cultures. I guess you may call me “worldly” based on my experiences, but I have learned more about people and cultures by using the Internet than in my travels. I should perhaps also add that it has provided me with a unique view on Americans and American Work Ethic vs. Globalization.

The Lazy Internet Culture and Internet Marketing

It seems that the Internet has a downside. Actually, the Internet has a few downsides, but I want to address a particular one. I want to address the culture of laziness that the Internet has made widely available. It is a lazy culture of believing that the Internet will fix everything, and that it is a simple place to earn a living. After all, who wouldn’t love to sit back and watch money flow in all night and day for doing nothing, and risking nothing? That is how the Internet is viewed by a frighteningly large number of people.

This really is a problem, and it really does have an affect on your business future! It has an affect on how people view their jobs, and it creates a laziness with a backlash that we cannot even quantify as of yet.

A Story of Our Internet Culture

I received a call a couple days ago that sincerely troubled me. I actually get a lot of calls like this, but I will share this particular one with you. The woman on the other end of the line asked me “how much does a website cost?” I have been answering this question for over a decade, but the absurdity is getting worse. The woman wanted to know what it would cost her to get what she wants. I needed more information, because after all, websites are not created equally … not even close. An ecommerce website with seven digits of monthly traffic will not cost the same as a novice site invisible to Google by the kid who just took his first high school computing class. If you really want to know how much a successful website will cost, without any clue about how it will succeed, my easy answer is “fifty-two squillion dollars and thirty four cents” (plus a fresh pot of coffee and a carton of cigarettes). Read “How Much does a Website Cost?” if you want a more defined look at the variables involved.

I asked her what kind of website she needs, what she will be offering, and what her goals are. She told me that she wanted to sell travel, and she wanted to earn between $1,000-$2,000 per month. Please note that I don’t market for hobbies … I market for businesses. This was clearly not a client that I would accept, but I wanted to help her with some guidance anyway. She seemed really earnest in wanting to do something, but she was extremely confused. So, we talked for a bit. I did not charge her a penny.

I came to discover that she did not yet have a service to offer. She was looking into an opportunity to sell a travel service. The company she had been considering offered a package for $399 with a website and everything she would require to make the money she needed and wanted. She was actually coming to me for comparison shopping. She thought maybe I could offer something for less than $399 that would earn her $1,000-$2000 per month. (Note: I do not deal in hundreds.) She really felt interested in the opportunity the company offered. I did not want to hurt her hopes, but I was just dying to know how she thought she would stand out beyond 672 million other results in a Google search for travel, with a budget under $400. I wanted to know her angle. I also really had to know whether she had heard of Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, Hotels.com, or the others. I wanted to hear how she planned to get her piece of that market without any sense of a marketing budget, and without any travel industry experience. Don’t judge me just yet. I was nice about each of my questions … I was sincerely nice.

All of the sudden, the topic changed. When I asked about how she would target her audience for selling travel, she was at a loss. I guess she got a bit scared when she realized it would be kind of hard to earn a living selling travel to her friends and family. Then she wanted to know about marketing her line of perfume. No, not just perfume, but wedding perfume. Wow, this was a big shift from travel. She wants to market a very targeted perfume, specifically for a Christian woman on her wedding day. Really, she had a good case for it, too. The story was complete with things a nun had taught her as a young lady. She is ready for targeted marketing. Well, except for the fact that the target is like shooting a pea with a spitball at 100 kilometers.

Please see my point here. I hear a lot of stories about the next fantastic idea every day. Sometimes it is a new idea, and sometimes it is a person who just wants a piece of an existing market. Many times, it is just somebody looking for a way to get out of a job or to increase their lot in life, without any focus whatsoever. In nearly every instance, it is a person or corporation who thinks they have what it takes to be a success. They think this right up to the point of going broke trying to prove it. Sometimes they get lucky and find somebody who will tell them the truth before they waste a bunch of time and money. It is the lucky ones who find somebody to be honest and let them know it will not be as easy as the advertisement they just read about the Internet being their new savior.

I am usually pretty abrupt about things like this by giving an Internet marketing reality check. I felt really kind toward this woman. I guess I just needed to know more about her hopes, and I wanted to try my best to understand the mentality of people and what they respond to. I wanted to have a feel for people again … real people … like the ones struggling with hopes that they secretly believe are foolish but really want to hold onto. I wanted to feel somebody’s hopes, without just immediately crushing them with the truth. I wanted to let her down softly and not just be the everyday brutally honest Murnahan.

Three Lazy Internet Marketing Categories

I want to offer my views of three very sad categories of people I find in my career in Internet marketing. These three lazy categories of people that the Internet culture has created are as follows:

Type One: They heard the Internet is a great place to earn more money. This is a common message delivered by people trying to rip somebody off. It is so common that I would categorize it as the most destructive factor of the Internet. The majority of Internet users falling into this trap do not understand business, marketing, or even conceptualize earning a lot of money. They just know that they hear a whole lot of talk about making a ton of money, and websites … and there was something else. All they really heard was “money” and “website”. The rest was just filed off as something they did not need to know. They deeply believe that there actually is a quick and easy road to riches, and they just have to keep looking under every rock until they find it. There is a big belief that “somebody is getting rich the easy way, and it may as well be me.” What these sad folks will never grasp is that if anybody is getting rich easy, it is the one who sold you that delusion. The truth is that they are usually not worth the paper they are printed on.
Type Two: They already tried to use the Internet for a business, and it failed. This usually happens when somebody fails to implement due diligence. They did everything they heard would work, and they still failed miserably. Their business did not grow, and they lost every penny they spent. This is a sad category to me, because it is the kind I may have actually been able to help if they came to me earlier. There really is a huge marketplace on the Internet. Success is attainable if you have a business with a really good Internet marketing plan. If you are in this category, I wish you the best. If you ever want to try to do it better than before, I will be delighted to visit with you about a solid marketing plan with real numbers.
Type Three: They keep hearing about the Internet and are curious, but they are paralyzed by fears. They do not want to make the wrong decisions, so they make no decisions at all. They do what is comfortable, and they are afraid to push the marketing go button.

How Can I Call Internet Marketing Culture Lazy?

People who have followed my blog or my career for a while realize that I have been very successful in my line of work. Many also realize that I took it on the chin for the small guys about two years ago. I took some big losses in 2009 by standing up for people like this. It caused a loss to my annual income of more than an average twenty Americans earn per year, and postponed a planned 2012 retirement. That happened when huge corporate suppliers and clients alike started laying people off and ceasing services that I sold to my clients. I was a stand-up guy when they needed a stand-up guy. I feel mostly good about my decisions, and never regret holding integrity above profits.

I have always had a bit larger view of the Internet than average, because I provide the services that a lot of Internet service providers sell to their customers. I was not a bastard when I perhaps should have been a bastard the most. When I talked to the woman in the conversation above, I wanted to get back to understanding these people who have hopes without common sense getting in the way. After all, I created a massively successful Internet business back in 2000 with that same positive spirit. Fortunately, I also owned a 13 year old marketing company at the time.

There has been a lot of change in the world since I started my wholesale Internet services company. It was not easy then, and it is even harder to get a good foothold now. The opportunity is greater than ever, but it is incredibly irresponsible to start a new business with no budget, no marketing plan, and nothing but a huge set of blinders on to keep you from seeing anything but a carrot of hope in the distance. Success does not work that way.

What will make you different? I have an idea! Try some marketing talent. If you don’t have marketing talent, you better have money to hire it out.

A Positive Note About Internet Marketing Laziness

I want to leave you with a positive thought about the laziness and easy-money attitudes about Internet marketing. I have been in this industry long enough to see a lot, and I have had a lot of success at it. I have also worked very hard for it. If it helps you to feel any better at all, I will show you three little kids who will never in my lifetime be allowed to think the Internet is an easy place to earn money. These are my children, and I love them too much to destroy them with such nonsense.

American Work Ethic vs. Globalization

At first sight, you may wonder how “American Work Ethic” (or decline thereof) ties into a blog about search engine optimization (SEO) and Internet marketing. I will try to sum this up quickly by reminding you of another term that has been equally misunderstood and ignored, and that is “Globalization” or “Global Market” and the increasing comparison of American workers to other nations.

Comparing American Work Ethic

When comparing American work ethic, a useful measure is in the entrepreneurial success enjoyed by many immigrants to the USA versus natural born citizens. According to a November 2008 study by the Small Business Administration, immigrants are 30% more likely to start a business than non-immigrants. The study also shows that while immigrants comprise only 12.5% of the total American population (2000 US Census), they represent 16.7% of all new business owners in the United States.

With a deeper look into the culture of immigrants to the USA, we can see a greater willingness to sacrifice today for a better future. Immigrants also do not see the challenges that many Americans blame for their lack of achievement, but rather see all of the opportunity that natural-born American citizens overlook. It is common that immigrants will keep to a more humble lifestyle, avoiding the need to show off their hard work in the form of a flashy car or home. This can be attributed, in part, to the fact that even a less than magnificent lifestyle in America is often still much more luxurious and comfortable than found in their country of origin.

When comparing an average American worker to their counterpart in other nations, it spells out a picture of being very spoiled with luxury, and taking much for granted. As an American worker myself, I have enjoyed many of the spoils, and I am not at all removed from this. I can imagine that most proud Americans would agree with the statement that for the most part, we have had it really good here in the USA. All the while, many people from other nations will work much harder and display greater work ethics to achieve the luxuries that Americans take for granted. Such luxuries in America as food on the grocery store shelves, paved streets, running water, and functioning sewage systems, are not government entitlements in many countries.

The American Work Ethic: Possible Causes

Family: The question of declining American work ethic could be related in some ways to the question parents have always pondered of whether kids are really getting worse “these days”, or are we just viewing it from a different perspective. It is easy to argue each side of the equation, but if you try to quantify it, I think the answer is yes, kids are getting worse in many ways. The decline in the American family due to divorce, job demands, and many other environmental factors has left many kids to be raised by their peers. Clearly, if you look back 20, 30, or 50 years, you will find violent crimes, drug use, teenage pregnancy, and many of the other woes of America today were at much lower levels in the past. You cannot sum this up to just having our eyes closed in the past. These are real problems that have become much more common as time goes by. Relating this to the American work ethic is not a big stretch.

Entitlements: Americans as a society base much of their security on entitlements. This entitlement mentality has worsened with time, to the point much of America relies on things that have no perceived cost. If you put figures on the cost of any given family, many American families would be shocked to find that while they believe they are contributing, they are rather taking multiple times more than they give. This multiple would grow to an epic level for any family with a member in one of our overcrowded luxury prisons. Those entitlements I mentioned above, are not entitlements in many nations, and they have a cost. In America, these luxuries are supposedly gratis, because some rich uncle named Sam just makes it all happen for them. This is not to say that USA is not a better nation with many of the entitlements, but without careful limits there is a point when it all breaks down. When entitlements deter work ethic, and when corporations jump on board and are entitled to bailouts, we have perhaps found that point of failure.

American Work Ethic: Decline in Rewards

The rewards for high work ethics in America have declined. This decline in reward for achievement has become more apparent in 2008 and 2009 than in recent years, with a decline in the global economy. The majority of Americans have cut back in spending, while often working more than before. This makes the reward for high work ethic a tough adjustment for many Americans. Adding to the struggle is a vast improvement over USA in technology and education in other industrialized nations. This makes it more important than ever for Americans to recognize the sweeping influence of the “Global Marketplace” or “Globalization“, and to take action.

At perhaps the worst time ever, the American society continues to threaten incentives for future generations. A frightening factor in the future of a globalized market is an American education system that is increasingly accepting the notion of eliminating the system of rewards in our schools with the A, B, C, D and F grading system, but rather incentivizing efforts. I remember the words of a great sales manager I once worked with. He would always remind his sales team to “never confuse efforts with results”. Sadly, the systems of incentive are breaking down, and make no mistake, the results will follow.

De-incentivizing excellence out of concerns for marginalizing the average is completely counter to productivity. If you take out the incentive and make it tougher for those with the means to pull the train, the train will stand still. There will always be a 20/80 rule in life that shows that 20% of the work force will produce 80% of the results. This is not a myth, and it is not a new notion.

Americans in a Global Marketplace

How Americans can prosper in the global marketplace comes back to the purpose of my blog. I cannot offer a magic pill to cure the American condition, but I can give some useful information on how to remain competitive in the face of globalization. Some will have a position of defending their standing in the global market, while others will embrace globalization. Whatever your position, the Internet, particularly the search engine, is your front line. The Internet has held a huge role in expanding globalization, and is also your best means to work within or to defend yourself against a market that is increasingly globalized. Your best leverage of the Internet is with high quality search engine optimization (SEO) to place your Website in the most visible top rankings in searches.

Search engine optimization (SEO) holds an even greater role than ever before in reaching your market, whether locally or globally. There is neither job nor company immune to the expanding reach of globalization. If you are waiting around with a “wait and see” mentality, you will find that you will have accrued a great cost of lost opportunities, and a much steeper hill to climb when you reach your decision.

It is not time to form a committee to meet about thinking about talking to a SEO professional and taking five Americans to do the job of one decision maker. It means that the train is coming down the track, and you must choose to be on board or be left behind.