How to grow your internet business without doing it all yourself

Howtogrowyourinternetbusinesswithout
doingitallyourself



byPaulIsaac


Abouttheauthor

PaulIsaacisthefounderoftwodigitalmarketingagenciesandhasmarketedglobalbrandstheworldover.When
yesterday’sdigitalmarketingtechniquesstoppedworking,heandhiscompanyspentfouryearspioneeringnewones
whichdid.
BornintheUK,hecurrentlylivesintheNetherlandsandisstillafrequentvisitortotheUK,aswellastheUSAand
Swedenwherehehasfamily.Hespendshisdaysgettinghands-onwithmarketingforhisglobalclientsandcycling
enthusiasticallyacrosstheflatDutchcountryside.
Youcanreachhimat






Theeasywaytoreadthisbook.


You’reabusyperson.Eversinceallourlaboursavingdeviceslikecomputersandmobile
phoneswereinvented,wesomehowhavealotmorework.

I’dlovetothinkyou’regoingtoreadeverylastwordofthisbook-Inearlybrokeintoa
sweatwritingsomeofit-butifyouwanttogetupandrunningasfastaspossiblethen,
especiallyforyou,I’veincludingaWrapUpsectionattheendofeachchaptertogiveyou
thekeypointsfromthatchapter.YoucouldreadalloftheseWrapUpsfirst,thengotothe
lastchapterwhichisaquickHow-To-Get-Startedguide.Thenyou’llbeoffandrunning,
makingsomuchmoneyyoucanaffordthetimetocomebackandreadtherestofit.



TheinternetandanancientChinesegeneral


Beforetheinternetbubbleburstin2001therewasalotoftalkabouthowtraditional
businessesdidn’t“get”theinternet.Wedon’thearsomuchfromthosepeopleanymore.
Thebubbleburst,theywereprovedwrong.Thereasontheywerewrongwasthatthey
thoughtthenewtechnologymadetheoldbasicsobsolete.

We’regoingtobediscussingalotofverymodernwaystodomarketinginthisbook,but
let’snotgetlost.Peoplearestillpeopleandsellingisstillselling.Intheend,theinternet
isjustachannel,anewwayforustocommunicatewitheachother.Itmaybeamajor
channelwhichhasdisruptedcommerceinawaynotseenbeforeinourlifetimes,butit’s
stillachannel.Andperspectivematters.

Tokeepthatperspective,I’mgoingtobedivingbackintoaworkwhichwaswritteninthe
fifthcenturyB.C.:TheArtofWarbytheChinesegeneralSunTzū.Ichosethisbook
becauseit’soutofcopyrightsoIwon’thavetopayroyaltiesifIquoteit.Ha,ha.No,not
really.Ichoseitbecauseitsprinciplesofstrategyapplyequallywelltobusinessastowar.
Thesearethebasics.

Marketingideascomeandgo,gee,ifIonlyhadadollarforeverynewbookonthesubject

thatcomesout.Butthebasicprinciplesendure.TheArtofWarwaswrittenfroma
militaryperspective,butit’saboutstrategyandthosestrategicprinciplesapplyto
marketinginabigway.

Here’soneofmyfavouritequotesfromittogetyouthinking:

“Henceinthewiseleader’splans,considerationsofadvantageanddisadvantage
willbeblendedtogether.”


I’veseenanawfullotofcompaniesviolatethis.Forexample,theymakeasalesbudget
basedonnewbusinesstheywillgain.However,theyneverallowedthatthecompetition
wouldprobablycomeinandtakesomeoftheirexistingbusinessfromsomewhere,in
otherwords,theydidnotallowfordisadvantages.Iftheyhad,theywouldhaverealised
thattheyneededtotargetalotmorenewbusinesstomeettheirsalesgoals.

Or,togiveyouanotherexample,I’veseencompaniesgoafternewbusinessbycompeting
onprice,andthenbesurprisedwhenthecompetitionloweredtheirsinresponse.Thisall
soundslikecommonsense,butitgetsignoredmoreoftenthanyou’dimagine.



——————————————

Alright,that’sallthewarmingupyou’regoingtoget.Ifyou’rereadyforsome
controversialviews,somestrangehumourand(hopefully)somegenuineinsightsinto
doingbusinessontheinternets,let’sgetstarted.

Chapter1


They’rejustnotthatintoyou.


Afewbasiclessonsinmarketing


1.Marketingiseasy



Marketingiseasy?Noteverystrugglingbusinessownerwouldagreeandsotoexplain
thisstatement,Ineedtotellyoualittleaboutmystory,butthat’sokay,Iliketalkingabout
myself.

FormorethantenyearsIworkedatabilliondollarmultinationalelectronicscompany.
Ourcomplexproductsweredesignedbyteamsofhighlyqualifiedengineersusingevery
toolinthemoderndesigntoolboxfromComputer-Aided-DesignandProjectManagement
SoftwaretoSixSigmaqualitysystems.

Andthentherewasme.Nospecificskills,couldn’tdrawanewproductdesignletalone
manufactureone,droppedoutofuniversity,formersemi-professionalbassplayer,
sometimewarehouseoperative.ProbablyifIhonestlytookmyrecognisedprofessional

skills,Icouldwritethemonasmallsetofcardsandteachthemtosomeoneinan
afternoon.

Ifeltmostguiltaboutthat,whenreflectingonthebenefitsmyteamofproductmanagers
enjoyed:goodsalaries,betterofficesthantheengineers,freeaccesstoseniormanagement
(althoughyoumightquestionifthatwasreallyabenefithadyouevermetsomeofthem),
internationaltravelandthebestrestaurantfood.

Ohyes,especiallytheinternationaltravelandgreatfood!.Mypersonalfavouritesfrom
thattimeincludedtheweeklongsalesconferenceatPhuketBeach,Thailand.Ihad
arrivedattheresortfollowingaweekinShanghaiandSingaporeandhadconveniently
arrangedtostaythereinThailandatthebeachratherthaninSingaporefortheintervening
weekend.Atophotelinoneoftheworld’sleadingresorts,twodaysrelaxingonthe
beach,mealsall-inandeverythingpaidforbythecompany.Workinglifedoesn’tget
muchbetterthanthat.

OrtherewasanothertripIwillneverforget.Ifoundmyselfwearingasuit,carryinga
smallbriefcasecontainingmylaptop,standinginasmallspeedboatonabalmylate
SeptemberdayasittookmeacrossfromasmallvillageonthesouthernFrenchcoasttoa
resortislandafewmilesoffshore.ThiswassomethingIhadneverplannedformyselfand
wouldneverhaveenvisioned,butifthiswasmyworkinglife,thenitwasn’thalfbad.

Now,Iamnottheworld’sgreatestdrinkerbutIamagreatconnoisseurofgoodfoodand


onceagainthecompanyeffectivelypaidformydoctoratelevelstudyoftheworld’smajor
cuisinesintheirnativehabitats.Fortherecord,mypersonallistofthetopthreeglobal
cuisinesendsupwithFranceatnumberone,followedbyItalyandChinainjointsecond
place.

Therewerestillfurtherbenefitsaccruingtowemarketers:companyapparelandfreebies.
Weweremorepresentersthanparticipantsatthevariousregionalsalesandmarketing
meetings,yetwesomehowstillqualifiedfortheT—shirts,pens,hats,kitbags,towels,
whatever,thattheattendeesgot.SomeofitIwore,whileotheritemswentfairlyquickly
tocharityshopsandothergoodcauses.Evennow,theremustbeentirethirdworld
villageswearingclothespaintedwithourcompanylogo.Youcanseesomeofitinmy
resignationphotobelow.

Onelastcommenttoendthisannoyingboasting.Tothisday,Istillhaven’tmanagedto
spendallthefrequentflyerpointsIbuiltupduringthatglobetrottingphaseofmylife.
Therearestillseveralfreeholidaystogo.


Whythen,werewespoiledlikethis,comparedtotheengineerswhoactuallydesignedthe
productsthecompanysold.TothisdayI’mnottotallysure.Engineersaresurely
undervaluedandifIhadtoarguemycasewithoneofthem,I’dprobablylose.However,
itcomesdowntothebasicsofallmarketing.

Andthebasicofallmarketingis:Understandthecustomer.

It’snotaboutyouoryourproduct,it’saboutwhatthecustomerwants.That’swhyIcalled
thischapterMarketingIsSimple.Infactit’ssosimplethatmostpeoplecan’tdoit.Proof
ofsomeofmy“luxury”sidebenefits:Idressedpurelyincompanyitemsformylastday
asawageslave.




Figure1.1Mylastdayasawageslave

2.No,they’rereallynotthatintoyou


Let’sassumeforaminutethatengineersaremoreintelligentthanmarketingpeople.It
mightwellbetrueandIforoneampreparedtoletitslipby.Soifmarketingisalso
relativelyeasytodo,thenwhywouldn’tanengineerchangecareerandgethimselfan
easierlifewithmorefringebenefitsandahighersalary?

Ibelievetheansweristhatbeforeyoucandothissimplejob,youhavetounlearnawhole
lotofbaggageandassumptionsyou’vebeenmaking,sincestartingbusinesslife.

Inmyglobetrottingdays,Iwasinvitedallovertheworldtomakepresentationsatsales
andmarketingmeetings.Mypresentationsmainlyconsistedofsomegoodjokesandcool
graphicsheldtogetherbyavaguesmatteringofcontent,soIdidn’tconsiderthemgood
value,butIwasaskedtogo,soIwent.Imean,itwasbetterthansittingbehindadesk
doingemailsallday.

Whatitalsogavemewastheopportunitytoobserveotherpeople’spresentations,towrite
sillypoemsonthefreenotepadsandtomakethesortofphilosophicobservationsabout
lifethatanyboredpersonwoulddoundersuchcircumstances.AndthemainconclusionI
drewwasthatpeoplearejustway,way,waytoomuchintotheirownproductwithnoidea
thatothersmightnotbeanywherenearasenthusiasticaboutitastheyare.

Ifyouarepresentingyourcompanytoacustomerorpotentialnewcustomer,youcan’t
assumeanylevelofinterestatall.They’rejustnotthatintoyou.Theyarealreadymired
intheirownproductorservice,theirworkproblems,theirpersonalproblems.But
somewhereyoutaughtyourselfthattheywouldautomaticallybefocussedonthesame
thingyou’reinterestedinand,frankly,you’regoingtohavetounlearnthisdelusionfast,

oryou’llneverbeabletodosomethingassimpleasmarketing.

Atitsmostbasic,marketingisaboutseeingthingsfromthecustomer’spointofview.If
youaresocaughtupinyourownthenyouwillneverdothat.YoumaythinkwhatI’m
sayingisobvious,butthereasonI’mhammeringit,isthatit’sreallyalotharderthanit
looks.ItwaswatchingtheworstpresentersattheseconferencesIattendedthatreally
broughtthelessonhometome.

Exhibitone:Thisguyhadsuchacomplicatedsetofslidesthathehadtopresentitwithhis
backtotheaudience,readingthetextofhisownslidesoffthescreenbecauseitwastoo
muchtorememberwhathe’dwritten.There’snothingstrangerthanwatchingthanaguy


withamicrophonetalkingloudlyatascreen.Evenmoreso,whenheappearstobe
genuinelysurprisedatthesheerbrillianceofeachslide(whichhehadwritten),asitcomes
upbeforehim.

Wecouldcallthatbadpresentationtechnique,whichistrue,andleaveitatthat.However,
ifyouonlyslightlythoughtaboutit:Howdifficultwouldyouwanttomakeitforyour
customers/audiencetofindoutaboutyourproduct?Whygivethemanexcusetogoto
sleep?

Incaseyoudoubt,thenIgiveyouExhibitTwo.Thisengineerputupacomplicatedslide
consistingofabigtablefullofdetail,muchofwhichwasdifficultformetounderstand,
andIworkedinthecompanyandalreadyknewhisproducts.Beforeanyonecouldeven
readit,heimmediatelystartedexpandingonthetableasthoughwehadalreadystudiedit
thoroughlyandwerefamiliarwithallitsdetail.It’struehewastalkingtoaroomfullof
technicalpeople,peoplewhohadaneedforcomponentsliketheoneswemade.Butthey
weren’tpeoplewhowenttoworkeverydaylivingandbreathingeverydetailofwhatwe
did.I’msuretheyweren’tabletofollowmorethan10%ofwhathesaid.

WhereIamgoingwiththisis:Inyoursalespitches,inyourliterature,onyourwebsite,
whereveryouwanttocommunicatetoyourcustomers,don’tstartbyassumingthey’re
eveninterested.IFyouassumetheycouldn’tgiveafig,andstartfromthere,thenyou’re
morelikelytoactuallygetthemtolisten.

ObviouslyI’mnotthefirstpersontohavethistheory.Thereisanexpressionwhichcame
fromengineeringandwhichyou’llalsofindinsomemarketingbooks:KISS(Keepit
simplestupid).

Butothershavesaidthesamethingindifferentways.Ireallylikethefollowingguideto
makingapresentation,whichapparentlycamefromAristotle:

✴ Tellthemwhatyou’regoingtotellthem
✴ Tellittothem
✴ Tellthemyoutoldit

Followthosethreerulesandyoucankeepyouraudiencelongenoughtodeliveryour
message.



Thereis,however,anevenmorebasicideaunderneaththeabove:



3.Findoutwhatthecustomerswant


Thedisciplineofmarketingresearchwasn’tinventedfornothing.Itwouldseemlikeano

brainerthatyoushouldresearchamarketbeforeenteringit,untilyoulookatjusthow
muchsellingandmarketingisdoneonahunch.Noresearch,justguess.

Soyou’vebeeninthebusinessallyourlife?Unlessyou’realreadyatleastamillionaire
thenthere’sroomtolistenmoretoyourcustomers,andquickly,beforesomeupstart
comesin,understandsthecustomers’needsbetterthanyouandstealsthemaway.

Insomerespects,it’sunderstandablewhythishappens.Whenwelookataproductit
seemsobviouswhatpeoplewilllikeaboutit.Afterall,thosearethethingswelike,it
seemsimpossiblethatotherswon’tlikethemtoo.Weforgethowdifferentpeopleare.So
insteadofsurveyingthepublic,wesurveyedourself.Andwe’renoteveninthetarget
group.

I’llgiveyouagreatexample,highlightedbymarketresearchexpertBruceWiseman1.

“FewpeopleoutsideoftheadvertisingworldknowthatitwasJayWardwhotookQuaker
Oatsfromastodgysecond-tiercerealcompanytothefrontranksofthelucrativechildren’s
breakfastmarketbyhelpingthemdevelopaworldclassbrand:CaptainCrunch.

In1962,Quakerwaslookingtoexpandtheircerealline.Notawalkintheparkcompeting
againstatriumvirateof900poundbreakfastgorillas–Wheaties,Cheerios,andKellogg’s
CornFlakes.TheadguysatQuakerflashedalittlemarketingbrillianceanddecidedto
conductsomemarketresearch–oftheircustomers,noless(canIgetanAmen?).

Akeyfindingwasthatkidswantedcerealthatwouldstaycrunchyinmilk.

Who’dhaveguessed.”

Intoday’sonlineworld,testingiseasy.Ihadacustomerinafailingcompanywhichsold
businesstobusinessmachineryonline.Unfortunately,heranthisonlinecompanylikea
highstreetstore.Everydayhecameinandjustinventedwhatneededdoing:whatweb
pagetochange,whattexttowrite,whattosayinhisads.Ibeggedhimtochange,Ireally
likedhimpersonally.TherewasnoreasonIcouldseeforhisbusinessnottosucceed
excepthisassumptionthathealreadyknewwhatthecustomerswanted.Asofthis
writing,hiscompanyisteeteringontheedgeofinsolvency.



Ifyoualsohavethisapproach,thenyouneedtoconsiderthatatleastoneofyour
competitorsisprobablytestingalready.Theyarejustinchingtheirconversion
performanceupdaybyday,findingcheapercustomers,findingoutwhatpersuadesthe
customerstobuy,findingwhichproductfeaturesgetthemexcited.Intheend,you’re
goingtobeupagainstawallofcustomerinsightthatyou’llneverbeabletoclimb.

ForalongtimeI’vebelievedthattheverybestwayacompanycanmarkettestanew
productisjusttosomehowreleaseaversionoftheproductfirst,evenifyoucan’tmass
produceityet.Getitoutthere.Thenyou’llknowhowpeoplewillreallyreacttoit.
Somethingscanneverbeforeseen.Stoppingpeopleonthestreetandaskingwhatthey
thinkofatheoreticalproductisnotthesameashavingtherealthingintheirhands.But
gettheproductoutthereandhumancreativitywillgotoworkandfindusesand
applicationsthatwereneverdreamedof.Ornot,anditwillfail.

Textingismyfavouriteexampleofthat.Whenmobilephoneswerefirstlaunchednoone,
butnoone,envisagedhowmuchpeoplewouldusethemtosendtextmessages.Butaswe
allknow,itwenthuge.Nomarkettestortrialisgoingtogiveyouthat.

Mypointonthisone,asIsawit,wastofindacheapwaytogetyourproductoutthereon
themarket,getlotsofthemoutthere,andseewhatworks.Hell,onlysomethinglikeone

infiftyproductlaunchesisasuccess.Everyoneknowswhichonestheywereinhindsight,
butinadvancetheythoughtitwasallofthem.

Theageoftheinternetblewthisoutthewater.Ifyouhaveaproductideayoucanputup
awebsite,payforsomeonlineadvertising,handmakethefirstfewproductsandwatch
whathappens.Ifit’sgoingtofail,letitfailfast,thengetoutandstartworkingonthenext
one.

Nowthat’sreallylisteningtoyourcustomers.




4.…andgiveittothem


Once,Idimlyremember,itwasinthe1980sanddesktopcomputerswereanexciting
pioneeringfield.TheBritishhadacomputermanufacturingindustrywhichatthatstage
hadn’tbeenwipedoutbyfirstSiliconValley-andlater,China.AmstradComputers,
foundedbyAlanSugarwhohoststheUKversionofTheApprenticerealityTVseries,
releasedtheirnewmodel.Ithadarevolutionarynewdesignbasedonthelatestprocessor
anditwasdesignednottoneedtheafan.Afanwasstandardincomputersatthetime.It
flopped.Peoplelikedmostthingsaboutthecomputerbutadesktopcomputershouldhave
afan.Amstradfoundroomforanunnecessaryfan,addedit,andtheproducttookoff.

There’snoaccountingforcustomers,they’reawkwardlittlebastards.Iftheywant
ketchupontheirfiletmignon,thenbreakouttheketchupbottlebeforeyourcompetitors
do.Therearefewchancestoeducatecustomerssothattheyaskforwhatyouwantthem
toaskfor.Evenifthosechancescomealong,youstillneedtogettheminthefrontdoor
firstandkeepthemaroundlongenoughuntilyou’ve“re-educated”them.Andgoodluck

withthat.



5.You’renotalone


Onelastitemonmylistoftheobviousthingspeoplemiss:Therearecompetitorsout
there.

Everybusinessknowsthat,butwhenthey’remakingsalesplans,it’sanawfulloteasierto
justforgetaboutthem.

You’vethoughtcarefullyaboutthemessagethatwillbringpeopletoyourdentalpractice.
You’veevensurveyedafewpeopleandtheytoldyoutheywantaskilleddentistthat
won’thurtthem.Youwriteanadvertisingmessagewhichtellsthemthis.Yourunthead.
Itfails.

Therewerefiveotherdentistsinyourtownwiththesamemessage.Youweretellingthem
whattheywantedtohear,it’sjustthatyouweren’ttheonlyonetheywerehearingitfrom.
Sotheyhadachoice,orthemessagesoundedinsinceretothembecauseitdidn’tseemto
takemuchtogetadentisttosayit.

Here’sanothermessage.“We’veopenedasushirestaurantandyoucaneatallyouwant
foralowfixedprice.”Sixsushirestaurantsopenedinmytownthatyear.Theperson
whocraftedthatmessagewasprobablysureitwasagreatideawhichwouldbringpeople
in.MyheartgoesoutsometimeswhenIseethatpeoplehavesunktheirheartandsoul
intoanenterprisethattheycompletelybelievedin,butjustisn’tthatspecialtoeveryone
else.Evenifyoucangetcustomerswithame-toomessageorproduct,yourpricesare
goingtobedrivendowntothelimitofprofitabilityorbelow.

Thisisprobablythereasonmybanddidn’tmakethebigtime.Oh,didImentionIwasin
abandwhenIwasyounger?Wegotthroughthedoorsofrecordcompanies(afeatin
itself)butwenevergotsigned,muchtoourdisbelief.Wedidn’tbelieveitbecauseour
musicwasasgoodasbandswho’dmadeit.Ididn’tknowenoughthentoknowthat“as
goodas”isn’tgoodenough.Whenthereareplentyofchoicesandanalternativealready
exists,thenyou’reownchancesaremightyslim.

There’sawholebookaboutthis,oneofmyfavourites,it’scalledPositioning:TheBattle
ForYourMinds.Ihaveawholechapteraboutpositioninglater,butconsiderthisfornow:

“Today’smarketisnolongerresponsivetothestrategiesthatworkedinthepast.Thereare
justtoomanyproducts,toomanycompanies,andtoomuchmarketingnoise.”


AlRies&JackTrout
Positioning:TheBattleForYourMind

Theysaidthatin1981,bytheway.Seemslikeafaroffpeacefultimecomparedtotoday’s
world.

So,beforeyourunawaywithhowbrilliantyourideais,takealookatthecompetition.If
someoneisalreadysayingit,thenyouhavetosaysomethingdifferentoratleastfinda
differentwaytosaythesamething.

Fromyourcustomers’pointofview,it’snotallaboutyou,it’saboutthem.They’rejust
notthatintoyou.