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Untitled Document
The Top Ten Challenges
Facing eMarketers
1. Dealing with the
IT Department - It's been IT
vs. Marketing in many circles for too long. It's time we understood that we
need to partner with our IT friends to implement our marketing programs. It's
simple, we need them and they need us.
2. Continuing Education -
Marketers of the 21st century, need to be constantly learning. The lessons of
the dot bust era taught us that success in new channels requires knowledge,
sound business practices and common sense. Those marketers that don't keep up
will be left behind. Knowledge in marketing comes with an expiration date, and
continuing professional development is a necessity. Take a class, get a certification,
read a book, whatever works for you, but keep learning.
3. Bad Marketing -
Anyone can call themselves a marketer, web designer, SEO expert, consultant
and so on. There is a lot of bad marketing out there as a result. Poorly created
and executed marketing programs degrade our profession, and create mistrust
between clients and marketers. By doing marketing right, you help to tip the
scale in favor of our profession.
4. Lack of Trust -
Spam, identity theft, intrusive advertising and technological glitches has left
many mistrusting of marketing in general, and especially e-Marketing. You are
either part of the problem or part of the solution.
5. Know-It-Alls - Nobody
fully understands all aspects of e-Marketing. There is simply too much to know,
and whatever you do know is changing at supersonic speed. If you are going to
be an expert, you will have to specialize in one aspect of e-Marketing.
6. Ethical Practices -
The Internet has spawned an unprecedented mass of un-ethical businesses. There
have always been scam artists and bottom feeders, but the Internet seems to
have brought them out in epic numbers. Make sure your own practices are squeaky
clean and try to educate your customers about some of the pitfalls of ecommerce.
7. Corporate
Culture - In many companies
no department "owns" the website, and every department "owns"
the website. Websites should belong to marketing, not finance, operations, IT
or legal. It is difficult to produce good marketing by committee, especially
when the committee doesn't have a clue. Collaboration is important, and your
associates should provide input, but marketing should make the final decisions.
8. International Commerce - The Internet has made products and services
available around the world as close to customers as their living room (or wherever
they have their computer). This new world channel allows for unprecedented revenue
flows in and out of foreign countries, and that impact could eventually have
a dramatic effect on our domestic economy. We have a lot in common with people
of other cultures and countries, but there are differences. Understanding is
the key to good international commerce as well as relations.
9. Intellectual Property - It has
never been easier to steal someone else's hard work. Everything from music,
to software and images are lifted from the Internet every day. This is a bad
thing.
10. Customer Expectations - Never
before have customers expected so much. Managing your customer expectations
is vital to marketers, because if you don't your competitors will. Without customers
you will not have a business, take the time to get to know them, treat them
with care and respect, the same way you want to be treated as a customer.
Number 11 - Free Bonus Challenge for Marketers
11. Love - The dictionary defines love as a benevolent concern for
the good of another. Relationships with your associates, employees, customers
and even competitors can dramatically affect your success and happiness. At
the end of the day, it is still people, not technology that makes our profession
and our lives worthwhile.
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