Articles
The Internet and the arrival of the citizen marketer
by John GrahamAll the signs point in every possible direction. Even at huge eBay, the
quintessential Internet portal, revenues are slowing and at least one highly
touted new initiative, eBay Express, is showing lackluster results.
At the same time, bricks-and-clicks retailers seem to be doing much better and
overall Internet sales this past holiday period were impressive.
Newspaper circulation continues a downward slide, electronic news sources delivered
to computer and cell phones grows. Without question, the print media has struggled
to get its arms around the Internet. It isn’t an easy task, to say the
least. Yet, there are signs that many are getting it right. Readers of the New
York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The LA Times, Boston Globe and
others are migrating to electronic editions and advertising is following.
The picture is further complicated by the way the Internet turns our mental constructs
upside down. It has forever changed the way knowledge has been disseminated since
the dawn of history. Starting perhaps with the shamans, someone maintained control
by holding on to the knowledge purse, dispersing
“education” to select groups.
There was a time not so long ago when high school students were “guided”
into “college prep,” “business” and the like. In
some parts of the world, females are not deemed worthy of education.
The Internet has put an end to anti-egalitarian nonsense and has created what
authors Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba call “citizen marketers.”
Here are a couple of examples of what’s happening. Does anyone make a purchase
today without first doing a Google search to gather information? That simple
act has changed our mindset about anyone who tries to “sell”
us anything, whether it’s an idea, an insurance policy or a coffee
maker. We have moved from trust to doubt, never to return.
The second example has to do with what might be called “the unavoidable
transparency.” Recently, a regional newspaper reported that the chief of
police of a mid-size city appeared before the city council and called
“some of the city police officers union’s accusations against
him ‘trash’ and asserted that any perception of low morale
among officers is fiction.” All this followed the chief receiving
a no-confidence vote from the union.
Such adversarial encounters are nothing new, except there’s a new source
of information available, the blog. The city’s police officers’
union president expresses his view with clarity and passion on a blog.
Blogs, by their nature, are biased. Their value rests in providing other data
points. They make the point that no one, including those in authority hold the
keys to the information kingdom.
Just ask Dell and the many others who have changed their policies because of
blog power. Both accolades and criticisms influence the way we “buy”
both things and ideas.
This brings us to the critical point about the Internet: it is all about pull,
not push. Simply put, those who use the Internet most effectively, use pull.
For example, if you are selling a camera, you will not only provide graphics
and substantial detail about the equipment, but you will have a blog where buyers
can tell about their experience and rate the camera. You will also include reviews
by experts and prices from other retailers. The goal is to give the would-be
buyer a basis for making a satisfactory decision to purchase this particular
camera.
What we slowly (perhaps even reluctantly) come to realize is that the power has
been taken forever out of our hands, whether we are educators, politicians, salespeople
or parents. Most assuredly we can trick and be tricked, but we will be found
out. Nothing can be hidden. The power now belongs to the citizen, the average
person.
By creating the ‘citizen marketer,’ the Internet qualifies as the
most significant change agent of all time.
John R. Graham is president of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm. He is the author of The New Magnet Marketing and Break the Rules Selling, writes for a variety of business publications, and speaks on business, marketing and sales issues. Contact him at 40 Oval Road, Quincy, MA 02170; 617-328-0069; jgraham@grahamcomm.com.