MarketingBeyond

The Thieves of the Internet Podcast

Every hour of every day, thieves on the Internet steal the hard work of bloggers, podcasters and companies who have developed a following or brand. The thieves lurk in front of their computers, trying to use the search engines to direct traffic to their sites. Why? Naturally, for profit.

The thieves are unscrupulous. They commit identity theft every time HTML code is "borrowed" without giving credit to publishers who created the content. The thieves of the Internet should be banned from the Web.

Listen to this interesting podcast as Brian Prows explains and gives examples of the thieves at work.

iPhone Dumping Continues on eBay: Sellers Worry Over 3G

Apple released its promotional Apple 3G video today, touting the improvements of the 3G iPhone. Meanwhile, rabid dumping of iPhones on eBay continues unabated. Some sellers have resorted to "Sayn Design" gold 16 GB iPhones, selling in lots of 10 for $8,500.

While calculating total iPhones for sale on eBay is time consuming, due to CECT, HTC and other's including "iphone" in the listings, here are my best estimates of iPhones for sale on eBay worldwide as of July 1st, just 10 days before Apple releases the 3G version.

The numbers on Mobile Telephone Marketing.

The Ten Commandments of Hope: All Will Be Well

This is a marketing blog. I write about marketing strategies, ideas, products and services that strike me as "beyond" the ordinary. But this blog is also a forum for belief that we will survive in a world obsessed with disbelief and lack of hope. There's enough gloom-and-doom in the media and on Wall Street to bring down a bull elephant in Africa.

Our collective minds and beliefs can overpower every negative headline, every global calamity, every financial disaster. What we hope for—what we believe—taps into a Universal force beyond the powers of global media permeating our thoughts about global doom.

Without getting religious or new age, let me say that HOPE and BELIEF are absolute necessities to change our visions and realities of the now...and the future.

Read "The Ten Commandments" on MarketingVisions.

Facebook, Social Media & the War of Ideas

There's something happening in business--especially social media companies--that's greatly disturbing. Facebook's current legal dilemma--former classmates of Matt Zuckerberg claiming code theft--resembles the lost relative who suddenly appears, after a wealthy financier's death, to claim part of the pay-out.

I'm not an expert in copyright law, but I do know that ideas can't be copyrighted and for good reason. The courts, already besieged by frivolous lawsuits, would come to a grinding halt with the "it's my idea" crowd appearing like the lost relative.

Despite your opinion about Facebook, other social media sites, Google, Yahoo and a dozen other companies I could mention, the value of an idea only materializes when someone does something with the idea, such as starting a new company or making a new product or service of value. Ideas not acted on are legendary. Entrepreneurs who take action resulting in market acceptance is totally American and worth praising.

Believe me, I'm not supporting Facebook or any other company--especially here in Silicon Valley--that comes up with products and services people want. But it concerns me that social media and other Internet-based company valuations rise into the billions of dollars unjustified by profitability. At times, I think it's not too dissimilar from betting on horses at the racetrack or buying pork belly futures on the Chicago Board of Trade.

At a recent meeting of the Northern California Chapter of the Direct Marketing Association, the speaker, who had successfully created "buzz" among IT types--a miracle in itself--warned DMA members to avoid overtly "selling something" to people. The speaker said it ruins the "conversation" and "dialogue." While I agree that the used car sales approach is ineffective and dead, I don't believe that marketers are going to sell a lot of widgets only by creating a  "warm and fuzzy" dialogue with people. Maybe this is true in a world of virtual reality. I seriously doubt it works well with a Sears appliance sales person saying "let's have a conversation."

American Express is currently running large ads showing two credit cards and two one-liners. The first card is from Tri-Vista Bank (fictitious) with "I Own Comics" above the photo.  Beneath it, you see an American Express business card--the slogan: "I Own My Business." The ad brings to mind Apple's TV ad campaigns, comparing a foolish-looking Bill Gates' actor with a young guy, representing Apple, who mostly asks questions about Windows vs. the Mac. AMEX' print campaign and Apple's TV advertising both make the same point: If you're serious about the right credit card or computer, the clear winner is ______.

The War of Ideas is really the War for Mindshare. Let the attorneys collect their hefty fees debating whether Zuckerberg stole an instant message from someone in college. Let anyone with an idea create a company and become a billionaire in three months. Let the force of the marketplace separate the wheat from the chaff, as true entrepreneurs create value and the get rich quick types disappear into the shadows of Silicon Valley.

Googling Advertisers' Minds: Customer Service Confusion

Attention, Google advertisers....Pick a domain name with no more than 32 characters or face Hell.

Recently, I wrote and placed a few text ads, using Google's Adwords program, for my company--Innovative Communication Solutions, the company behind my four blogs: MarketingBeyond, MarketingVisions, Mobile Telephone Marketing and Mobile Telephony Innovations.

Google has a rule that the display URL is the same as the forwarding URL. On the face of it, this seems reasonable, preventing deceptive advertisers from directing those who click on Google ads to undesired web pages. But what if your URL, like ICS', is 33 characters, one more than the maximum 32? I've tried dropping the "t" on my Google ads. In the past, Google accepted this change. Now customer service reps reject every new ad I place due to the URL problem.

What's most irritating is belated email responses from Google CS reps. Here's the standard auto response when submitting a question or concern to Google customer service:

Hello,

Thank you for your message. This auto-generated email is to confirm that we received your inquiry. We appreciate the urgent nature of your message and will respond as soon as possible. We strive to reply to your emails individually, within one business day. Meanwhile, you can also refer to our Help Center https://adwords.google.com/support to find the answers to commonly asked questions.

We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team

Two or three days later, having placed the ad, Google sent me an email indicating the URL problem prevented my ads from running.

I sent another email. Here's the response from one Google Rep, who not only is unfamiliar with the 32 URL display rule (he thinks it's 35), he even suggests a solution, which was rejected after I adjusted the ad.

Hello Brian,

Thank you for writing in. I understand you would like to know if your had has been reviewed after you made the changes to the URLs. Upon reviewing your account I found that your ad is currently pending review. Please allow me to explain that as you are aware, display URL is limited to 35 characters, and we require that your ad's display URL match its destination URL (the URL of your landing page).

I notice that your display URL is incomplete (InnovativeCommunicationSolutions.Ne). However, as an exception to the rule, you may use only your domain name, that is, 'InnovativeCommunicationSolutions' as your display URL.

I hope this information is useful to you and satisfies your concern. Please feel free to write me if you have additional questions. I'd be happy to help you.

As I've written multiple times on MB and other blogs, companies that provide superior customer service by training their reps will survive. Those that don't are doomed to failure.

P.S. I received a "customer service survey" today from Google, asking how they're doing.

Call Us in the Morning - The Failure of Customer Service (Podcast)

Customer service has frequently been referred to as "the sale after the sale." Marketers spend billions of advertising dollars to convince us to buy their products and services.

Then, companies lose or dismay customers instead of delighting them.

Listen to an insightful podcast by Brian Prows on MarketingVisions, now syndicated on iTunes.

MarketingVisions Podcasts Now on iTunes! Blogs, Social Media & More

Subscribe to MarketingVisions podcasts by clicking here:

"Blogs, Social Media and Meaning" podcast. Listen as Brian Prows in a humorous but serious way talks about new communication channels changing the planet.

Click here:

Apple 3G iPhone Impending Profit Loss for Mobile Carriers

AT&T will now subsidize the 3G iPhone, paying Apple $200 for each 8GB model, but AT&T and other carriers will no longer pay Apple a share of revenue, Apple's original profit estimate will drop. If the unlocking contnues, as expected, AT&T's expected revenues and profits from the device will also drop. But international carriers will face the largest profit loss as millions of their customers purchase unlocked iPhones and multiple SIM's for use outside each carrier's service area.

Apple and Steve Jobs may have introduced the world to an evolutionary mobile phone. Due to market forces, however, other manufacturers are quickly introducing touch screen phones with multi-media capabilities. Even if Steve Jobs sells his 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008, it's only a small drop in the bucket. Gartner showed sales of 1.15 BILLION mobile phone sold worldwide in 2007. Mobile telephony growth continues unabated.

The full story on MarketingVisions.

Innovative Communication Solutions Introduces "Marketing Interests"

ICS just introduced "Marketing Interests," a series of newsletters and emails focused on specific multi-channel topics. Whether your focus is Internet, email, mobile, direct mail, blog or telephone marketing, you'll receive practical and useful information helping you improve your marketing campaigns.

Like our ICS Forum, Marketing Interests encourages your participation. Click here or on the third tab at the ICS website.

New Marketing Forum Debuts on the ICS Website

Blogs are one thing, forums are something else. I'm happy to announce ICS' new marketing forum (click on the forum tab on the Innovative Communication Solution's website.

I've started a few threads focused on different marketing channels: mobile, online, telephone and blogs and podcasts. Share your views and ideas, ask questions, find answers to marketing problems. That's the whole purpose of forums.

It's your soapbox. Give ICS' forum a look.

P.S. While you're on the ICS website, click on the fourth tab over--the new MarketingVisions blog is alive and well!