I don’t know if it is the still-not-totally-known world of the Internet, the very human fear that “everyone but me is doing it” or just the easiest choice around, but I am seeing, more than ever, that so many businesses are using the “if they are doing it, we need to do it too’ marketing strategy.

It started with blogs – they have one, so we need one as well. And ASAP at that. Countless companies spent significant resources (time, money, man-power) to set up a gorgeous blog.

And then it sat. And sat. And still sits.

The blog looks great, but it has nothing to offer because no one in the company thought beyond setting it up.

What’s the blog’s purpose? Who knows…

And where is the fresh copy and new entries? Well, no one has time to write for the blog. But it sure does look good….

Now I see the same thing happening with social media. We’re all pretty sure that this social media thing, which is based on some sort of combination of marketing among ourselves, creating relationships online and building networks based on what we sell and what we need, is the way of the marketing future.

But beyond that, there is no real science to any of this (at least not yet). Every day, a new expert pops up touting his or her area of expertise (Twitter, Facebook. Ning. Law of Attraction – you name it) as THE way to riches, sales and more clients than you’d know what to do with.

I, too, have fallen prey to these claims (which are not dishonest, usually, just not all-encompassing and not coming from all-knowing sources) and dropped everything to set up an account here or tweak my profile there.

I can’t wrap this all up in a neat conclusion because, as I said, this is all so new. My best guess is that regardless of how Internet-based and new the marketing tools of tomorrow (or later today) are, they will still be based on the basic sound principles of trust, value and, above all, real, usable content. 

Yours In Success,

Allison Nazarian

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Regardless of where, how (or even why) you are marketing, the more some things change, the more these stay the same:

• Your target market. Sure, there are ways to get your message out to everyone in the world, but why would you want to? Is everyone in the world your potential customer? (Even if your answer is “yes,” chances are this is not actually the case.) Take some time to define your market, what they need, who they are and why they would or should buy from you. Determine, as well, where and how they get their information so that your marketing is sure to come through the same channel(s).


• Feel it, really feel it. Their pain, that is. You’ve heard it many times, but you won’t sell a thing without establishing who hurts so badly that they can’t survive another day without your product or service.


• Talking behind your back. What’s your reputation? Your approach? Are people talking about you? Referrals, in many ways, whether online or old-fashioned word-of-mouth, can still be one of the best ways to attract interest.

"Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile."

          – Gary Ryan Blair