The Marketleap Report
Volume II, Issue #1 - February 18th, 2002

Back from the Underground
Intelligence, Marketing, the Internet and You
by Keith Boswell

Sometimes day to day business can be the worst distraction from looking ahead. One project turns to another quickly and suddenly the voice dries up. Unplugged like a bad power strip, surging ahead ceases.

How else can a writer justify letting a regular column slip for months? With this issue Marketleap is proud to re-introduce the Marketleap Report, now on a guaranteed weekly basis.

If you remember us, we shook things up quite a bit in 2001. We received flattering coverage for some of the articles and the audience grew steadily. (Now see introductory excuses above)

We're back stronger than ever, with a renewed passion to bring real grit to our readers. Marketing is changing, intelligence is demanding, and the Internet isn't waiting for anyone. Strategy, planning, and solid execution are more important than how much money or clout you have.

Complaints over the last few years that online marketing wasn't delivering on the promise of true tracking and reporting were slanderous at best.

Yes, a great many companies failed to see their online investments pay off as expected. Poor execution, poor planning, poor leadership, and unrealistic expectations left many questioning the online model. For every business person that said they understood the Internet and all the opportunities it presented, 90% were being led by a bad PowerPoint presentation from hell.

Almost all of the gold rushers felt the same way. Money slinging is a thing of the past.

What does your business need to do? What are the myriad of options available to you for the budgets you have to work with? Is it e-mail? Is it search engines? Is it innovative marketing concepts built to lure your audience into an online world, tying them closer to your corporate message? Are you willing to experiment? Does your budget support being broken into percentages to test your audience and hone in on the things that they truly want from you?

We can already tell you it's not a new holographic banner ad that kisses you good morning.

These are the questions that real Internet marketers will address with you. Not a ready-to-go product, not a pitch, but a conversation that should take place to your benefit. Otherwise if the conversation never happens, are you prepared to lead the discussion within your organization about the most cost effective, results oriented campaigns you might conduct online?

It's a tough new world with even tougher budgets. Getting results means being open-minded, flexible, and having a willingness to move at an intelligent pace. That could be fast, it could be more deliberate, depending on your goals. The advance for marketers has been that customers now look for engaging conversations that create collaborative relationships built for mutual benefit.

The possibilities for marketing success have grown. So have the ways that you might choose to market. Over the coming weeks Marketleap will highlight industry news and trends noteworthy of our audience's attention. We'll also fill gaps with intelligence and ideas that we have from our own business. Our commitment to providing our readers a unique voice in a swimming hole full of fluff is strong. Thanks for not unsubscribing.

report@marketleap.com.