Why the Web is Not Broadcast
by Rick Green — Partner, Adventurocity Inc.

Until the true nature of a new technology is understood, it is common for people to approach its use according to familiar technology. This is the case with the Internet.

When the World Wide Web started to become widely commercialized, the early model for making profits from free information was advertising. Naturally, guidance was sought from established print and television methodologies which gave us things like campaigns, CPM, and impressions.

Netiquette became endangered by unscrupulous "direct marketers" selling millions of e-mail addresses to equally unscrupulous or ignorant businesses to broadcast their commercial messages — the dawn of spam.

Why was spam a problem? People were receiving commercial advertisements of no interest to them to the extent that it outnumbered relevant messages, requiring significant effort and time to sort the wheat from the chaff. Eventually, it was recognized that this form of broadcast was not advertising but an invasion of privacy.

Where the difference lies between the Internet and broadcast media is that the Net is a two-way medium. Because of this, companies have the means to more precisely identify potential customers. Consequently, it becomes unnecessary to broadcast to as wide an audience as possible when the majority of people are not likely interested in your offer. Rather, your time is better spent identifying those areas on the Web within your target audience and marketing direct.

Successful, persistent efforts pay off. But again, these efforts are not like advertising campaigns in traditional media. If you have properly targetted your market online, there is no need to passively communicate through a fleeting ad. You have a captive audience seeking your products or services.

What then remains is for people to evaluate the specifics of your offer and price in comparison to any competitors, which requires engaged communication. Since you are communicating directly with your audience, you can discover very precise information about your market in order to improve your offer and customer service.

In conclusion, the branding and image making of traditional advertising is of limited utility on the Web. Instead, customer service behind a solid product or service is paramount.

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