The dog ate my Internet marketing

Remember as a kid the classic excuse for a homework assignment was that the dog ate it? The thought is that you can convince the teacher that you really did the assignment and should receive full credit despite not having the actual work with you. After all, it was just the worst possible luck that lovable Fido gained possession of this masterpiece you produced and reduced it to shreds that very morning thus not giving you nearly enough time to do it all over again. It’s just terrible how the homework gods keep getting in the way of your genius that you can’t share it with the world. For the record, I was once a 7th grade teacher so I have heard them all.

Image by storm_gal via Flickr

Now listen to the marketing arms of SMB’s (small and medium business) talk about the great intentions of their online marketing juggernaut that they realize has to get underway for the success the company needs to survive. The excuses sound eerily familiar to me.

• We have thought a lot about that and understand that we have to be involved. The question that bugs this group the most is “Then why aren’t you doing anything?” All talk and no action is common place and since this is Frank Friday here at Biznology it’s my job to tell you the truth “That is simply a lame excuse for not being on top of your job and not providing the opportunity that your company needs so desperately during these difficult times.”
• We don’t have the money due to (enter your excuse here). Look times are tough for sure. There is no way, however, that any company that has a marketing budget can’t look at its efforts and determine areas that should not be funded any more due to poor performance, or due to no real metrics in place to measure performance. Unless Chapter 11 is imminent, there IS money to INVEST (notice I didn’t use spend) in the most efficient and effective marketing techniques that are currently available to savvy marketers today.
• We get our business from referrals. As Daffy Duck would say, “Oh, that’s rich!” I have heard this one so many times and I marvel at the combination of naivete, arrogance, short sightedness and borderline ignorance this carries in our modern world. It’s not that people can’t get referrals but to have ALL of your business come from it is just ridiculous. Remember, too, that even people who have been referred to you are likely to check you out via the search engines in addition to the referral.
• Our industry doesn’t use the Internet. Huh?! What else can you say to that?

As an Internet marketer I am passionate about what can be done through search marketing and social media for companies. I have come to the realization that I should no longer waste my time trying to fight through these old fashioned objections because these kinds of thoughts are systemic. They are part of company cultures and are likely to exist no matter what I do or say. My time is better spent with those who see potential, are optimistic about their Internet opportunities and are moving their company forward into the future. These people rarely have a dog of an excuse that keeps them from being a winner no matter what the circumstance.