Online Marketing Does Not Create Demand

For a long time I have discussed and argued with key people I value highly regarding online marketing. My simple point:

Online marketing does not create demand.

If you wish to create or accelerate a market, you cannot rely on high cost marketing platforms like online marketing. You have to stick with old-time traditional sales model, throw millions (I mean  – MILLIONS) into online search and marketing activities or turn to a managed full-time freemium model. Bear in mind; I do not believe in freemium, there is no such thing as a free launch. My online freemium guru – Drew Houston, Dropbox – took the words out of my mouth in an interview with GIGAOM.COM. I quote;

Search is great for harvesting demand, not creating it

Reality is far more simple – I quote A highly trusted advisor – David Ednie (Sales Channel Europe);

Online marketing is like an eye. 5% of it is looking; 95% of it does not.

If you are a single platform – non cross-platform ISV, vendor or provider – a freemium business model will never live with your business model. A factor of success for freemium is simply cross-platform dependant. And even Dropbox dropped the online marketing act due to cost; it simply did not generate sufficient demand, for the investments made.

Designing a marketing entrance with online services (SaaS etc.) you have to carefully managed your go-2-market game plan. Look at the business model; and understand that you have to deal with numerous channels and strategies over little time to reach the long tale.

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Youtube down?

It’s not every day you see YouTube – run by Google – down for real. Today, sadly but true. It just illustrate that IT is not fail prove; but luckily there are resources, people and procedures ready to deal with it.

Video Conferencing and Unified Communications

Old school video conferencing (VCS) and unified communications (UC) is often put into the same frame; as the traditional “video conference” systems are seen as a must to many business decision makers. It normally starts out when the business decides to have a video conference system. Here are the tasks often initiated:

• Get a large, preferably 42″ LCD screen to hang on the wall in the meeting room – not to wide, not big, but a great picture!!
• Get a high-definition camera, preferably with head tracking or movement sensors – must be neat, small, great and everything.
• Get a conference phone set, something where we can talk on the intercom together, as we need to make meetings more virtual.
• Get a set of tools to hang the video on the wall etc.
• Find a video conferencing system and software to leverage the above… 7 out of 10 ends up with Skype… ?
• A small pc; all above options need a pc to share the experience of video conferencing. It must be small, low noise and yes; must be able to leverage high-definition video and audio.
• Cables, cables, cables. Nightmare just arrived, so find something that may hide all the cables.