the digital eco-system

The online marketplace…an eco-system? I asked myself.

I thought about that term a bit more…and then it dawned on me.

This cat is absolutely right.

The new realm of marketing is less about what I have to say about myself and my business and has much more to do with what OTHERS have to say about me and my business. (Please let that soak in if that�™s the first time you�™ve been introduced to this concept).

Think about it…

It used to be that I could write long-copy sales letters, buy in-your-face yellow page ads, promise great service, make structure and function claims about my product/service, create attractive ads and so on.

It didn�™t really matter if the product/service was effective or not. If you were a savvy marketer and networker, you�™d make money.

But today, the game has changed. I can�™t think of the last thing I bought where I didn�™t first check with google, yahoo, facebook and a few hundred past customers (reviews).

How about you?

So there IS a digital eco-system that I must rely on in order to attract, convert and retain customers. Consumers like you and me are bypassing the traditional advertising and relying on the bigger eco-system of feedback to help us decide who wins and who doesn�™t.

WHAT IS THE NEW DIGITAL ECO-SYSTEM?

The New Digital Eco-System is the rapidly expanding online environment made up of search engines, social media, peer advocacy and customer reviews. It is a living, breathing entity in and of itself and it grows more sophisticated and detailed every day. It is an environment in which businesses will either thrive, stagnate or meet their ultimate demise.

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SMALL BUSINESS?

Well, as recently as a couple of years ago, you could be a small business owner and do just fine without actively participating in this Digital Eco-System. You could simply say �œWe�™re not playing that game. That�™s a game for techies and young people.”

All you had to do was pay a graphic designer to build a brochure-type website with the typical �œwho we are, what we do, how to reach us” model. And Voila! You were done.

Then you simply added your website URL to your business cards, yellow page ads, coupon mailers and other advertising. Amazingly enough, the phone rang.

COOL, that worked!

But an alarming trend has begun over the past 18 months or so and it is yet to reach it�™s full crescendo.

The phone isn�™t ringing as much as it used to. The advertising still costs just as much. You�™re still attending all the same networking events. You�™re executing your 2008-09 marketing plan to a �œT”.

But the marketing plan is not working as well as it used to.

WELCOME TO THE NEW DIGITAL ECO-SYSTEM WHERE YOU MUST ENGAGE AND ACTIVELY WORK THE SYSTEM TO THRIVE IN IT.

As a small business owner you must understand that the rules of marketing have changed…forever.

SO HOW IS YOUR SMALL BUSINESS DOING WITH THE TRANSITION?

This is a wake up call to small business to do what needs to be done to thrive in this new digital eco-system.

Here are the 7 keys I have found that transform small businesses from the �œold school” marketing ways to the Next Generation edition.

1. Dominate online search in your category (yes it is possible �" get started now).

2. Maximize social media �" Use an expert. (Don�™t think that setting up a twitter account and facebook page gets the job done).

3. Leverage peer advocacy �" Stop expecting those incestuous business card swap events to build your business. Those programs worked in the 80�™s. They don�™t any more. A healthy eco-system is made up of organisms that live symbiotically together. That means more than just handing someone a stack of your business cards and expecting the phone to ring. It means �œadvocating” on others behalf and having your fans �œadvocating” for you.

4. Reposition your brand �" If you are a financial planner who thinks their target audience is *anyone with 100k to invest*, you are going to lose (big time) in this new world. Define your target audience better than that and market to that niche group. Ask yourself this question �œWho is the person AND situation for which my product/service is ALWAYS the BEST choice?” That is your target audience. Dump the rest. You�™ll get a much better ROI and get rich in the process.

5. Optimize or rebuild your business development engine �" Take an intense look at how you are going to find prospects and convert them to customers, clients and evangelists using the new tools of the digital eco-system.

6. Build a communication matrix �" Identify all the groups of people you communicate with (prospects, customers, loyal clients, vendors etc) and design a communication strategy for each group individually. Stop sending the same �œnewsletter” to everyone in your database. That again, is 1980�™s marketing. It doesn�™t work anymore. It just makes the post office rich(er). Segment your marketplace, identify their needs and communicate to them the way they want to be communicated with.

7. Get tribal and accountable…company-wide �" If you are not following at least 5 experts in 5 different fields of interest, you�™re gonna lose in the digital eco-system. If every one of your employees (yes, even those on the factory floor) are not following experts in their field, your company will lose in the digital eco-system. Gone are the days of attending a seminar or trade show here and there. Business is moving at such a rapid pace, that unless you are plugged into experts who keep you on the leading edge of what is going on, you�™ll get left behind. Find some tribes to join and then get your entire staff to join tribes of their own. Create accountability around it. Let a different staff member present their latest learnings at each staff meeting. It�™s mission critical to your long term success.

The digital eco-system is kinda like the amazonian eco-system. There are organisms of every shape and size working hard to thrive. Some work symbiotically together, others work alone. Some are parasitic �" they take more than they give. Some are predators, others become prey.

Where will your business fit in the digital eco-system?
Also, if you�™re reading this article and can think of other tips for small businesses to take advantage of this changing marketplace. Make sure to let me know.

Tell some friends about this post by tweeting about it!!