Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

Here’s one reason small biz owners shouldn’t feel too stupid when it comes to web marketing: Amazon Crosses The Line (and forgets to bring a gift). (from Seth Godin) As Seth notes:

This is the first time I can remember them cross-selling from a $20 book to a service that costs more than $700 a year. It feels a little weird. Their list of people interested in ecommerce is insanely valuable, but if they put off those very people, it becomes worthless.

The mistake continues when you go to sign up. All the usual sign up bells and whistles are there, including a neat phone authentication tool, but there’s no promises, no feature exposition, no benefits. It’s just a rush to collect your credit card and start charging you.

Looks like Amazon got a little hyper. This also shows expertise in one area (web shopping) doesn’t necessarily translate into expertise in another - in this case market expansion.

Forget all the technologies, the basic etiquette rules in marketing haven’t changed since the halycon days of door-to-door selling. The Fuller Brush guy didn’t just barge into your living room without knocking. Then, if you did buy a nail brush, he didn’t show up the next day in a big truck loaded with bathroom fixtures. And so it should be with web-based biz as well.

Related Post: Lost/Missed Customers? Maybe You’re Scaring Them!

Tags: ecommerce, marketing, marketing troubleshooting, Amazon, sales