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Thread Index RE: [isp-marketing] Article
Holy shit. It's Doug McDonald! John McKown, President Delaware.Net, Inc. -----Original Message----- From: Doug McDonald [mailto:lists@...] Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 12:10 AM To: isp-marketing@isp-marketing.com Subject: Re: [isp-marketing] Article Brock Henderson wrote: > I am hoping some of you will be kind enough to give me some feedback > on my recent article for ISP Planet, "The Ostrich Situation". Brock, Please allow me to extricate myself from my self imposed exile. While I've spent most of the last few years working for companies that many would consider the enemies, I have been paying attention to the plight of the independent service provider. I almost came out of lurk mode a couple of months back when Alex asked about sales and marketing concerns but held off. (See P.S. - Nothing to do on a plane... typing = easy) There is nothing new in what you are writing about. I have sat and listened to you talk about just such services and the need to be interested if not involved before, and I know that you've listened to me speak on varying themes before as well. If I recall correctly you and I spoke collectively with a back up provider after one of your presentations almost 7 years ago in Dallas. For my part, and for many others here, you are preaching to the choir. That's OK though, sometimes that's what's needed to get us to sing. At the risk of being blunt, something that no one has ever accused me of being afraid of, not offering off-site backup is stupid. Not providing a service that is literally pay as you go is dumb... period. You do not provide anything other than the means to do so. You cut a deal with any one of a dozen places that offer it and you do it. If they charge you $5 per MB per month you charge $10 for good customers and $20 for bad. Done deal... What's so hard about that? I can personally guarantee you that if you do not get this piece locked up tight within the next couple quarters at most, it will be gone. There are a great number of others looking at this. Not the least of which is (INSERT you least favorite telecom) company, let alone Amazon.com or the OS providers of your clients machines. There are a dozen ways to let the telco have all the connectivity $$ and take all the actually profitable services that ride on it. Not forever though. The longer you keep your head "in the sand" to borrow a kinder euphemism from Brock's piece, the harder it will get. The majority of the people who are on this list know that, I hope. The (please be vastly) larger majority of surviving service providers know this and are if not executing towards it, at least are working on their plans. I don't know as many of you as I once did. I don't know any of the new ones. I do know the ones who are still in business because they either knew enough, or were lucky enough, to adapt to a changing marketplace and business environment that many people including Brock who've been here for a while have been predicting since the '99-'00 time frame. I have a recording of a 2 hour presentation I did at the ISPC in Feb. 99 in which I predicted that people who did not have 10k subs within 2 years would probably be in trouble. I was not entirely wrong. Now may well be your latest "Last time" to start looking at ways of generating new revenues. While it's probably not your last time, it's certainly the best time. Listening to Brock's advice, or mine is easy. Acting on it is the crucial part. If you can not do it yourself, call some one who will help you. Brock can, so can I, so can others. Brock's really good at getting you started on this though. Best regards, and hello, I'm not yet dead for those who were wondering, Doug McDonald lists@... .us - 717-704-0061 .ca - 647-204-4800 P.S. - The Top Sales vs. Marketing Concern from Jan 08 My initial thought on this was that there was a time when "Sales" = "Putting something on Sale" and that "Marketing" = "Running and Ad for what is on 'Sale'" That's the way too many on this list used to look at things. That's the way that too many of the people in this business that should not be, STILL look at things. That's the attitude and beliefs that took away a few thousand "peer companies" and is likely to take away a few dozen or maybe even hundred more. I bit my tongue and did not respond that way because I thought surely everyone had changed their thinking through real experience or at the very least the demise of others. I was mostly right. Not entirely though. A developing theme in my life. No company is too large nor too small to market appropriately. You can in fact defeat the largest and best known brands in certain areas... for a while. If you are too successful for too long in too profitable an area though, they'll do their level best to kill you through ad $$. Smart and targeted marketing $ beats blanket Ad $ almost every time for the people you care about. An overwhelming blanket ad, is not worth fighting. Avoiding, challenging, persecuting and/or prosecuting on the other hand. Know before you act. Think before you act. Be prepared to react once you have chosen to act. But if you do nothing else, act. ** ISPCON Spring 2008 - May 13 - 15- Chicago, IL www.ispcon.com ** ** THE INTERNET INDUSTRY EVENT ** Get inside the mind of your customers, find out how at ISPCON. ___________ ___________ To unsubscribe via postal mail, please contact us at: Jupitermedia Corp. Attn: Discussion List Management 475 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10016 Please include the email address which you have been contacted with. Copyright 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation All Rights Reserved. ** ISPCON Spring 2008 – May 13 - 15- Chicago, IL www.ispcon.com ** ** THE INTERNET INDUSTRY EVENT ** Get inside the mind of your customers, find out how at ISPCON. To unsubscribe via postal mail, please contact us at: Jupitermedia Corp. Attn: Discussion List Management 475 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10016 Please include the email address which you have been contacted with. Copyright 2007 Jupitermedia Corporation All Rights Reserved.
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