All Along the Digital Watchtower

It's no secret interactive (web-based) marketing has arrived. The IDC research group just released a study in late June of this year indicating 99.9% of a survey of executives and entrepreneurs said they currently conduct online marketing activities, or, are in the process of implementing or initiating some form of interactive marketing. The problem or challenge that many of these executives (marketing, management, etc.) and entrepreneurs (marketing, principals, etc.) have is how do they measure their online presence?

Most interactive marketing types, whether they are agencies working for/with clients or in-house personnel, typically just measure a company's return for a specific process or period of time. Many never think to actively monitor what a company's competitive position is vis-à-vis Search Engines or Directory Listings, the number of links they have pointing back to their web site or what type of "net buzz" is being generated (positive or negative) via the Usenet/Newsgroup community. In short, its digital warfare and the fog of war is obscuring the battle lines.

Entrepreneurial competitive intelligence sounds like a real mouthful, or much more than it is. Basically it's using off-the-shelf tools (software or ASP services) to understand what your page 1-3 keyword rankings are versus:

• your direct competitors via the top tier Search Engines (Google, AltaVista, Excite, AOL/NetFind, HotBot, Netscape, Magellan, Lycos, Web Crawler)

• how and where your company is listed via the blue chip Directories (Yahoo, LookSmart, Open Directory)

• what's your link popularity (number of links pointing back to a web site) and/or

• how many Usenet/Newsgroup posts are being made about your company, products or services

Usenet/Newsgroups can in fact be an extremely valuable resource for unearthing competitive intelligence about a direct competitor's products or services; "Usenet/Newsgroup mining" certainly works well for United, IBM, Microsoft and many other corporations.

These digital touch points fill in competitive intelligence gaps and you don't need to have an advertising budget in the 4-6-figure range complemented with a large staff to consistently monitor your competitive position. You can do much of this by hand, and/or use free tools offered by many of the search engines or portals (small plug: we offer a free and low cost Competitive Intelligence service via our web site).

But, be forewarned, if you don't use some technology to leverage yourself, it can take a great deal of time to assess these metrics, but well worth the effort. In the end, you will know what your online market presence is and be armed with actionable business intelligence that enables you to understand how to maximize your marketing dollars by knowing where you need more of an online presence. And, most importantly as Sun Tzu once said, "if you know your enemy and yourself, you will win every battle." Sound advice from a master tactician who had no idea his pearls of wisdom would be shaping the digital age!

About The Author

Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience - he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.intelective.com a results-driven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies. Lee@intelective.com

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Google News Updated : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:50:27 GMT British government unveils massive financial rescue plan - Los Angeles Times ITV.com British government unveils massive financial rescue plan Los Angeles Times - 48 minutes ago LONDON - The British government Wednesday unveiled a massive rescue plan for its ailing banking system after days of unrelenting bad news for the financial industry here. British government to partially nationalize banks International Herald Tribune Rescue plan for UK banks unveiled BBC News guardian.co.uk - Washington Post - BusinessWeek - AFP all 1,454 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:01:33 GMT In Florida, Palin keeps up attacks on Obama - Dallas Morning News BBC News In Florida, Palin keeps up attacks on Obama Dallas Morning News - 1 hour ago JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Sarah Palin portrayed Barack Obama as a dishonest politician and a risky choice for president Tuesday as she wrapped up a two-day campaign swing through Florida. Sarah Palin, Freed? Washington Post McCain, Obama and a 'friendly' town hall Los Angeles Times Reuters - San Francisco Chronicle - Boston Globe - USA Today all 4,475 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:39:26 GMT Harford County Council tries for leaner budget - Baltimore Sun Pittsburgh Post Gazette Harford County Council tries for leaner budget Baltimore Sun - 1 hour ago By Mary Gail Hare Harford County Executive David R. Craig met with the County Council last night and painted a bleak revenue outlook that will dominate the remainder of the fiscal year and continue well into the next. Sims wants pay freeze to balance King County budget Seattle Times Sims announces layoffs, wage freezes for county employees Seattle Post Intelligencer Pittsburgh Post Gazette - KOMO News - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Bizjournals.com all 10 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:27:45 GMT Absentee balloting began Tuesday - Las Cruces Sun-News San Diego Union Tribune Absentee balloting began Tuesday Las Cruces Sun-News - 33 minutes ago By SUE MAJOR HOLMES AP Writer ALBUQUERQUE, NM—It was only mid-morning on the first day of absentee voting, but 200 people had already shown up to cast their ballots at the clerk's office in Bernalillo County, New Mexico's most populous. Muncie takes advantage of early voting Ball State Daily News Voter numbers growing as deadline nears Corvallis Gazette Times Gloucester County Times - NJ.com - Salisbury Post - Aspen Times - Daily Vidette all 619 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:16:38 GMT Australian jet plunge probe opens - BBC News TVNZ Australian jet plunge probe opens BBC News - 1 hour ago A computer glitch may have caused a Qantas jet to plunge suddenly mid-flight, an Australian air safety investigator has said. The incident injured 40 passengers, in a terrifying airborne drama. Qantas plane had glitch before altitude plunge International Herald Tribune Computer glitch may have caused Qantas plunge: investigator AFP Bloomberg - Reuters - Aljazeera.net - ABC Online all 734 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:39:47 GMT Obama connected with audience - Baltimore Sun Boston Globe Obama connected with audience Baltimore Sun - 1 hour ago By David Zurawik z on tv david.zurawik@baltsun.com The format of the second presidential debate was described as that of a town hall meeting, but it was pure TV from the "citizens" seated on risers on a brightly lit stage, to the candidates moving ... Candidates arguments are as familiar as their mistakes The Miami Herald Cool Hand Barack Wall Street Journal The Weekly Standard - Los Angeles Times - Dallas Morning News - Boston Globe all 464 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:28:41 GMT Nepal Plane Crashes, Killing Mostly German Tourists (Update1) - Bloomberg Spiegel Online Nepal Plane Crashes, Killing Mostly German Tourists (Update1) Bloomberg - 27 minutes ago By Jay Shankar Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- A passenger plane belonging to Yeti Airlines, a private carrier, crashed near Mount Everest in Nepal killing 18 people, including 12 German tourists, an aviation official said. Everest plane crash kills 18 in Nepal, mostly German AFP Official: Plane crash in Nepal kills 18 USA Today The Associated Press - The Sun Daily - Spiegel Online - Swissinfo all 284 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:23:22 GMT Automate Your Blogging Add RSS Feeds to My Website

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