The Pit - IMI Trust

You are seeing the world of business revolutionise right before your eyes!

Business is not about building databases anymore, it is now about building networks or communities. It is taking what is so powerful offline and utilising the technology available to create networks online.

It is no longer about selling your customers, it is about educating them and providing them with a platform to contribute to your business.. The more you educate and inform, the more loyalty you attract. It is about involving them in the community which you are developing, and allowing them to be active within it.

Advertising platforms allow marketers to target their customers, in ways which 10 years ago… were not even thought of. The way consumers think is now in terms of ‘keywords’. Companies like Google, take an approach to advertising which I have never seen before. That is… the better you are at targeting your customer, and the better you are at relating your text to your customers desires… the cheaper your advertising rates.

For business, sites like LinkedIn have gone from strength to strength. Facebook is now evolving at an amazing rate and astonished the business world when Microsoft invested US$240 into the company for a minor stake. This investment valued the company at US$15 Billion.

Google is on the verge of cracking $700 a share, and it’s aquisition of Youtube has proved wise, with it now being the platform of expression for the new generation. Politics has seen a rapid change, with a strong focus on capturing Youtube’s audience to promote their message.

Now we are seeing Australian politicians John Howard and Kevin Rudd go toe to toe, utilising Youtube and Myspace as their platform.

Promoting your business is now more complex and strategic than ever. Those companies that don’t advance with the changes, will be left behind by the companies that adopt the Web 2.0 and Social Networking models.

How are you utilising Web 2.0 and Social Networking in the growth of your business?

The old tradition of political marketing was all about direct media advertising, with carefully designed ad placement and a whole lot of kissing babies. TV, Radio, and Newspaper photo ops. Media organisations love nothing more than an election year for marketing budgets to open up.

Whilst this platform is still very relevant, there is an entirely new landscape that has opened up and both parties are feeling their way through new media.

The new platforms being adopted are Social Networking sites, Wiki’s, Online Video and Blogs. The main sites the politicians are looking to utilise are Myspace (which now has it’s own political section), YouTube, and Wikipedia.

This new media offer more power and opportunity then ever before to sell their promises… but on the flipside it makes the public acutely aware of the potential pitfalls.

TV, Radio and Newspaper have all the same features. They are expensive, can only provide short messages, and only provide generic messages.

New media is different. Inexpensive, gets instant media coverage, can provide long or short messages, can target specific groups, they can provide interaction with voters and it allows the parties to respond to comments from their opponents.

This is Political Marketing the Web 2.0 way. In the US, YouTube created national Online debates, where Youtube users ask the questions, and viewers can watch the debates live. Australia is looking to follow this lead.

It is now common in the US for candidates to spend more time with influential bloggers, than with journalists. If you look at the websites of Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, the have embraced the Web 2.0 medium completely. The have blogs, online videos, user profiles and offers to ability for supporters to unite and communicate their message.

Whilst elections can be won this way, they can also be very quickly lost. Just ask John Edwards. The Democrat politician was doing what he called “The Poverty Tour.” His entire campaign was about helping people out of poverty and getting back to basics.
His campaign was ruined when footage of him appeared on YouTube, getting a US$400 haircut. The YouTube footage, made its way to all the blogs, other video sites and then into the mainstream media. His popularity has never been the same since.

It will be interesting to see how John Howard, Kevin Rudd and fringe parties like the Greens use this new media when the election date is announced.

The new Apple iPhone flew off the shelves in the US after many months of hype.  Incredibly, consumers still parted with $600 (3 times now that on eBay) for a phone that is limited in functionality.  Even when you look at the basics, you can see where the issues are for the average phone user.

• Basic Camera 
• No Video Recording
• No MMS
• No Custom Ringtones
• No Speed Dial
• No Voice Dial
• No Flash Support

As is always the case with technology, Version 2 should be a lot better.  We hope

This week the Australian Financial Review reported that 80% of the 96 companies which listed on the ASX this year, had their share price go up in the first day of trading.

Empowernet International (ENI.AX) is not one of those companies. In fact, on their first day of listing, their share price went down nearly 50%. Better yet, after a few days, Empowernet went from its list price of 0.55c to around 0.07c. For IPO investors, this signifies an 80% loss on their holdings to date.

If you do not know who Empowernet International is then you’ll see their main revenue stream derives from onselling Anthony Robbins personal development products and merchandise. Key person/company dependency. Check!

Empowernet International doesn’t have a written contract in place guaranteeing exclusivity either. No owned IP. Check!

Results can also be uncertain if their are changes to the marketplace - Few corporate processes or systems in place. Check!

When a company lists it needs to be able to drive by itself with the management team being custodians of the vehicle. If these continuity issues aren’t resolved then the market loses confidence and share prices fall. Incredibly, the one of the directors of Empowernet had the exact same issues when listing Sales Pursuit.
Our advice to Empowernet to get the share price up is a three step process:

1. Change the company name to Empowernet Resources International.
2. Announce that the company is now actively exploring Western Australia and Queensland for Uranium, Copper, Nickel and Gold.
3. Announce that the company was in negotiation to supply China and India with the new found resources.

If they did this, the share price will be hitting $10 or $20 in no time. Virtual miners are big on the ASX at the moment.

When we tell companies that we deal in both web and marketing they think we are pulling their leg.  Most web companies don’t have the first idea about marketing and most marketing companies are clueless about the web. 

Graphic designers and web designers are often focused on technical and visual aspects of a site whereas marketing specialists are hellbent on getting their message across.  The issue is that if favour to much of one the other falls down.  The internet is littered with websites that are exceedingly functional but have no visual appeal or they are incredibly, knock your socks off beautiful but impossible to navigate around.

Are there any examples you know of beautiful, functional sites?

Time to get things off our chest…

It is our experience to steer clear of search engine marketers who boast badges with the Google AdWords Professional qualification.

Let’s be clear.  We, at IMI Trust, love Google and so should you.  It is the reigning champion of search and rightly so…however…

The Google AdWords Professional qualification can be earned if you, as a marketer spend $1,000 per month with Google.  Some people spend much more than this in a day.  Not because they are clever, or skilled in search engine marketing, but because they see the value in this type of advertising.  As they have spent that dollar value they qualify as being a Google AdWords Professional.  Can you begin to see where the issue lies?

There is no qualification in place and people can claim to be an endorsed professional.  This fails in a number of ways.

1. Punters that need help in Search Engine Advertising are looking for reassurance and expertise.  The Google AdWords Professional provides neither, though the name alludes to the fact it does.
2. Professionals who are great at Search Engine Marketing have more trouble finding work because they are competing with thousands of clowns who don’t know their KPI’s from their CPC’s.
3. Google is diluting its brand by offering this nonsense award.  Google do have other qualifications that are far more meaningful but as this is the easiest to achieve because you just have to spend dollars.

We are not against people becoming search engine advertising experts but if they claim to be experts there has to be more to it than that.  Which reminds me…I’ve got an email to answer about claiming my Fijian Medical Degree.

Recently, the population of NSW witnessed what has to be one of the poorest marketing pitches in history.

For all the brain power behind these campaigns, this is the best slogan the NSW Liberals could come up with.

Are you ready? Drum-roll please!!!! This is it…

“Don’t Vote Labor”

That was their campaign slogan. Here is my personal tip for the NSW Liberals…

‘Sack your entire marketing team.’

This slogan would be about as effective as the military recruitment campaign slogan being “Don’t think about bullets flying past your head and potentially being blown up.”

Here are some more reasons the NSW Liberals want to sack their marketing team tomorrow…

• “Don’t look down”
• “Don’t think of the colour blue”
• “Don’t think of a tree”
• “Don’t think of the TV”
• “Don’t think of Morris Iemma being re-elected”

Ever watched kids? Have you ever noticed how whenever you say “Dont do…”, they do it? As adults… we are not that different!

Yes, NSW Liberal Party. You GAVE the election campaign to the NSW Labor Government with your poor attempt at marketing.

Now obviously this is being targeted at a Government, but the truth is… I see businesses doing this every day. In fact, one company I spoke with recently were looking at a campaign which would have people mentally connect fraud and their company name.

So if there is anyone from the NSW Government reading this blog, here is my last tip for you, “Don’t think about hiring our company to consult to you on your next campaign. Don’t entertain the idea. Please… don’t think about the possibilities of hiring IMI Trust to assist you!”

Some good news, that may cause a dent in the multi-billion dollar diet industry forever. In Sydney last week, I discovered an amazing weight loss formula. As I researched this formula, it amazed me that it had been around since the dawn of time. From personal experience, I can say with absolute certainty…
If you a looking to…

• Lose weight fast
• Lose weight without having to exercise
• Lose weight in such a powerful way that you can do it whilst sitting in front of the TV or even while you sleep
• Lose weight with a time-tested and proven method, which your boss will even want to give yourself the day off
• Won’t cost you a single cent
• And best of all, it has an amazing ability to supress your appetite completely. Chocolate, beer, meat pies and all the temptations you face on a daily basis will seem like hell on earth.

Well I have the solution for you. *drum-roll*

Gastroenteritis

All around you, people will be amazed at how they saw you 4 days ago and you magically look 10kg lighter.

Now, I do have to provide a brief warning and few tips for anyone looking to choose this path.

1. People will think you are highly irrational for the amount of times you will be going to the bathroom
2. At times it will feel like your insides are having their own internal nuclear war
3. You will find you are not the life of the party, and in fact you dont really want to speak to anyone… unless it is to get you something. Others refer to this as the ’selfish approach’
4. But If discomfort persists, please, please, please see your doctor

“I lost 10kg in 4 days!”

Let’s see if Jenny Craig, can beat that offer!

NO NO NO NO!  It is incredibly frustrating to see how people compete on price.

The number one reason companies compete on price is because they are poor at marketing.  It is the worst way to try and grow a business, as your marketing plan seeks to eliminate your own profits and the more aggressive you market the slimmer your margins are.

If your marketing appeals to your target market correctly then it is unneccesary to compete on price.  A well-known Australian Bank split-test a marketing campaign recently.  To a sample of 10,000 people they sent two separate credit card offers.

1. One offer with an interest rate of 12.5%
2. One offer with an interest rate of 16.5%

Clearly, credit cards that have the lower interest rate should be more popular.  Which offer do you think would be the most successful? Remember this was the same company, going to the same client client base.

To their sample, the interest rate of 16.5% was easily the most successful.  So what was the difference?

On the 16.5% offer there was a photograph of an attractive, healthy, female on the letter. Marketing and appealing to your target market wins over low prices.  In this case, just one photo encouraged credit card prospects to take an offer 33% more expensive.

There is so many frontlines in business in which the war can be won.  If you are trying to win it on price… ask yourself if this is really your best strategy

FON.  If you haven’t heard of them yet then you soon will.  They are backed by some of the most powerful organisations on the internet, Skype and Google as well as the venture capital companies behind these giants, Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures are all investor partners in FON.  So why has FON done so well to capture the attention of these giants?

FON is the world’s largest WiFi community. Started in Spain by Martin Varsavsky, FON is built on the idea of creating a community of people who get more out of their internet connection through sharing. Every router purchased by a user enables that user to become a mini-ISP.  The beauty is they can choose to charge for the service or give it away for free if they so wish. Any amount they charge is split down the middle with FON.

Clearly, this is the best home-based business idea in a long time.  Have an internet connection and resell the bandwidth to people in your local area.  Be your own ISP and profit.  Or be chartiable and give it away. 

We love the idea here at IMI Trust but we are not alone.  There are over 300,000 ‘hotspots’, or router portals worldwide and FON want to grow that to 1m by 2010.

When FON finally hits Australia, it will cause a massive shake up in a stagnant and relatively service-free industry.  Large Internet Service Providers are getting fat on the easy profits made by broadband users.  Wireless service is poor in Australia and worse still, fees for usage are ridiculous compared our international counterparts.

So FON sound ambitious.  You are not wrong.  To kickstart their success in the US, they have have just offered 10,000 people who live near Starbucks, or any cafe with any existing WiFi hotspot, the opportunity to receive their FON WiFi router for free. A bold move considering Starbucks has its own service it provides, but when you have Google, Skype and Sequoia Capital backing you, bold moves come with the territory.  Since there are over 13,000 Starbucks stores worldwide, this initiative is only the beginning of a large scale, long term plan.

Forbes Magazine have listed them as one of THE companies to watch this year. Not bad for a company which only had its first birthday this February.

The question on Australian lips is surely when is FON coming to Australia? We need your service sooner rather than later. 

Also, on a more self-interested note, when is the IPO? And where can we sign up?