Is it taboo or something?

I suspect that internet users are a harder sell because they're (dare I
say it??) SMARTER than the average consumer?

I mean with all that reading and research they do - one would think
they're an educated consumer, right?

If that's true, then I suspect that money is to be had from those who've
never touched a mouse!

What do you think?

"Electric Nachos" <aint_lookin@chew.foo> wrote in message
news:118hdo8csfce90f@news.supernews.com...
>
> Is it taboo or something?
>
> I suspect that internet users are a harder sell because they're (dare I
> say it??) SMARTER than the average consumer?
>
> I mean with all that reading and research they do - one would think
> they're an educated consumer, right?
>
> If that's true, then I suspect that money is to be had from those who've
> never touched a mouse!
>
> What do you think?

Someone who has never touched a mouse probably does not have that much
money.

And, what is wrong with an educated consumer who can research and compare
products? I would say more power to them. Marketing is not about giving
people crap and calling it gold.

--
Robert Anderson

In article <118hdo8csfce90f@news.supernews.com>,
Electric Nachos <aint_lookin@chew.foo> wrote:

> I suspect that internet users are a harder sell because they're (dare I
> say it??) SMARTER than the average consumer?

> If that's true, then I suspect that money is to be had from those who've
> never touched a mouse!

That may have been true years ago, but today, just about anyone
can be on the internet. You see just as many net.idiots as you
do net.wizards. Just look at all the chain letters with made
up stories that circulate as the truth, despite being debunked
a decade or more ago. You find stupid people everywhere.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

nospam@nospamnospam.com says...
> "Electric Nachos" <aint_lookin@chew.foo> wrote:
> > Is it taboo or something?
> >
> > I suspect that internet users are a harder sell because they're (dare I
> > say it??) SMARTER than the average consumer?
> >
> > I mean with all that reading and research they do - one would think
> > they're an educated consumer, right?
> >
> > If that's true, then I suspect that money is to be had from those who've
> > never touched a mouse!
> >
> > What do you think?
>
> Someone who has never touched a mouse probably does not have that much
> money.
>
> And, what is wrong with an educated consumer who can research and compare
> products? I would say more power to them. Marketing is not about giving
> people crap and calling it gold.

Oh I prefer an educated customer... but thanks to what John (Weeks) added
in his reply, online consumers are highly suspicious of everything. - A
much harder sale, imo.

But what do I know - I'm not a ***real*** sales person. I just 'play' one
on the internet!!







:-D

"John A. Weeks III" <john@johnweeks.com> wrote in message
news:118ipqvdlpehdec@news.supernews.com...
>
> In article <118hdo8csfce90f@news.supernews.com>,
> Electric Nachos <aint_lookin@chew.foo> wrote:
>
>> I suspect that internet users are a harder sell because they're (dare I
>> say it??) SMARTER than the average consumer?
>
>> If that's true, then I suspect that money is to be had from those who've
>> never touched a mouse!
>
> That may have been true years ago, but today, just about anyone
> can be on the internet. You see just as many net.idiots as you
> do net.wizards. Just look at all the chain letters with made
> up stories that circulate as the truth, despite being debunked
> a decade or more ago. You find stupid people everywhere.

And it is my contention that if someone has devoted their lives to marketing
to stupid people (by virtue of them being stupid), then they are wasting
their lives.

--
Robert Anderson

"Electric Nachos" <aint_lookin@chew.foo> wrote in message
news:118k05nqv38rjed@news.supernews.com...
> nospam@nospamnospam.com says...

> Oh I prefer an educated customer... but thanks to what John (Weeks) added
> in his reply, online consumers are highly suspicious of everything. - A
> much harder sale, imo.
>
> But what do I know - I'm not a ***real*** sales person. I just 'play' one
> on the internet!!

One way to overcome that might be success stories and testimonials. That is
third-party verification that your company and product are good.

Essentially, references that a prospect can check, just as if you were an
applicant applying for a job...

--
Robert Anderson

On Mon, 16 May 2005 15:06:48 -0000, Electric Nachos
<aint_lookin@chew.foo> wrote:

>I suspect that internet users are a harder sell because they're (dare I=20
>say it??) SMARTER than the average consumer?
>
>I mean with all that reading and research they do - one would think=20
>they're an educated consumer, right?
>What do you think?

That I agree but with a slightly different flavour.
Internet users are not smarter per se. They just have access to vast
information on just about everything and, most important, this
information is easy to verify.
Smart people just make use of this opportunity, one that simply wasn't
there before Internet. This makes them a much harder sell indeed, or
rather, a sell that you cannot afford to approach with anything less
than the truth. A dumb customer remains a dumb customer...

V=E8on
#332 dei FeSTosi
#4 dei Festosi InesiSTenti
--------------------------
- I b=E0d an ist ereb -=20

Robert Anderson wrote:
> "John A. Weeks III" <john@johnweeks.com> wrote:
>> Electric Nachos <aint_lookin@chew.foo> wrote:
>>> I suspect that internet users are a harder sell because they're (dare I
>>> say it??) SMARTER than the average consumer?
>>
>>> If that's true, then I suspect that money is to be had from those who've
>>> never touched a mouse!
>>
>> That may have been true years ago, but today, just about anyone
>> can be on the internet. You see just as many net.idiots as you
>> do net.wizards. Just look at all the chain letters with made
>> up stories that circulate as the truth, despite being debunked
>> a decade or more ago. You find stupid people everywhere.
>
> And it is my contention that if someone has devoted their lives to
> marketing to stupid people (by virtue of them being stupid), then they are
> wasting their lives.

Who was it that said that nobody ever lost money by underestimating the
stupidity of the public?

If stupid people have money and will buy your product then why _not_ market
to them? Their money is the same color as everybody else's.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Electric Said:
"I suspect that internet users are a harder sell because they're (dare I
say it??) SMARTER than the average consumer?
I mean with all that reading and research they do - one would think
they're an educated consumer, right?"

Wrong. Way wrong because your premise is wrong.

Wrong first because from among my clients have been people of
"education". Doctors, Teachers, government/ civic leaders/ Attys.,
Professors, MBA's, Etc. I have seen NO blanket Differential suggesting
that "Smarter is Harder to sell". Particularities of the web not
withstanding, Quite the opposite is normally true.

Secondly, Your premise is wrong, my friend, because it assumes that the
seller wants to mislead the buyer. If a seller has something of value,
the opposite is true. We want as well informed a customer as we can
have. It makes sense because the information they bring on board creates
empathy and shortens the sales cycle.

Also, what you don't seem to have factored in is the ability for the
i-net customer to aggregate the competition into one locale with a
search engine and how this affects the sales cycle. This means that the
options are all there and even though your offer may be best, some
people are going to go through the first 10 or so before they buy, for
fear of being wrong or wanting to reveal price points before the
decision. If anything, this is the nature of the challenge, and it's not
a Buyer dynamic at all, but a rather a Media dynamic factor.

Therefore, it's got notta do with being "smarter", bub. Untwist the
premise.

BTW The internet is a clearing house to all types of people, and you may
be interested to know, my friend, that the average web buyer is making
an EMOTIONAL buy and is about 22 years of age.


So much for your taboo theory. Take care.

~zion

The internet buyer certainly does have access to as many quotes on an item as he wishes and can make an informed decision. The one thing that he does not have is your product in his hand BEFORE he makes the buy decision. Some people are comfortable with that, others are not.