Re: @d:tech World - The Experts' Secrets of Viral Success

From: Janet Attard <attard_at_businessknowhow.com>
Date: Wed 29 Nov 2000 11:28:46 -0500

ALEC ELLIS <alece_at_glopro.com> WROTE:
> The little picture is "how much will it make this
> week", where that larger picture is in 12 months how
> many subscribers will I have , and how many 100's of
> millions am I going to sell this dam thing for.

TO WHICH JANET ATTARD REPLIED:
> That's also the philosophy that's behind a whole lot of
> dot-com failures this year. One reason is that it is
> never as easy to reach those hundreds of millions as
> anyone thinks.

TO WHICH ALEC ELLIS <alece_at_glopro.com> REPLIED:
> It is my belief and that of many marketing and stock
> market analysts, of which I have submitted a few
> examples over the past month; that the failure is
> mostly due to Internet Entrepreneurs and Corporations
> only set up as a name, providing concepts to over
> anxious Angels, small inexperienced new VCs, their
> families, relations, and friends, to invest in...and
> once having the money having to go and GET or "finish"
> the idea they promised.... no real serious thoughts on
> how their concept will work, or be supported, or
> PRODUCE. With the hysteria of dotcom success over the
> past year and dollar signs in the eyes of small hopeful
> investors, it was easy for Entrepreneurs to "con"
> people out of their money.

I'd strongly disagree with you that the Entrepreneurs
have been out to "con" people out of their money! While
everyone would love to get rich overnight, those
entrepreneurs who get as far as actually seeking and
getting funding are, for the most part, believe
passionately that their ideas WILL work. And some of
them have pumped thousands, hundreds of thousands, or
even millions of their own dollars into the ideas while
seeking funding. On paper their business and marketing
plans probably looked good, too. Be first to market;
Get XXX millions of visitors. Get rich from all the
revenue those visitors will generate.

The problem, or at least part of it, has been that very
often the entrepreneurs and their investors have been
shooting for the stars without finding out how many
living breathing customers really will pay enough to go
along for the ride to make it a profitable trip.

One good example is a dot-com entrepreneur who decided
to revolutionize the way consumers buy a certain type
of product and thereby get them the best prices around.
The entrepreneur has invested over $4 million of their
own money so far and could lose it all. The reason?
The product line is of the type that people most often
want immediately and often need personalized help
choosing. Buying on line isn't practical in most cases
for the customer.

 A related problem: Wasting millions on advertising
just to "be there" or get your name in front of
millions of eyeballs (and not considering whether
you're sending a message any of those millions of
eyeballs really cares about, and will remember and will
actually act on).

Business plans, "vision," and action plans are useless
if they aren't built on a foundation that takes into
account customers real needs rather than perceived
needs.

Janet Attard, author
- The Home Office and Small Business Answer Book
- Business Know-How: An Operational Guide for Home-Based
  and Micro-Sized Businesses
Start, Grow and Manage Your Business with help from Business Know-How(sm)
http://www.businessknowhow.com
AOL Keyword, Business Know-How





Received on Wed Nov 29 2000 - 10:28:46 CST