Interactive Marketing is core, not part, of your Marketing strategy.

It is. Or it should be. So why resist it? Further, why are you treating it simply as a component of an overall mix? "Okay, folks, we've got your print advertising, your direct marketing, a few seminars and some online banners. We've got all the angles covered. We rock."

Move on. You don't get it. Find a new job. Ask the in-laws to get you into the family business. You're costing your employer money by misspending the Marketing budget.

Recently, while reading Tony Romeo on imediaconnection.com, I learned about Max Planck. He is considered the father of Quantum Physics. A quote attributed to him is appropriately suited to the very topic we're discussing here:

"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it."

Fundamentally, this quote is the primary reason many Marketers target youth with the new media techniques of the day. They're receptive to it, far moreso than the established consumer. However it should also be noted that, with examples like VHS, DVD, mp3, and the Internet, even established consumers do ultimately adopt innovations -- or they die in their resistance and since we don't want to market to dead people we'll just disregard that segment. If you've ever needed a better example of crossing the chasm you're not going to find it. Once something becomes mainstream enough then everyone comes onboard. Transitioning from early adopters to late adopters, it's the new media marketing techniques that bridge the consumer behaviour.

So what does all of this mean. It means that online advertising, blogs, podcasts, micro-sites, and email marketing are just some of the more critical mixes required of your marketing communications efforts. Why? Because these vehicles are more personalized than anything else you could achieve using traditional methods such as print advertising, direct marketing, or tradeshows. Consumers, in the privacy of their computer, can surf to the content that most interests them.

Does this mean that print advertising is dead? And isn't print advertising equally personalized when placed in segment specific publications? The answer is "No" on both questions. Because consumers are young and old, you want to live where they live, and that often means the trade magazines. However, the trade magazines have mass distributions, even the niche publications, and your advertisement doesn't have the ability to connect with the reader the same way a very-specific online advertisement can because the online advertisement can be very specifically placed based on the content being viewed by the surfer, or based on the behaviour of the surfer. Further, even if your advertisement is compelling, it requires action on the part of the reader to physically do something - pick up the phone, or go to a website and input the address. People don't have time for that. But they do have time to simply click on your banner and rapidly decide if what you're promoting is of interest to them.

These are the real issues you need to consider.

1. Interactive marketing allows you to establish an intimate relationship with your target audience; moreso than traditional outreach mediums.
2. Interactive marketing is significantly less expensive than traditional mediums, establishing a much more effective return on your investment. This allows you to do much more with the your always limited budget.
3. Interactive marketing reaches a much broader, more diverse, more qualified consumer of your goods. Afterall, they are destination seekers. If your content is there, they are interested. The destination does the qualifying for you.
4. Interactive marketing allows you to service your customer. In the end, you build far better, and faster, brand loyalty by being part of their education and awareness than you would traditionally.
5. Interactive marketing addresses all age brackets. Even if the industry you market within is established, with a demographic of 40 years of age or older, they still surf the Internet and use it as a resource. They have to. They have kids, nieces, nephews, and friends that more and more are forcing their behaviour and their adoption. Even if its just because they communicate with one another through email. Familiarity breeds adoption.
6. Ignore what the experts in your field say when they suggest your target demographic do not use the Internet. Take the time to survey the customers yourself and ask them if they do. You need the results to demonstrate to the so-called experts in your market that times have changed.
7. Interactive marketing is best used to connect with people personally. That means you don't treat it like print advertising or mass mailers. You focus on personalized messages, on segment-specific content, with a call to action that speaks to their need for help, for education, or for financial returns.
   
8. Finally, as it always does in business, create a business case that demonstrates the ROI of Interactive Marketing. Despite preconceived notions, everyone's a business person and they'll always tolerate investments they initially doubt if the numbers support it. In the end, you'll be the winner when they see the results.

Still not sure? I can tell you why. It's because you don't know how to do it. You don't have the knowledge. You don't know where to go to find it. You don't want to invest your time to learn it because you're already overworked. If that's the case, I can only make this one suggestion. Make the time. Your career and your salary depends on it. I suggest you go to my website and review the links. I've got a lot of relevant sites on my site that can really help you out. And if that's not enough, email me.

In the end, as you know by now, all I've said is just my opinion. I guess the question you have to ask yourself is "are you part of the old generation, or the new generation"?