Remember the late 90s TV commercial where a group of employees are standing around a computer, turn on their e-commerce web site for the first time and orders immediately start to pour in? So many in fact they don’t know how they are going to fulfill all those orders. That ad was probably one of the most effective yet destructive ads ever produced. It was a destructive ad because it permanently convinced the American public that Internet commerce was immediate and infinite. Most believe even today that every online market is endless, and that the only limitation is technology itself (i.e. How do we trick Google). Over 10 years later I continue to be amazed at the number of customers who come to me with that notion.

The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” Patience and understanding is what I preach to my customers.  Patience because sustained online success takes time – Understanding because there are very concrete steps one should take to be successful online.

Does this sound familiar? “I don’t know what happened. I hired a web firm(s) to build my site, but once they were done I never saw any online business.” We hear this one a lot. Truth of the matter is that companies usually have some form of online success (usually increased traffic) shortly after they launch their new site but are completely unaware of it, lose patience, and give up their effort.

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We’ve been at this specialty small business online marketing game for the better part of 10 years now, and we have hundreds of successful specialty small business customers, for whom we generate literally tens of millions of dollars in new revenue from the web…

So here’s what really chaps my set-upon; I would have to say that every customer (to a one) that we’ve gotten (and still have by the way) over the years, has had at least one (if not several) bad experience with another web development company or so-called guru or expert, before we’ve had the pleasure of their business.

In most cases this has cost them tens of thousands of dollars in fees for a mediocre website and whatnot, plus the loss of revenues, i.e., the money they should have made but didn’t. This can easily get into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Being completely objective, which is difficult for me to do in this particular case, this is a blessing and a curse:

The Blessing — There are an ever increasing number of hucksters out there putting out an incessant commentary on the virtues (not that they would know virtue if it bit them) of Internet Marketing, in all of its varied forms and functions.

That’s good, because whether they realize it or not, they are advancing the cause, so-to-speak, by raising the awareness of the relatively uninitiated small business owner or entrepreneur for all things Internet. If there is anything we can use more of it’s awareness.

The Curse — These maleficent marketers who shill, bait and switch, sell a pig in a poke, have no concern for the bad faith and jaundice they create in the industry as a whole. I can’t tell you the number of times we hear things like, “You guys are all the same.” Or, “I just talked to a group that does exactly what you do.” Or, “I spent 2o grand with the company who did my website and now they want even more money to fix it. Why should I trust you?”