Guerrilla Marketing

by Charles Rubin

Visiting some web sites is like going to another planet. From the first glance at a home page, you realize you're in a totally foreign world, a world where you don't speak the language. I've seen Web sites devoted to artistic movements, literary movements, philosophies or religions, industrial products, clothing, and types of music that are so esoteric most people have never heard of them. Still, the sites' owners present the information as if it's common knowledge. You visit a site devoted to dragons or electrostatic discharges or something, and there isn't even one line of information that explains what these things actually are.
This kind of subjectivity sends a powerful message to your Web site visitors. It says, "If you don't already know what we're talking about, we're not interested in helping you find out." This is not the way to win customers and profits in cyberspace.

There are lots of ways to fall into the subjectivity trap. I've cited some examples of whole Web sites that are too subjective, but this trap can catch you in unexpected ways. For example, calling a cookie "Millie's Surprise" doesn't say much about how it tastes. The same goes for color names, product names, the names of little-known travel destinations, and so on.

We fall into subjectivity because what we're doing makes perfect sense to us and the people we work with. Everyone we deal with day-to-day speaks the same "language" we do, whether it's technology or tailoring. But being in cyberspace exposes your business to lots of people who probably don't speak the same language you do (both literally and figuratively). If your message isn't understood the first time, most visitors will simply give up and go away. The best you can hope for from people who aren't "in the know" is that you'll have to waste a lot of time responding to questions that should have been answered the first time.

To avoid falling into the subjectivity trap, expose your messages to as many people as possible before you cast them upon the electronic waters. Whether you've written an article or electronic brochure or you're about to open a Web site, invite as many friends and associates as possible to review what you've done. And make a point of asking people who don't know much or anything about the subject of your messages. They'll tell you right away if they don't get what you're driving at, and you'll have a chance to fix it before you distribute the message to millions.