Do It Wrong Quickly: How the Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules

by Mike Moran

"What's the one thing companies care about? Conversion. Getting potential customers to convert into real, actual, customers. But how do you do that in a world of Facebook, Google, YouTube, blogs, and Flickr? Mike Moran shows you how—by trying lots of little things, studying the results, learning quickly from your failures, and doing it all over again. He gives you a framework for getting over your fears of talking with your customers without a committee to protect your behind. Great book."

–Robert Scoble
Video blogger of the Scoble Show and Co-author of the top-selling corporate blogging book, Naked Conversations Start Fast, Fix Fast, and Fix Marketing for Breakthrough Results For decades, marketers have been taught to carefully plan ahead because “you must get it right–it’s too expensive to change.” But, in the age of the Web, you can know in hours whether your strategy’s working. Today, winners don’t get it right the first they start fast, change fast, and relentlessly optimize their way to success. They do it wrong quickly…then fix it, just as quickly! In this book, Internet marketing pioneer Mike Moran shows you how to do that–step-by-step and in detail. Drawing on his experience building ibm.com into one of the world’s most successful sites, Moran shows how to quickly transition from “plan then execute” to a non-stop cycle of refinement. You’ll master specific techniques for making the Web’s “two-way marketing conversation” work successfully, productively, and profitably. Next, Moran shows how to choose the right new marketing tools, craft them into an integrated strategy, and execute it…achieving unprecedented efficiency, accountability, speed, and results . Foreward xv Preface xvii Acknowledgements xxiii About the Author xxvii Part 1: That Newfangled Marketing 1 Chapter 1: They’re Doing Wonderful Things with Computers 3 Chapter 2: New Wine in Old Bottles 21 Chapter 3: Marketing Is a Conversation 55 Part 2: That Newfangled Direct Marketing 103 Chapter 4: Going Over to the Dark Side 105 Chapter 5: The New Customer Relations 149 Chapter 6: Customers Vote with Their Mice 211

Genres: Business

377 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2007

About the author

Mike Moran is an expert in digital marketing, search technology, artificial intelligence, and marketing analytics. He is a Certified Speaking Professional™ (CSP®) and recognized keynote speaker worldwide.*

Mike is an independent consultant who also serves as a senior strategist for Converseon, an AI-powered consumer intelligence technology and consulting firm. Until 2022, Mike served for eight years as the Chief Product Officer for SoloSegment, martech software company whose patented customer experience analytics automatically increased engagement and conversions for B2B websites by improving site search and content recommendation.

Previously, Mike spent 30 years at IBM, rising to Distinguished Engineer, an executive-level technical position. Mike has more than 30 years’ experience in search technology, led the IBM product team that developed the first commercial linguistic search engine in 1989, and has been granted 13 patents in artificial intelligence, analytics, and search and retrieval technology. He led the integration of ibm.com's site search technologies and served as product manager for IBM's commercial search and text analytics products.

Mike is the author/co-author of three books: Outside-In Marketing with James Mathewson; best-selling Search Engine Marketing, Inc. with Bill Hunt, now in its Third Edition, and the acclaimed Internet marketing book, Do It Wrong Quickly: How the Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules, named one of best business books of 2007 by the Miami Herald.

Mike founded and wrote for the Biznology blog. He has also written columns for Revenue Magazine, Internet Evolution, and WebProNews.

In addition to Mike's broad technical background, he holds an Advanced Certificate in Market Management Practice from the Royal UK Charter Institute of Marketing and was a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. He teaches in multiple digital marketing courses for Rutgers Business School Executive Education. He is a Senior Fellow for the Society for New Communications Research (now part of The Conference Board). He was a member of the Search Engine Marketing Council of the Direct Marketing Association, and a charter member of the DMA's Interactive Marketing Advisory Board.

*Certified Speaking Professional and CSP are trademarks of the National Speakers Association. All rights reserved.

Reviews

[Elin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised at how relevant this book still is, despite having been written 17 years ago (at the time of reading it). I only ended up skimming about 10% in total.

I think Moran was, maybe not ahead of his time, but definitely keeping up with emerging ideas and had a pretty accurate hunch about which ones would be important in the future. Several of the concepts he discussed are still in use today, maybe not exactly the same and maybe not with the same terminology, but the idea is still there.

I feel like the most of the ideas were still relevant for anyone who's new to marketing on the internet. It was also pretty easy to take out the general thoughts he had about how to experiment with web marketing and put them into the context of AI today.

I'd say four out of five of his "tips for how to do it wrong quickly" still stands today, maybe with some small tweaks.

Had I read this book when it came out, I would probably have rated it 4 stars.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands-on manual for online marketers

Your company’s new Web site is a thing of beauty. Your creative department labored diligently to design a colorful, eye-catching site with fancy drop-down menus, sophisticated graphics and cool icons. You’re happy and your employees are justifiably proud of their work, but unless it generates business, your site is virtually worthless. Connecting with the consumer is the core of Internet marketing. In this age of multiple media outlets and short attention spans, says author Mike Moran, successful marketing depends on speed and refinement. Gone are the days when businesses could afford protracted strategy sessions and elaborate advertising campaigns. The Internet gives consumers infinite options, so your company must make an impression – right now. Moran covers a mind-boggling amount of territory, from detailed technical advice to general marketing principles. While acknowledging that the new Internet marketing rules can be intimidating, Moran’s message is clear: You may fail, but this new age offers unlimited opportunities to try until you get it right. getAbstract believes you can avoid many Web marketing mistakes by heeding his sage advice.