Conversations on Website Conversion discussion

In Chapter 1 of Inbound Marketing , our current book under discussion, Halligan and Shaw make a strong case for the death of push marketing.

My experience is a bit more mixed. Yes, I purchase a lot of products online and have for a very long time. But, based on the amount of junk mail we still get in our mailbox and the number of unsolicited calls we get from telemarketers (even though we’re on the National Do Not Call Registry) I would have to say push marketing is not dead yet.

However, I’m very much aware of which companies are sending us this mail and which companies are making these unsolicited calls, and we will not be doing business with them. I am voting with my actions, with my dollars, and talking about it with my friends. Hopefully, if enough people do the same, these companies will get the message and move towards the attraction or pull marketing model.

What do you think about push marketing? Should we do anything about it, or can we? Leave us a comment and tell us what you think.

In Chapter 1 the authors talk about how we gather information for shopping or other purposes....Maybe it's a generational thing - but I don't really use blogs or social media to gather information or shop - I guess I got started with Google and that's all I use.... what is your experience? Do you use blogs or social media to gather information? If you do - how do you do it?

That's so funny. It must be generational b/c I go to blogs and social media first especially when it comes to shopping. It think it is b/c I follow certain blogs and I trust their opinion and they almost act like "filters" of all the clutter out there so as to help me narrow my options and make a decision. For example, I am trying to find a unique wedding gift for my best friend and I know searching creative blogs will more likely help me find the "perfect gift" over searching through Google. If I can't find what I want on the blogs then I will resort to Google.

I don't seek out product information using social media, but I first hear of products that way. Because of who I keep up with, most of those products tend to be books or tech-related stuff. When I am seeking specific information about a product, I search Google.

I must agree with Laura—I don’t usually go looking for products on social media. What I use social media for is to get anecdotal reviews from friends and acquaintances. I know that it isn’t very scientific, but I place a lot of value in those sorts of reviews. I have also been using Google to learn about products for some time. It’s good to be able to see what the company says right alongside what consumers say. Google is a good tool, but sometimes the absolute overload makes searching incredibly difficult. Sometimes Boolean string searches can be ridiculously long, and it has been a difficult system for me to learn.