What keeps Most Marketers Awake At Night?
Expert
Adrian Hargreaves
Expert
- Oct 28, 2013 5:04 AM
WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell's favourite question to clients is apparently 'what keeps you awake at night' and the answer from a wide diverse range of businesses is 'Amazon'.
Sir Martin Sorrell's observation from this is that all businesses need to be concerned about the growth of Amazon, not just retailers.
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5 Responses
I think there are a great many retailers that are indeed losing sleep over Amazon, or the "showrooming" phenomenon that Amazon enables. For companies that are essentially online plays, I would put Google on this list. They can make one change to their algorithm and cripple the SEO for an online company. Companies that use the online model and have invested heavily in developing and optimizing their websites for search often feel like victims of a drive-by shooting when Google changes their algorithm: they didn't see it coming, and the punishment feels random. Companies whose livelihood depends on staying in Google's good graces cannot afford to be inattentive to whatever intelligence is available about Google's plans.
Both Amazon and Google are examples of companies controlling their markets. In the UK we have the Monoplies Commission which can step in to level the playing field. I wonder what can be done on a more global basis?
Going back to search. How strong do you feel Yahoo is to provide a lower price per click and also a more reasonable SEO partner to work with? Might Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer see an opportunity here?
It's not clear to me that Yahoo will try to compete head-to-head with Google in the search space. While Google is the dominant search provider, it generates the lion's share of its revenue from advertising. Of course, it is attracting the audience for that advertising through search.
Yahoo may have the same end game as Google - revenue through advertising - but it may choose to go about it differently in terms of attacting an audience. Marissa Mayer seems to be putting the emphasis on the media side of the business. Of course search is still there, but its content publishing is growing more sophisticated. In the end, will Yahoo and Google still compete for advertising revenue? I suspect they will. I just see them going about it differently.
Great question, "what keepsyou awake at night." It does seem that Amazon has reached into so many different markets and that just about any B2C company needs to be concerned about it. I've been noticing another trend, though, which some are calling "Webrooming," people shopping online but buying off line to avoid the wait and costs they occur with shipping. Some think webrooming will become even more popular especially if the Internet sales tax is levied.
I think we all do a bit of 'web rooming'. It all depends on what is most important, speed or price.