Walmart Without Shelves Part 2:  (5 minutes)

Finally the educational agenda cares about the quality of the educational content you provide and how well it glues together the technical and direct response agendas.

Why do I think this is so important?

Together these three elements make up the genetic code for a successful website- and get this- on a higher level they make up the genetic code for your entire business, both online and off-line.

Folks, this is the marketing DNA of a company that has superior genetics for creating new customers. Technical, educational and direct response.

You want every marketing endeavor to conduct- every cell of your business- to be a holder of this genetic code. The sooner you can rope these three agendas together the sooner you can take ownership of your market niche.

That's the purpose of the Gateway System. Now here is how it all fits together,

Start with the idea that Internet marketing is not a business. It's just a marketing channel. It's just one way for you to get, keep and grow customers.

Then what is a marketing channel?

It is simply the type of media that you use to get prospects and customers to respond to you. If the media you use to get them to start a conversation with you, and buy something from you- your products and your services.

A quick example of online marketing channels are:

- e-mail campaigns

- SEO campaigns

- pay per click campaign

A quick example of off-line marketing channels are:

- direct mail catalogs

- direct mail  sales letters

- seminars

- trade shows

- salespeople

- retail stores

The list goes on and on. You are going to see how all of this connects together once you get into the six strategy tracks of the Gateway to multi-channel marketing program. For now, let me show you a few illustrations of what I am talking about.

Take a look at Lands End, and check out the search box in the upper right-hand corner of the webpage. This box is set up so that people can type in an item number from the physical catalog they are holding in their hands.

Here's another one- Victoria's Secret- one of the phenomenal commercial success stories of our time- these guys know how to make money- take a look at the upper left hand corner of the webpage, right beneath the logo where is says "catalog quick order". Also looked down at the footer links where it says "request a catalog". For now, just make a mental note of this.

Let's do another one. Let's take a look at Bass Pro shops. See this little dot appear this is order by catalog number? It's not there by accident.

Or take a look at this on the business-to-business front. Here is Lab Safety Supply. Notice the order form on the left column of the page. That is for off-line traffic arriving at the site, ready to order item numbers from the print catalog.

Are you starting to get the picture about what these companies are doing?

Now get this.

80% of the online traffic generated by companies like these comes from their off-line catalog mailings. These are website assisted catalogs.

This is same multi-channel marketing dynamic plays out across thousands of smaller and less known companies as well. That is the power of combining online and off-line marketing.

I want you to zoom out from the world of Internet and online marketing. Take a look at the broader universe of opportunity that is laid out before you. Don't misunderstand, you will still need to pursue a very strong online agenda. But treat your online efforts as only one component of your complete markeing arsenal.

What's really cool about this is that you can enter a market niche online and use that as your first step onto the multi-channel pathway. And when you begin with this idea in mind, everything you do to grow your business just becomes easier. A lot easier.

And you might be thinking "Hey, I'm a small company I don't have the money to follow the same strategies that these market giants are using".  Well, I've got good news for you:

Even as the smallest of small companies, you can do exactly what the big guys are doing- and dollar for dollar- probably get better results too. And by the way, you don't need to mail catalogs. You can start out mailing sales letters, or postcards- were dozens of other off-line and online combinations to your prospects and customers.

What we have gotten a small taste of here also happens to be one of the strongest business trends you are going to see unfold over the next five years. There is a massive opportunity for any player within any market niche who can reshape themselves into savvy multichannel marketers. If you want to rack up some steady profit gains- here is a good summary:

Talk with your customers and prospects using a combination of online and off-line marketing channels.

Very very few companies do this right now- and the ones that are good at it no more than a thing or two about direct response marketing. Right now, these companies are in the smallest minority. You can watch this change dramatically over the next five years.

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