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How do you get there from here? This is the issue as understood by newspapers, for example. Their web revenue is growing smartly, but is at least one order of magnitude away from being meaningful to the future of the company.

Or perhaps you have a blog business with a trickle of Google AdSense revenue, but it’s hard to justify the time it takes to write the blog on the basis of the revenue stream.

Or you’re working on a plan for a new business, and you’re stuck at the five-year projection worksheet. Are you like most first-time business venturers?  You might just figure, “Since everyone in the civilized world is a potential customer, that’s what, two billion people, and if only one percent actually buy…” — not appreciating that someone has to tell that one percent that they’re the designated buyers.

So, class, can anyone tell me what’s the key word in that last paragraph?

The key word is “tell.”

Okay, it’s a trick question– there is at least one more key word: “if.”

And it’s even trickier than that. The keys to success include:
1. A great product or service
2. Brilliant, focused, determined execution.
3. Marketing. That’s the “tell” multiplied by the “if” — who and where are your real prospects?
4. Sensitivity to your customers — mood, “mode”, motivation. By “mode” I mean what they’re doing at the moment you reach them with your marketing. Are they bored (mood), looking for distraction (mode)? Are they in the midst of a quest, trying to find a solution? Take me, the car shopper: My car’s working fine right now, but I love to dream about the next one. Oops, my car just broke down, I need a new one now! There are more modes, of course.

So back to the original question. In our next chapter.