How to Use Multiply Your Marketing Like a Virus

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by Michel Fortin

As you probably know by now, the big talk on the Internet these days is about "Melissa" and its copycat versions. No, it's not an adult-oriented Web site or some new software game, but a virus (see www.cert.org). And the devious (or perhaps brilliant) way it works is that, after opening the e-mail attachment, it sends more virus-infected e-mails to the first 50 people in your address book without your knowledge.

While we are bombarded with anti-virus warnings telling us to never open an attachment from someone unknown to us, how can we not resist doing so when the e-mail comes from someone we actually do know (since the virus uses personal address books to multiply itself)? In fact, Melissa uses Microsoft® Outlook's mail merge command to actually incorporate the recipient's name within the body of the message, making the seemingly personalized -- and unsuspectingly harmful -- e-mail to be instantly trusted. Because of that vulnerability, Melissa has been purported to be the fastest-spreading virus to ever appear on the "cyberscene."

Nevertheless and interestingly enough, we can certainly learn the way Melissa (and viruses in general) work and act -- and, in the same way, apply that process and strategy to online marketing. Also known as "viral marketing," the concept is generally to proliferate the knowledge of your existence on the Web through other people's efforts. Be it "word-of-eye" advertising, referrals, affiliate programs, joint ventures and so on, it all comes down to that fundamental business process we call "networking." And according to Jill Griffin's wonderful book "Customer Loyalty: How to Earn it, How to Keep it," we are more open, trusting, and loyal when doing business with (or being marketed by) people we know -- and we certainly refer them to others more often as well.

Make Your Net Work
Online, networking is probably more important if not essential since cyberspace is dimensionless and expansive. It grants you the ability to reach corners untapped; areas that would have been unreachable otherwise. However, there's a caveat: There's a lot of hype lately about the benefits of networking, but I personally don't advocate traditional networking (the institutional or "I'm open for business" kind) because, in my experience, it hasn't brought me anything substantial in return.

While it can be a fantastic marketing tool, the way in which networking is conducted is often the reason why it does not produce any favorable results. When you're only networking, more often than not people will want something in return or else they will lose interest if you don't take the time to recognize their efforts. And if you don't, you will paradoxically need to network even more, which defeats the purpose altogether.

As discussed in one of my previous articles, "How To Create Powerful Strategic Alliances", a way to consistently reward your network is to turn your networking efforts into networking systems (in other words, developing strategic marketing alliances). If you and your alliance share a same target market, you can effectively cross-promote or share markets with each other. While there are as many different forms of systematized networking systems out there as there are businesses, one of them that is quite effective is what I call "info-networking."

An info-network is one in which information is exchanged in some form or another between parties. That information includes qualified leads that you can both share or information about each other that is promoted to each other's market or client base. As long as your alliance logically shares a same target market with you but without directly competing with your business, it can become a potentially rewarding relationship. This includes, for example, swapping ad space in e-zines, posting reciprocal links, co-advertising, promoting exclusive offers, submitting articles for publication, participating in discussion lists, etc.

But info-networking goes further. It also refers to mailing lists where you can swap each other's prospect or client lists -- particularly offline or "opt-in" lists. While privacy online is becoming an increasingly important issue, cross-promotion is not limited to physically sharing such lists. Web sites and e-zine publishers, for example, have opt-in lists that range from 100 to 100,000 subscribers. Many cross-market their lists, such as offering "solo" ads or offers from other subscribers -- but of course, at a cost. However, if you publish your own e-zine or maintain your own opt-in lists, the obvious advantage is that you can swap ads, "solo" ad space, or listowner-endorsed exclusive offers with each other.

Joint Ventures, Affiliate Programs, and Exclusive Offers
However, there's another form of networking that may be more effective, particularly for those of you who do not share or cross-market your lists. I call it "auto-networking." This system goes beyond simply submitting your site to search engines, swapping your ad or offer with others, or placing your offer on "free-for-all" links directories -- all with the hope that they will produce something in return. It means a process through which you are constantly and systematically exchanging leads with your strategic alliance. On the Internet, this technique is one in which a systematized method of cross-promotion between you and your alliance through a unique, joint marketing effort is created.

For example, this includes the coupling of complementary coupons or special offers that are exclusively marketed to each other's clientele. While different, these offers complement each other well and appear under the banner of a single promotion. Another is the process of amalgamating products, services, offers, or information that complement each other's portfolio. If your alliance sells a product online, they can add to that particular purchase additional bonuses from your own Web site or business, which may include your special offer or one of your products that complements their own.

You can even create an entirely new and distinct product, service, or information package from both companies and sold simultaneously from both sites. Here's an example: You sell cookware online. You can easily team up with a publisher specializing in cookbooks and throw a book in the mix. While you raise the price and split the profits with the publisher, you naturally and instantly raise the perceived value of the cookware through a co-branded or combined package of non-competing products or services. Best of all, you share in each other's traffic, market, lead-base, and referral-sources (i.e., network).

Here's another example: If you're a software programmer and you have created a program that, say, targets businesspeople, don't just give it away as shareware. Offer it to other sites that target businesspeople and let them offer it as well. While your program may not relate to your alliance's product, they both appeal to a same market and together make the offer more irresistible. In addition to the fact that your program makes your alliance look good or their offer more palatable, if your shareware is copyright-free you get your software to multiply itself rapidly -- especially within a market of much higher quality by virtue of the nature of your alliance's business.

Ultimately, you can create affiliations, alliances, referral-sources, and centers-of-influence that can help propagate the knowledge of your existence on the Web and, like a virus, multiply your online marketing punch. Focus on building a successful business using some of these effective strategies and the knowledge of your existence will spread like wildfire.