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Then in thru our door walks a "former consultant" for a competitor... looking for a job. (?)
Didn't have anything for him, but I later had a chat with our VP of Sales because I overheard him telling the guy about how great Google is to us.
I had never seen this competitor even show up in SERPs but today they are ranking right below us for some major phrases.
I am just sick to my stomach.
Not much you can do now, as the horse has left the barn. You could try putting a word in the CEO's ear, but it would probably serve no purpose and might well backfire.
Jordan
One day I was sitting at my desk, which is very close to my boss's office, and he's in there talking to the rep for a physical directory about our ad in it. He calls me in to ask how many hits we've had on the webpage from their internet side of things, and so I go and check the stats for the month and the year - "we've had 2 this month, and 10 in the year" I say, very seriously, trying not to laugh. But I can't resist. I then tell him our visitors from google - and my boss is down with this and starts rubbing it in to him a bit ;) "why should I give you x for 12 visitors a year?". Next week or so I'm doing a bit of googling on our main keyword, and what do I see - an ad for this directory in google's adwords! So you click the link, and there's our site in their directory. I don't know whether they were expecting us to see their google ad or just a rise in visitors from them, but I still chuckle when I see their ad their doing our work for us! :D
I have never lived in a country where that has ever been true. Here in the US, businesspeople don't usually go out of their way to give it up if they discover an edge, no matter how much confidence they have in their product.
Welcomed competition if they had confidence in their product? If by that you mean there was once a time when business people called up the competition and told them about it whenever they discovered a successful way to market the product... then nope, its never been like that here in the USA. American businesspeople have always pretty much avoided broadcasting their successful methodologies to their competition.
How sweet it is that whenever you are successful in your marketing efforts, you inform your competition so that they can replicate your successes! That is really nice, but here in the USA, businesspeople compete with their competition... and try to win.
[edited by: lawman at 2:26 am (utc) on Aug. 25, 2003]
Marketing used to be quality of product / service here in the US, as I understand things. There was no gimmick to it. If you wanted to hire a contractor you went and looked at buildings that were built by the various contractors. If you wanted to shop at a grocery store you checked several stores (especially their meat and produce sections), &c.
Nowdays, you can be selling mounds of dirt for $100, but with a little Public Relations and a good ad and placement, you can make a killing. Just get listed in the NY Times, or Businessweek, or online with Google, and whamo, everyone wants some dirt (and if your ad was effective -- they need some dirt).
That's how it works, I'm fully aware, it's just a bit sad to see how stupid people generally are, such that ad / placement has anything to do with quantity of business. People just accept what is handed to them on a plate. Se la vi.
Jordan
[edited by: lawman at 2:27 am (utc) on Aug. 25, 2003]
Put it down to youthful exuberance and the fact many of them don't have families to support and/or haven't entered the real world of business yet.. ;)
[edited by: nutsandbolts at 2:14 am (utc) on Aug. 25, 2003]
Meaning, in the case of two major competitors, that you don't give away the farm to the competition. If you've found something that works for you, it's your knowledge. If another company finds out what works it's their creative work and knowledge. Giving it to the competition is like handing them a big chunk of your bankbook that they didn't work for.
lawman
So how can they be mad if another business is told that SEO is important, whether it is them telling their friend (non-competitor) over lunch, or the VP telling a competitor over a casual chat? Because they're not making that extra buck now? But they were never *entitled* to it, they happened upon it. Easy come, easy go.
I understand that it makes no sense to give away *trade secrets*, like how you make such high-quality products, but come on, when someone hands you free money you can't be mad when someone else comes along and gets some of it too.
Jordan
They can't be mad if another business is told or finds out. But in this case it was someone on the inside giving an outsider who's a competitor inside information. Not cool and not smart.
There's a line that has to be drawn with confidentiality and privileged information within any organization. It's a matter of responsibility and trust, not to mention common sense. Like charity, loyalty belongs at home first.
That VP had a case of loose-lips, by his boasting he shot his own company in the foot. The competitor succeeded in pumping him for information. Not bright.
