With the continued proliferation of the Internet, the meaning of the word "marketing" also proliferates. There seem to be as many definitions of advertising as there are marketers.

Many see selling as a series of tactics or gimmicks. Some push pyramid programs [multi-level selling (MLM) or network branding] as the way to successful promoting.

Others might say the Web has made traditional promoting obsolete. I say the Internet has expanded our capabilities, created new ways of doing business, and radically changed business dynamics. It has not, however, changed the foundation of advertising.

Basic, traditional selling is as relevant as ever. The Four Ps - item, price, place (distribution), and promotion - whether you tack on added Ps and Cs or not, are still very much alive. Strategic thinking, segmenting, and targeting might still earn you a competitive advantage.

Marketing still means determining what our customers positive need and want, planning how we are going to meet those needs and goal, and then implementing our plan.

We still have products, services, and ideas to sell at some price. We still deliver to our customers via some means of distribution. We still promote and we still sell . Those are the basics. Those basics still exist and always will.

What *has* changed is the business environment. Companies compete with more efficient technologies. Customers have better access to their cost options and they communicate to each other in a not even conceivable in the pre-Internet age.

In some industries, the Internet has lowered the cost of entry so that entrepreneurs - many times from a home office - have entered the competition. The changes in competitive environment are numerous. What have also changed are promoting strategies and the branding programs we have available to implement those strategies.

These have changed, but basic selling has not. Superior selling is and always has been analysis, then action. It is strategy development, then logical and thought-out tactical implementation. It is the way to customer satisfaction and increasing profit. It is the process of:

1) Analyzing your customers and the business environment in order to

2) identify key opportunities to better and more profitably meet customer needs,

3) figuring out how to act on those opportunities, and then

4) implementing your plan.

The process doesnt have to be cumbersome. Five-year plans and novel-length documents are not required. The logic of the action is whats important.

By applying the basic selling process both online and offline, your chances of success skyrocket.