What Cats Know About Internet Marketing

Many cats have a life of apparent ease, snoozing in sunny windows, relaxing on a favorite couch or chair. They stretch and yawn, purr and preen, gracing us with their presence, waiting to be fed or stroked. Masters of their domain cats leave the trivialities of life to their human companions.

It is certainly a lifestyle to be envied and, according to some internet marketers, emulated. Getting the maximum return for the smallest possible effort is quite an achievement and something at which cats and some marketers excel.

It’s estimated that there are some 65 million house cats in the US alone, which by marketing standards would be classified a pretty good success rate. These four legged felines have carved quite a niche for themselves as one of the most popular pets in history. It might even be said that cats dominate their niche, something many human marketers would love to do as well.

How you might wonder did cats, solitary, secretive nocturnal hunters come to enjoy such prominence? Thousands of years ago cats inadvertently began to use some of the fundamental principals of marketing. Simply put, they provided something which people found to be of tremendous value.

As natural rat catchers cats provided an essential service by keeping granaries and homes free of these destructive rodents. What quickly developed over time was what might be called a symbiotic relationship, or more simply, one which provided benefits both people and cats alike. Cats had a ready source of food and, without rats people lost less grain, a win / win arrangement.

There is of course a lesson here which should not be lost on today internet marketers. Cats were able to become very successful by exploiting an opportunity – the need to keep down the rat population. The same principal applies for internet marketers too. Success in selling online comes not from striving to succeed but rather from seeking out opportunities where there is a clear need to be met or, in other words, a “demand”.

Cats also took advantage of a basic natural law which also applies to marketing, the law of attraction. People were attracted to the idea of building settlements with stores of grain and, rats, being attracted to grain, quickly followed. Cats then appeared attracted by the presence of rats in what today might be called a supply chain.

Behind every successful product there is some natural attraction; something that feeds into a common want need or desire. It’s a pretty basic thing really but, with a failure rate of 90 plus percent, it’s also obviously something lots of internet marketers don’t get. Filling a demand is the first principal of all marketing – but there’s more to internet marketing than simply that alone.

Cats didn’t get to occupy their coveted position as a prestige pet simply by being good hunters. They also provided an added value which in marketing terms provides the opportunity for an up sell. Cats really are masters of the up sell in more ways than one.

Cats are cute and when domesticated become cuddly companions. Not everyone loves them however, many cat owners will confirm that stroking a cat, listening to it purr can be very therapeutic, and in other words it makes us feel good. Making people feel good is one of the primary drivers in all marketing. It’s that warm fuzzy most everyone will recognize as something we really like.

Although often aloof and independent some cats are downright social and engaging, especially as kittens. So when you put it all together you can see the attraction. It’s easy to see how those positive feline traits would make having a cat around the house desirable. In other words cats, even without knowing it, cats have a combination of features which work together to make them marketing naturals.

Cat’s give people something they like, something they want, two things which are very powerful marketing motivators. Combine these with the first, which is a need and you create an exceptional market potential.

Cats have one final and important trick up their sleeve, so to speak. The real secret to their success comes from leveraging their position with humans and copying that success over and over. That is to say they made more cats, lots more cats. Every time a cat had a little of kittens, those cuddly little creatures are quickly given away to friends, neighbors even strangers. You might think of this as a cat’s version of viral marketing.

The so called gurus of internet marketing will tell you that one of the real secrets to making lots of money on line is to have others do it for you. In other words you can multiply or leverage your marketing efforts if you have lots of others selling your products. It’s one of those principals that cats used to get themselves into so many households around the world.

Cats didn’t need special tools to become successful. They were born with all the traits, talents and skills needed and circumstance did the rest. Internet Marketers however do need to develop a few skills and to use the right tools to succeed online. If they are smart enough to take note of the market position achieved by our beloved feline friends, some marketers may also become fat cats in the process.

Marvin Double is an Experienced Businessman and Writer who specializes in topics about Internet Marketing. For more Articles and Information about Internet Marketing please visit his blog at Monkeeze Marketing