Internet Marketing Systems – Development Systems Vs Production Systems

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Internet Marketing Systems – Development Systems Vs Production Systems

Software-Development013482146_sI have engaged in an ongoing discussion about “systems” recently with some people I mastermind with.  The more I thought about it, the more that I realized that I have developed two very different sets of systems in my years developing IT Software.   There are Developmental Systems (Design and Implement is the graphic) and Production Systems (Maintain and Verify in the graphic) and the two have very different characteristics.  I believe that my experience applies to Internet Marketing Systems as well.

A Little History on Computer Systems

Most computer users today weren’t using computers before the explosion of microcomputers during the 1980’s.  Today we call them Personal Computers, but main designation during the early years was “Microcomputers.”  We had mainframes – dominated by IBM, mini-computers – dominated by DEC, and microcomputers.   We went through a lot of companies waiting for one of the “big boys” to jump in.   Altair was an early contender.  Radio Shack owned the market for a while and Commodore and Apple came on strong.  (We talked about Trash 80s, Crapples and Commododores).  For a short while it looked like Texas Instruments was going to be the Big Boy that would start the explosion, but they fizzled.  Finally IBM stepped in and microcomputers took off.   We used to talk about the “first generation” of microcomputers as being “Wordstar” – a word processor and the second generation being Visicalc – the great grandfather of Excel.  It wasn’t the hardware the really made things happen, it was software.

In those days software stunk.  Most mainframe systems were just terrible and there was a reason for that.   People used manufacturing “Systems” and tried to shoe horn them onto software development.   We commonly used what was called the Waterfall Method of designing software.   We sat a team in closed rooms and designed the system right down to the screens and sub-routines.

Software was considered done when one of three things happened:

  1. The waterfall checklist had a check mark beside every item.
  2. The deadline arrived.
  3. The budget ran out.

Developers sorta knew that the software should do what it was originally intended to do, but many, many systems went into production with only a passing nod to the question of whether the software worked or not.  The Waterfall method might work in a machine shop, but I’ve never worked on a software project, not one out of thousands, that didn’t run into something that should have been obvious, but wasn’t while we were designing the thing.    The bottom line was that regardless of which one of the three criteria was used to indicate the software was “done,” it stunk.  Some systems were incredibly bad.

Lotus 123 was the turning point.  A few guys decided that Visicalc was huge and that they were going to dominate the spreadsheet market.   They sat in a garage and worked on Lotus until is sparkled.   It was rock solid, it did what it said it would do, it was pretty, it had graphics and a whole new standard was born.  They didn’t apply any of the “standard” criteria in order to decide when it was ready.  They worked and waited until it was “ready.”

Development Systems

I’m not going to try and trace the history of development systems.  Suffice it to say that the systems that evolved involved small steps.  Check and Adjust happened at every step.  Creative juices flowed at every step and the users were involved in every step.   Many finished systems that the users absolutely adored bore very little resemblance to the original spec sheets.   The emphasis here is “how do we make this system work?”

Production Systems

There are completely different.  We no longer want large scale creative juices flowing.  Now it is small incremental changes to fix things.   Production systems focus on doing the same things  over and over, measuring speed, measuring response time, measuring complaints.   The emphasis here is “how do we make this system work BETTER?”

Internet Marketing Systems

So how does all this apply to Internet Marketing Systems.   IMHO, you need to have two different mindsets.   While you are developing your product and your sales system, you need to drive toward completion, but not be wedded to any particular idea, system or product.  I liken this to driving across the U.S. at night.  You can go the whole way, but you only see the next 100 yards at any given time.   You can see things along the way that you never imagined before you started the trip.  I have said dozens of times “That is exactly what I asked for, but now that I see it, it isn’t what I want.”    The emphasis here is “how do we make a system that works?”   Products, niches, USPs, squeeze pages and much more are all flexible and grow at their own rate.  Trying to force the project along by unrealistic deadlines will result in bad systems.  (BTW if you have no experience doing something, you have no data upon which to build timelines and deadlines so you are just guessing.)   Forcing Internet Marketing Systems to be done before they are “ready” results in products similar to those mainframe systems we suffered with during the 60’s and 70’s.  It is okay to back up and start over if you discover you are going down a road that just isn’t working.

Once you have a sales funnel and a product in place, the system requirements change dramatically.   Recording everything, making small incremental changes and recording the results  become the system you need to embrace and learn.   Split testing and accounting are the focus here.

Summary of my Observations on Internet Marketing Systems.

When you start working a business online you need to learn two different mindset – developing something new and exciting and then fine-tuning the heck out of it in order to maximize your profit and help more people with your product.

Internet Marketing systems are important, just don’t try to live with one system.

Until next time, you have a Great Day!

Dr Hale

↓ ↓ If this post gave you some ideas – Go ahead & comment below.  ↓ ↓

Hale Pringle

Hale Pringle Ed. D.

 

Hale Pringle – Hale Yes!

Skype hale.pringle

Email: HaleYes@HalePringle.com

 

P.S. If you are working to move your business online and it all seems overwhelming, I can help!  Take a look at http://HalePringle.com, or sign up for the free coaching call. You can email me or give me a Skype call. I’ll give you the benefit of my years of experience and many thousands of dollars in training and searching the rabbit hole called Internet Marketing and Network Marketing. I can help you with Lead Generation, the feeling of overwhelm, blogging, and even career change. Add that to the finest mentoring on the Internet (Ann Sieg’s Team and Inner Circle) and you have a Winner!

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About Hale Pringle

Dr. Hale is an Internet Entrepreneur and Network
Marketing expert. His greatest pleasure is
helping people and he does just that, drawing
upon the immense resources that he has gathered
over the years in his unquenchable thirst for
knowledge.

Dr. Hale lives in beautiful, sunny Florida with
his wife, two dogs and a cat. His four children
are grown and are scattered around the state.

An eternal optimist you will hear him say
regularly: “Is this a Great Day?” The answer is
always, “Hale Yes!”

If you need help with your online marketing or a
network marketing opportunity Dr. Hale is the go
to man. “Hale Yes!”

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