"The customer's always right"

I believe it was coined before the turn of the Century, but true wisdom rings eternal. This piece of wisdom will certainly live on until the end of time...

So how does this nugget of wisdom apply to us as web users. If we as customers on the web are always right, why is it that we are consistently fighting with advertising that intrudes on our experience?

We have not invited this advertising into our experience, so why are we contending with messages that do not meet our individual preferences? Especially within a medium that should be and can be sculpted around the preferences of the individual very easily.

Now paid search is getting there and is beginning to show the potential of an Internet that is sculpted around my needs, but I am sure I am not the only one that knows it can go even further...

Further into my direct wants and needs, closer to my exact preferences. Let's stop guessing what the customer wants and ask them. After all, they are the ones that are always right...right?

Gilda Radner and cookies...

Remember the old "Saturday Night Live" piece featuring Gilda Radner as Emily Litella on "Weekend Update". She would introduce a topic and then carry on for a good five minutes only to be told, finally, by Chevy Chase that the topic she was raving about was not actually the correct topic.

I am reminded of this vintage piece of comedy as I read all of the recent commentary dealing with the topic of cookies and the interactive advertising industry.

Now cookies, in my opinion, do serve a purpose. But when we are talking about using cookies to track individual surfing behavior and provide related content to the user, I have to play the role of Chevy Chase and step in to tell Gilda that she is a bit off topic.

We should be talking about what best serves the individual. And I can tell you without fail that what serves the individual best is giving them exactly what they want. If the individual wants to delete their cookies (and we are being told by Jupiter Research, among others, that nearly 40% do), then so be it.

Let's turn our discussion to technologies and solutions that better serve our individual wants and needs. Think about a web that fits our individual profiles. Wouldn't advertisers and consumers be better served this way?

Think about communicating a message directly to someone who wants to hear it. Isn't this always the most effective form of communication?

Think about the last time you saw something and said "Yes, that's exactly what I am looking for!" Think about a web that asked you what you want, and delivered it...

This is what interactive marketing should strive toward.

Now Gilda, you're onto something!