Monday, August 31, 2009

Marketfish Bets That List Customers Are Smart Enough To Buy Direct

Seattle-based Marketfish thinks it has a better list trap – namely a system where list buyers can work directly with list owners, cutting out list managers and list brokers.

The company has a patent pending on a Web interface that will let agencies and other list buyers order directly from big list owners like Forbes, Fortune, or Inc. The idea is for marketers to browse the selection of lists online and add them to a shopping cart.

Competitor NextMark isn’t buying the Marketfish hype. In fact, the NextMark blog insists that list brokers, managers, agencies, and service bureaus add value to the process.

It's a familiar argument. From amazon, to autotrader, to overstock, to zorros … sellers everywhere are betting that consumers have enough confidence in their own product knowledge to buy direct.

-- scrubbed by Marketing Brillo

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Nancy,

Thanks for this post.

On behalf of NextMark, I want to clarify our position. You are correct that NextMark believes that list brokers, managers, agencies, and service bureaus add value to the process. However, this article implies that NextMark thinks list buyers are not smart enough to purchase their own lists. Not true.

In fact, NextMark enables list buyers with self-service through the mailing lists search tool on our website. You will find the lists you mention- Forbes, Fortune, Inc. - and 60,000+ other lists (i.e. every list available). Try it - I think you will like it.

But, again, why not use a list broker? Their services are free and they provide good advice.

Regards,
Joe Pych / NextMark

Unknown said...

Hi, Joe... Thanks for stopping by! NextMark is definitely an industry leader that respects its customers. Glad to have your commentary!