Many see Apple’s announcement as the latest offensive in the war for the customized marketing of all things you. What search engines and social networking sites have been doing with all of those searches and "likes” is creating a database of information on you. If you are doing a search for ice cream parlors in your area, someone has stored that information about you. If you have read an article on the migration of fire ants and shared it with your friends on Facebook, they have taken note of it. If you looked for an exercise bike on eBay, they know all about it. All of this information creates a profile of you. So those ads that show up whenever you are listening to music on Pandora, playing Farmville on Facebook, or just doing a simple Google search – they are all based upon the kind of information you have revealed about yourself with the kind of things you search for and look at on your computer. What Apple is attempting to do is to take this to another level with their digital assistant. Whatever you ask the iPhone to search for will be used to market back to you. So if you ask your phone, "What is the closest Italian Restaurant?” the phone will not only tell you the name of the restaurant, give you directions on how to get there and make reservations for you, it will also ask you if you would like a discount coupon for that particular restaurant. And you will find that the coupon is for a dessert item–Spumoni ice cream–because your profile says that you like ice cream based on your previous searches. But you will also notice that this is low-fat Spumoni ice cream, figuring you are trying to drop a few pounds based on your search for an exercise bike. And you will notice that there is also a coupon for a local exterminator that specializes in getting rid of fire ants.

All of this might seem futuristic, or at least a bit Orwellian. It is for the time being. However, this is quickly becoming the new reality in marketing. What marketing research has been feeding us – basic demographic likes and dislikes of the marketplace – will now be available on an individual basis. This helps us tailor our marketing message down to the smallest detail and not be hampered by educated guesses about the target market. This is really no different than the relationship between the local owner of a hardware store and a repeat customer. When the customer comes into the store on a Saturday morning and the owner asks him, "Did you get your screen door installed last weekend? Are you ready to paint the door jams this weekend?” We appreciate a storeowner who is tuned into his clientele and remembers distinctions between one customer and another. This is what is happening with the shift to new marketing methods.

How do you tap into this new marketing reality? First of all, do a self-examination of your offerings. How much of what you produce can be customized to the subtle differences between people? Any time you can make a customer feel like your products or services were tailored for him or her, you have a made a step in the right direction. Secondly, understand how people doing searches are finding you now. How many people are finding you on the web? What search engines are they utilizing to find you? What key words are they using? All of this is important information you will need to market your company electronically. Thirdly, try out some of the less expensive options that are available to you on e-sources. For instance, social networking sites have very simple ad solutions. Try it out and see what works. You can name your target market and the region of the map to which you want to advertise. Fourthly, keep your eye on the new technology – especially mobile devices – as they become available next fall and winter. There will be advertising opportunities that emerge with these new mobile products.

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Apple updates mobile operating system with Google in mind, by Doug Gross, CNN Tech June 11, 2012