This is a subject that I preach about to just about every business owner I talk to. You need to be where your customers are. And that includes on the Internet. Even if you are a local merchant and all of your customers are within a 5 mile radius.
Phone Books are becoming old fashioned. They are being used less and less by the younger generations. No, make that ALL GENERATIONS.
Our furnace was making loud noises over the weekend. The phone book that I found in our house was two years old and didn't have the listings I was looking for. So I went to the internet and found a current listing of HVAC contractors that service the brand I have in my house.
This week I spent $700 and signed up for a service contract with the company that I found on the web. I drive by them everyday, but it wasn't until I had an immediate need that I sought them out. I even stopped by as a walk-in customer to schedule a service call. (One thing they didn't do, is ask me why I contacted them, so they are not tracking their marketing).
Joesph Dager who runs Business 901 sent the following in his email today. (You can also get a free copy of an e-book on Duct Tape Marketing, by clicking on the link in the Free Book Column on the right side of this page.)
How to Do Business on the WorldWideWeb
Even When Your Target Is the Guy Next Door?
When I talk to many small business owners about the Internet and ways to use it to grow their business, I often encounter this response, "That's just for people trying to sell stuff to people all over the world," or "I tried that and it didn't work for me."
Whenever I hear that type of talk from small business owners, I cringe. Let me get to the point. You must be on the Internet. You must find ways to use Internet based tools such as email to enhance your marketing efforts.
Most of the Internet resistance that small business owners harbor stem from a couple of places. First of all they may have bought into the initial Internet hype that made it sound as though any business could set up a web site and start raking in cash.
The other perception that keeps businesses off of the net is the belief that since they are only trying to do business in their community or maybe even their tiny little neighborhood the Internet and Internet based tools have nothing to offer.
Let me say it again. "You can use the World Wide Web even if your market is the Guy Next Door."The cost of developing a web site and web hosting have become so inexpensive there is no excuse to pass on this form of marketing.
The first thing you must understand is how most people use the web. While there are some folks who fire up their computer to go shopping, most people use the Internet as a tool to gather information. Now they may use that information to make a purchase decision but first they will gather.
So it stands to reason that as increasing numbers of people turn to their computers for research purposes, the businesses that are ready and waiting to provide that information stand to gain over those who fail to meet this need.
I know many people, myself included, who use the Internet like a giant phone book. It is easier for me to locate a local business or service with a few clicks than to plow through a phone book.
As regional web directories and search portals grow in popularity, gaining listings in them will be more important than a Yellow Page listing. (See recommended resource for information on regional directories).
Most businesses should look at their web sites as a way to provide information and customer service first and as a way to generate leads and perhaps sales second.
A web site also allows you to enhance your advertising efforts by placing free detailed information, reports and beneficial content in a place where anyone can retrieve it. The web lets even the local neighborhood store deliver information on things such as special offerings, coupons and client previews.
Smart marketers will use a web site to get customer feedback. A web site is a great place to store all of your company's printed sales and technical literature.
The ways to use a web site in your business are endless. A web site is not the end all of marketing it is simply another very powerful marketing tool. To ignore it is to limit the ways in which a client or potential client can build a relationship with your firm...and that would be a costly mistake.
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