New Series Kickoff: How to Grow Your Business in Any Economy Using the Internet
Welcome, and thanks for stopping by! Subscribe to my RSS feed so you don't miss a single exciting post (or any of my regular ones). Thanks for visiting!
(Let me say right off the bat that this series is designed for local, bricks-and-mortar businesses that want to use the Internet to reach more customers and grow. If yours is an online business, a lot of the techniques here will still help you, but there are other resources that will do a better job of it. For example, check out the Ittybiz Online Business School.)
Why this series on growing business?
There’s no denying times are tough right now, and businesses all over are facing problems just hanging on. So why start a series about growing your business right now? Well, part of it stems from a constant frustration of mine since moving to my wife’s hometown a few years back, and part of stems from my frustration that local businesses could be doing much better for themselves if they used the right tools.
I’m not from around here, so when we first moved here I didn’t really know where anything is. I could get to Meijer (the local grocery/superstore) and that was about it. Though I now know where I can find about 85% of what I need, there’s still some stuff I have to hunt for, and I turn to the same tool now that I did then: the Internet. In fact, it’s no surprise I turn specifically to Google. And I keep hitting the same roadblocks now that I did then.
How local business is failing to capitalize on the Internet
Let me illustrate with an example from this very morning. I wanted to learn about local sporting goods stores because Christmas is coming up and there’s some stuff my wife wants. (And that’s as specific as I get since my wife reads this. Hi, honey!) So I go to Google and search “sporting goods Kalamazoo”. Here’s what I got (click to enlarge, use browser’s back button to return here):
Do you notice anything about those results? Except for the Craigslist result, each one points to a directory or online yellow pages of some kind. Not a single result points to a site that belongs to the sporting goods stores themselves. Sure, okay, the websites do appear Google’s local business results at the top, but that’s still not optimal because I have to click through each one to get any information at all.
Let’s contrast how well some of the local bakeries do (again, click to enlarge):
Three of the results are for the bakeries themselves. I can learn a bit about the bakery right away, right here, and get an idea of whether or not I want to go. And the truth is, I’m much more likely to patronize a business I find this way because I just don’t want to go chasing through various online yellow pages.
Use the Internet to reach your customers
So, this series has its genesis is selfishness. When I want to buy something locally, I want to be able to explore my options online before I drive all over town. I want this series to help you, the small business owner, use the Internet to make sure your business shows up as one the options.
What will the series cover, and how much will this stuff cost?
There are lots of ways to build your company’s online presence:
- A blog
- Podcasts
- Video podcasts and other web video
- Social media
- And more
I won’t pretend to be an expert in all of these. But I do know enough to show you how to get started, and I know where to point you for more information when you’re ready to take your efforts to the next level.
And if you don’t know what any of those things in the list are, don’t worry. I will clearly explain everything as we go. Creating and growing an online presence for your business can seem scary at first, but once you jump you’ll find it’s not too bad at all.
And here’s the best part: I intend to feature products, services, and techniques that are available for free or low cost. I know times are tough, so I want to you to find success while spending as little cash as possible. Now some things will cost money–there’s no getting around it. But I’ll seek to help you keep your costs down, and will feature free solutions when possible.
Are you ready to grow your business?
Great! Then come back Wednesday for the first lesson, Getting Online: How to Register a Domain Name and Get a Host for Your Website. To make sure you don’t miss it, subscribe to get updates by RSS or email.
See you Wednesday!
