Visiting Kmart or Walmart online is much like visiting one of their physical stores. The sites are full of online shelves where customers buy basic merchandise at cost effective prices. There isn't a whole lot more. This is as expected.
When offering your wares on line, whether services or products, consider your online site as another physical location. What is it that makes your business stand out? Do you offer quality merchandise with professional advice? Do you offer bargain basement prices and efficient delivery?
Keeping your brand and extending your business to online will be easier if you keep your identity consistent between the physical and online locations. Just because you add an online entity to your business doesn't mean that you need to go from being a Neiman Marcus to a Walmart.
Showing posts with label Main Street on the Web. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Main Street on the Web. Show all posts
Monday, November 7, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
What you're good at....
As your business moves to doing business online the same business philosophy can be applied to your online presence.
A business that offers education and personal service can add that touch online as well through blogs and forums.
Making sure that there is someone to respond to emails and online inquiries is important in an online world where people are used to and expect timely responses. Make use of the auto responder offered by your email provider to let customers know the time frame that they can expect a response.
And all inquiries are chances to solve your potential customer's problem--- don't miss the opportunity.
A business that offers education and personal service can add that touch online as well through blogs and forums.
Making sure that there is someone to respond to emails and online inquiries is important in an online world where people are used to and expect timely responses. Make use of the auto responder offered by your email provider to let customers know the time frame that they can expect a response.
And all inquiries are chances to solve your potential customer's problem--- don't miss the opportunity.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
What to Tweet?
OK. So you've got the website. You've got the blog. And you'd like to take advantage of those new phones everyone has to keep your business out in front of the competition.
First take a look at the competition. Are you a retailer? Most retailers, whether they sell vacuums or food compete with places like Walmart or Target. What are they talking about?
They're talking about their deal of the day, their sale events, their career opportunities, and their charitable events. No need to buy into Groupon. Post your own sale, tweet it out to a few customers at once, follow it up with a link for an internet coupon posted to your website or blog and watch as your customers get the word out to all their friends.
Hey there's a big sale down out Ma and Pa's this Saturday!
That's competing with the big guys.
First take a look at the competition. Are you a retailer? Most retailers, whether they sell vacuums or food compete with places like Walmart or Target. What are they talking about?
They're talking about their deal of the day, their sale events, their career opportunities, and their charitable events. No need to buy into Groupon. Post your own sale, tweet it out to a few customers at once, follow it up with a link for an internet coupon posted to your website or blog and watch as your customers get the word out to all their friends.
Hey there's a big sale down out Ma and Pa's this Saturday!
That's competing with the big guys.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Giving Local Businesses a Chance
I love a town with a Main Street. The kind that looks like a Christmas village. The kind that has quaint little awnings over the store fronts where you expect the shop keeper to come out any minute and sweep the walk.
The town I grew up had a Main Street and everyone knew all the shopkeepers from the baker, to the meat cutter, to the pharmacist. And the owner of the furniture store would bring his broom out to sweep the sidewalk and talk to the owner of the clothing and shoe store next door.
Local businesses are important especially in a global world where you can be doing business with someone in another country every afternoon. The sense of community in a town with a Main Street that is still in tact is priceless. It's a nice place to be a child in.
This is the type of world I enjoy putting on the web the most; a Main Street to compete with the big guys in the global market.
For a view from the perspective of one of those small business owners read this blog.
The town I grew up had a Main Street and everyone knew all the shopkeepers from the baker, to the meat cutter, to the pharmacist. And the owner of the furniture store would bring his broom out to sweep the sidewalk and talk to the owner of the clothing and shoe store next door.
Local businesses are important especially in a global world where you can be doing business with someone in another country every afternoon. The sense of community in a town with a Main Street that is still in tact is priceless. It's a nice place to be a child in.
This is the type of world I enjoy putting on the web the most; a Main Street to compete with the big guys in the global market.
For a view from the perspective of one of those small business owners read this blog.
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