Summary : Business directories are a fantastic tool which can be incorporated within a
grassroots marketing campaign, designed to reach core constituents and customer
demographics without requiring recourse to more widely distributed, less finely tuned
media channels.
The Internet has changed buying behaviors to the extent that customers habitually research
suppliers of goods of services online long before they seek to make a purchase. In fact,
increasingly the actual purchase transaction now occurs completely within the online
environment – meaning if you can get the customer to your online space, you have a
chance of making a sale then and there. This considered, business directories can be
compared to full time sales staff; answering customer queries about where to find a
particular product, service or business segment (including the non commercial and public
service) and directing them accordingly via a convenient web link.
Local business once meant a street presence
Occupying a main street frontage in a local community used
to be the standard model for local business operators. Butchers, retailers, food outlets
and other business serving the local community could be found in prime positions on the
main streets of the locality. Quite apart from the fact that your ‘local’
butcher may now not occupy any local real estate at all; preferring to operate wholly
online, customers are now less willing to linger in main thoroughfares as they seek ever
greater efficiency and convenience from suppliers.
Put simply, local customers have adjusted to the conditions
of an online world. There is little need to sit down with a travel consultant when the
entire transaction can be researched for price and inclusions and finalized online. Even a
trip to the local supermarket can be avoided by organized shoppers who make their
purchases online in the convenience of the home; with no supermarket lines or runaway
shopping trolleys.
Online street presence
To compete in the world of local business, real street
presence has been supplanted by virtual presence or an online profile. Part of the
equation is setting up shop in a pleasant, user-friendly online space; though not even
nearly sufficient in and of itself.
Physical street presence comes at a much higher cost than
its online equivalent, with prime positions attracting high rents due to the regular foot
traffic, business exposure and likelihood of unsolicited off the street custom. This can
happen in the online world also, but requires significant efforts to position the site
correctly and strategies to drive internet traffic in the right direction.
There are varying ways to increase online traffic; back
links, promotions and giveaways, community presence at local events, cross promotion with
other community websites and local businesses and a myriad of other marketing strategies
which harness the power of the online world to reach local households and businesses.
Local business directories are like an online phone book
While we already have access to an online version of the
standard phone book, enhanced with additional goodies using the unique strengths of the
internet, local business directory is a different proposition in that it serves the needs
of a particular community grouping.
Often the scope is wide: such as industry based, or state
or regional in focus. Consumers may then filter down to their specific requirements. By
listing in a number of differently focused directories, local businesses increase their
reach across the community in varied ways. This provides additional touch points with the
consumer and assists in building familiarity and customer loyalty.
A complement to search engines
The prevalence of search engines as an everyday research
tool has trained modern consumers in basic research methodologies; customers generally
have a good idea what they are searching for and what keywords to enter to increase their
percentage of useful hits.
Internet business directories help customers by filtering
one level for them without any more effort being expended; simply by going to the
directory as a starting point rather than the standard internet-wide search engine. Now
they know that all the hits will be relevant to their locality: no strange pizza place on
the other side of the world popping up unexpectedly.
Experience with search engines has trained internet users
to expect great results and to be impatient with nonsense hits and keyword stuffed content
that causes them to waste unnecessary clicks on useless information. A directory can
remove a lot of this clutter, engendering a more positive frame of mind as the customer
peruses the options.
Closing the deal without saying a word
A really great site which is easy to use and offers a clear
and simple means of processing payment is best geared to operate as a virtual shop-front.
Internet directories usually allow a range of contact details to be provided, but ideally
the transaction can be undertaken without any need for manual intervention. |
