MarketProMBA

Around my house on any given night, the television is usually on and just providing background noise to drown out the chaos of a household with 3 dogs, 1 bird, 1 teenager, and my 9 year old.  I really don’t watch much TV other than a few select shows, the news and late night television.  Last night, while working on my new blog posts, I heard a strange sound that was not a bark, scream or crash that normally goes on in the background. Instead, I hear a Snap, Crackle and a Pop.  No, it wasn’t someone pouring a bowl of cereal, it was my 42 inch Sony TV.  Needless to say, I was a bit concerned.  My TV went black and nothing I could do would bring it back.

So what did I do? The same thing any modern American would do. I went straight to the Internet.  I researched my model of TV and sure enough within minutes I had determined that the likely culprit was a burned out projection bulb. I found instructions on how to remove it and verify that in fact it was dead. Then I researched the best replacement bulb and online retailer and placed my order. In about 2 days, I will have my new bulb and we will be back in business.

It’s easy, right? What on earth did we do before the internet!!? The whole episode really started me thinking about life before the internet and how this modern communication tool has been woven into our lives now. Before the internet, we would have called a TV repairman or taken our set into a repair shop, then waited until a diagnosis was made, then pay the labor and parts and what ever other costs they come up with. Now, it’s with a stroke of the key board, a little bit of research and online purchasing we do in minutes what used to be a lengthy process.

According to Nielsen Online, there are 227,719,000 internet users in the U.S. as of August 2009 which represents 74.1% of the population. Over 69 million of these internet users are also broadband customers. So what’s my point? It is simply that the internet is now used as much as television or likely more than many other forms of media. What does this mean to small business owners? It means everything! As a small business owner, you can not afford not to be on the internet and expect to stay in business.

The internet has opened doors and expanded territories of many small businesses.  If you sell a product, you can easily market this over the internet and open up a larger market for sales. Most of this might be old news to many small business owners, but the truth is I still come across business owners who do not have a presence online.  Some of them don’t even use email? How do they conduct business? Some of these businesses are actually the ones that have lost business to the internet.  Let me explain: In my example, I stated before the internet I would have to call a T.V. repairman or a repair shop to have my T.V. fixed.  The internet has most likely reduced the need for a T.V. repairman so what would you do if this was your business?

The simple answer is you get your business on the internet and retool. Use your expertise in the form of a blog to talk about common T.V. problems, then offer solutions on how to fix these issues and instead of making a house call, you sell them the parts they need. Now you have a new door to your business and you still have an opportunity to gain local business.  On top of the local business, you also open yourself to market outside of your area. Instead of being beaten by the competition on the internet, you embrace it and use it to change your business and offerings.

Out of the 227 million internet users, how many people do you think were just like me last night trying to figure out how to get their beloved television working again? Imagine how I would have felt to find a local company that offered the parts I need or the know how to fix my problem even quicker than it took me? The internet shouldn’t be looked at as “what killed” the small business owners, but rather it should be looked at as “what saved” the small businesses of today.

In our business, THE original basket boutique, the internet could be considered the 800 pound gorilla in the room. It is both a blessing and a pain for us. We use the internet to expand our sales region and reach out to our customers on a regular basis.  We conduct more business over email than we do over the phone. The downside is in our business, we have heavy competition from the internet. There are a lot of very big gift basket companies out there, so how do we compete?  Like any small business owner should, we focus on our local business and we go after one client at a time. We use the internet as a tool to find new potential clients, educate our current clients and stay in touch. Our best sales tool is still personal sales and that one-to-one connection you get when you look someone in the eye and demonstrate your products and knowledge.

The bottom line is the internet has changed all of our lives. I can’t imagine what to do without it? Even when I try to “unplug” and get away from the internet, I still have my smart phones, internet appliances, iPods, and now even our cars can be connected. The internet is going to be part of our lives forever more and I believe will be woven even tighter in our lives as technology advances every day. So don’t fight it, embrace it. If you are a small business owner and you are not on the internet, get on the bus. Brainstorm ways to grow your business by using the internet. If you can’t think of any ways, then contact me. I will throw some ideas your way. Make it your 2010 resolution to “rethink” your business and look for new ways to grow your business.

David Beckham
MarketProMBA