This is something I have heard too many times to count in the decade that I’ve been marketing businesses on the web. Albeit, the frequency I hear this has decreased significantly each year as businesses see their competitors innovate their marketing and watch in surprise as seemingly untouchable business practices fall by the wayside.
But, I still do hear this occasionally. Sometimes from otherwise very successful business owners and managers that I hold in high regard.
The fact is, I have seen too many innovative websites and marketing campaigns that have revolutionized businesses and entire markets to be willing to accept this statement. From local dry cleaners to national television networks, innovators have been leapfrogging competitors in market share by better serving their customers online in new ways. There was a day when insurance companies couldn’t fathom using the web to expand their services. Today, there are very large insurance companies who only do business online.
When thinking about the cause of this mindset, I am reminded that it is easy to drive with tunnel vision when you have spent years in the same industry.
If you tell yourself and others that online doesn’t work for your business, then the truth is, you’re right. Online won’t work for your business if you do things exactly the way you always have. But, if you instead ask, “how can I improve my marketing or better serve my customers online?” you will see your opportunities in a different light. And, if you look around and see no one else in your market or region doing business online, then you have the opportunity to be the first.
All businesses will be doing some form of business online. The question is, will you be going online just to keep up with your competition, or will you be the innovator that your competition is following?
Tags: online marketing, small business