10 years ago the business landscape was very different. The majority of locally ran businesses had no idea what a website would do for their business, and it was generally seen as a luxury that corporate national companies indulged in. Of course as time lapsed its clear to see that the internet has become the staple of businesses across the world, and is often the central point of many companies.
For many businesses, looking over the spectrum of the last ten years two constants will always be the same: keep profits high and be sustainable. These two dependants will never change, however over the last 1 years they have become reliant on ever changing variables. Many of you will say that today it is much easier however to begin and grow a business thanks to the dot come revolution. Never has it been easier for an entrepreneur to begin sowing the seeds to start a business. But is the internet just about route to market your business by? Surely there must be more important means?
10 years ago, I remember the vital importance of the Yellow Pages and telephone directories. As a consumer, it was much more difficult to find what you were looking for, and many therefore relied on word of mouth. But just as writing handwritten postcards is becoming outdated – so are those delightful telephone directories that you used to use to aid you both in finding the number of your local petrol station to assisting you with the D.I.Y on a Saturday afternoon. With that in mind businesses are having to adapt, but many remain reluctant to do so.
Today it seems that a business must embrace technology, for the simple reason that their consumers are embracing it in every aspect of their lives. From Smartphone’s to Tablets to Laptops, if you want your business to be found, you have to be found online and on these devices. No longer can businesses merely relying on old school marketing techniques. This goes for the little guys as well. With the internet being so accessible it gives the smaller businesses a real chance to compete and capture customers in their area – which is vital to sustainability.
So where should businesses emphasis lie now for the next 10 years? Should it remain with the internet and focussing on ensuring people find exactly what they are looking for? Or should it be moving somewhere else? Perhaps businesses should be moving to ensure customer service is the same as what it was 10 years ago, when everyone knew each others name, and people were that little more polite. Customer service matters in business, and it costs nothing. Couple that with the internet marketing route as an additional supplement to current marketing strategies and people will really sit up and take notice of you, no matter if your business is big or small.