I work as a developer for the online arm of a yellow pages provider in Europe. Thanks to regulated data and a more conservative populace, it's still a very profitable sector for a fairly simple and well known business model. None of "we come from the Internet" players, be it Google, Facebook, Groupon or otherwise has succeeded in making any real dent _yet_, although they're making progress.
One point that article starts to make well but then spoils with the Monty Python reference is this;
> Part of the reason is that small business owners are already doing everything they already know to stay afloat. Adding a whole new category to what they need to understand and stay up-to-date with is just too much.
...it goes further than that even. The more tech-savvy small businesses know a fair bit about SEO, Adwords and how to present themselves online but _they don't have time_. Even if you have the knowhow investing, say, 3 hours a day for a couple of weeks, getting a campaign running when you're a dentist doesn't make sense when there's a queue of customers waiting.
Three fundamentals for tech startups wanting to provide software and services to small businesses are something like;
* Leads matter: it's not about clicks, it's about customers. If you're helping a dentist keep their weekly schedule full with _real patients_, they'll be happy to pay for it. Groupon's success is all about this.
* You need people on the ground. If you want to reach small businesses, you have to talk to them face to face, no matter how smart your algorithm is. You're competing for their attention against their real work - that which generates income - and while some are tech savvy, many more lack understanding of what technology can do for them. Again Groupon have figured this out http://goo.gl/Zch2U
* Be _genuinely_ trying to help them make their business a success. Many have a hard enough time just staying afloat and there are plenty of sharks already out there trying to take their money - Groupon may be one of them.
Finally, for tech startups, don't group them all as "small business" but instead look at specific "verticals". While there are commonalities, the needs of a hairdresser and a dentist are not the same. Take a look at some of the yellow pages provides business category listings for example http://www.yellowpages.ca/business/ - each one of those is a vertical with specific needs. Do you think a company selling farm equipment like tractors is interested in an online shopping cart?
We couldn't agree more with the points you're making. In the U.S., the Yellow Pages has lost more than half its revenue in just three years so it may be a bit different.
These optimizations you mention (and significantly more) are in our pipeline.
"You need people on the ground." -- That's exactly why we have yet to sell this directly to consumers. We partner with newspapers who have the relationships in place, and the boots on the ground, to make the sale.
This last leg of the internet sale is not going to happen over the phone, it's going to have in person, and probably with someone the business trusts.
One point that article starts to make well but then spoils with the Monty Python reference is this;
> Part of the reason is that small business owners are already doing everything they already know to stay afloat. Adding a whole new category to what they need to understand and stay up-to-date with is just too much.
...it goes further than that even. The more tech-savvy small businesses know a fair bit about SEO, Adwords and how to present themselves online but _they don't have time_. Even if you have the knowhow investing, say, 3 hours a day for a couple of weeks, getting a campaign running when you're a dentist doesn't make sense when there's a queue of customers waiting.
Three fundamentals for tech startups wanting to provide software and services to small businesses are something like;
* Leads matter: it's not about clicks, it's about customers. If you're helping a dentist keep their weekly schedule full with _real patients_, they'll be happy to pay for it. Groupon's success is all about this.
* You need people on the ground. If you want to reach small businesses, you have to talk to them face to face, no matter how smart your algorithm is. You're competing for their attention against their real work - that which generates income - and while some are tech savvy, many more lack understanding of what technology can do for them. Again Groupon have figured this out http://goo.gl/Zch2U
* Be _genuinely_ trying to help them make their business a success. Many have a hard enough time just staying afloat and there are plenty of sharks already out there trying to take their money - Groupon may be one of them.
Finally, for tech startups, don't group them all as "small business" but instead look at specific "verticals". While there are commonalities, the needs of a hairdresser and a dentist are not the same. Take a look at some of the yellow pages provides business category listings for example http://www.yellowpages.ca/business/ - each one of those is a vertical with specific needs. Do you think a company selling farm equipment like tractors is interested in an online shopping cart?
OK - TL no one read ;)