Use the Internet to differentiate your business
In the year 2000 roughly 124,000,000 Americans used the Internet. At that time that was 44.1% of the population. In 2008 that number has resin to 220,000,000, or 72.5% of our population today ( www.internetworldstats.com/am/us.htm ). The majority of that market is associated with the World Wide Web. The important item to get out of this statistic is the change that has taken place in our economy and how fast it has happened.
Majoring in economics in college, the item that stuck out in my mind the most was the primary fallacy in economic theory. And that is that there is perfect knowledge in the market place. In theory, consumers will take their money and spend it where they will get the most value for it. In reality, they don’t know where that place is. As the Internet grows, so grows our knowledge of facts in the market place. And businesses that don’t respond to this will be left in the dust.
So many people look at the economic theory and say, “Consumers simply find the same product at various places and go buy it wherever they can get the lowest price.” The fallacy in this thinking is that rarely are products the same.
Three items to study.
Most businesses selling a good or service get to see that item from three different perspectives. First, they see it from the perspective of the buyer of the pieces of a final product. A jeweler sees a diamond and a band of gold as the raw materials of an engagement ring. Second, they see the product as a finished product in their inventory. In the case of the jeweler, he sees the assembled ring in his showcase. Third, they see the item in the hands of their customer. The jeweler sees his customer leave with the ring that will change someone’s life.
At all three of these levels value has been created. More than ever businesses must communicate this value to their customers. With the Internet these businesses have this opportunity.
Communicate differentiation
Some level of differentiation exists in nearly all markets. In the case of the jeweler, no two diamonds are the same. In the case of the seller of a commodity product, the delivery method can be different. Through the Internet you can now tell your story. What makes you different? Why should a customer by from you?
How do you do this?
Today, the best way to make this communication is through your website. Your competitor’s website is available in front of you right now. Go see what makes them different and better, then improve on that for your business.
Huck Huckabee
Small Business Website & Find Searchers
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