Comments on: The SMB- Not educated or overwhelmed? http://localvisibility.net/2008/05/17/the-sme-not-educated-or-overwhelmed/ The Key to the Local Revenue Opportunity. Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:09:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU hourly 1 By: Stan Gauss http://localvisibility.net/2008/05/17/the-sme-not-educated-or-overwhelmed/#comment-13 Stan Gauss Mon, 19 May 2008 13:09:59 +0000 http://stangauss.wordpress.com/?p=47#comment-13 Mike- Great points. No matter what we do the business owner needs to want to succeed. I've been involved with a few projects recently that included intelligent, intuitive self service tools. I don't think a tool like that will ever be the only answer but it will definitely help. To reach the masses we may need to focus one niche and category at a time while continuing to capture best practices. If the business owner takes things seriously and moves up the learning curve by understanding his limitations, it will make the training process much easier. Mike- Great points. No matter what we do the business owner needs to want to succeed. I’ve been involved with a few projects recently that included intelligent, intuitive self service tools. I don’t think a tool like that will ever be the only answer but it will definitely help. To reach the masses we may need to focus one niche and category at a time while continuing to capture best practices.

If the business owner takes things seriously and moves up the learning curve by understanding his limitations, it will make the training process much easier.

]]> By: Mike Bunnell http://localvisibility.net/2008/05/17/the-sme-not-educated-or-overwhelmed/#comment-12 Mike Bunnell Mon, 19 May 2008 06:18:33 +0000 http://stangauss.wordpress.com/?p=47#comment-12 Stan, you touch on a lot of common, recurring themes in local online marketing. I think your recommendation about a self service interface has some potential, and of course there are a lot of players out there trying to make this work. But I go back to your comment about lack of time being a reason SMBs don't advertise. I think to some extent, at some point, we have to stop there and say, wait a minute: if you as a business owner are not willing to invest some time in learning how to sustain and grow your business (i.e., market it), then you can't be helped. Yes, there are certain narrow verticals where a templatized self-service solution can work, but that's not a truly scalable approach, and it leaves a lot of business out. HubSpot's blog had a post along these lines (http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4091/The-Single-Most-Important-Ingredient-in-Your-Internet-Marketing-Strategy.aspx), and I think this whole issue pre-dates the internet. SMBs always faced the "I'm good at my job but not good at running a business" problem, and the internet just introduces a new element of that same challenge. The business owners that take it upon themselves to find out how to get good at running a business are more likely to find long-term success and growth, and I don't think there's any readymade solution out there that can get around that. Certainly the internet came facilitate the learning process, but the business owner has to want to make it work. Stan, you touch on a lot of common, recurring themes in local online marketing. I think your recommendation about a self service interface has some potential, and of course there are a lot of players out there trying to make this work.

But I go back to your comment about lack of time being a reason SMBs don’t advertise. I think to some extent, at some point, we have to stop there and say, wait a minute: if you as a business owner are not willing to invest some time in learning how to sustain and grow your business (i.e., market it), then you can’t be helped.

Yes, there are certain narrow verticals where a templatized self-service solution can work, but that’s not a truly scalable approach, and it leaves a lot of business out.

HubSpot’s blog had a post along these lines (http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4091/The-Single-Most-Important-Ingredient-in-Your-Internet-Marketing-Strategy.aspx), and I think this whole issue pre-dates the internet. SMBs always faced the “I’m good at my job but not good at running a business” problem, and the internet just introduces a new element of that same challenge.

The business owners that take it upon themselves to find out how to get good at running a business are more likely to find long-term success and growth, and I don’t think there’s any readymade solution out there that can get around that. Certainly the internet came facilitate the learning process, but the business owner has to want to make it work.

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