7/28/06

Sales Case Study

I spoke with the advertising contact for a local Mexican restaurant chain yesterday. I pointed out to her that with an inexpensive internet marketing campaign she could be listed ahead of her competition and could immediately boost her brand. Before I could get into any dialogue she shut me off and informed me that the internet offered nothing for her. She said her customers have informed her through informal polling that it's not necessary. I began to explain to her the basic benefits but was cut off bluntly, "We don't see how the internet can help us, thank you".

Ok
, I hear you but how wrong you are madam I said to myself after she politely ended the call.

I really hate sales and the only reason I am doing this is because the product is a no-brainer. If you are a small business --any business-- you can benefit by using the internet.

If the local Fresno Mexican restaurant chain owner only knew what is out there she would change her mind. I'll explain.

For her category on Yahoo Local she could get one of the sponsored listing for under $30 per month. Since only 2 other Mexican restaurants in Fresno are claiming those (rotating) top spots she can can be assured top page visibility for every Yahoo search for "Fresno Mexican Restaurant".

Since Yahoo has a rating system she could invite some of her dedicated patrons to sign on to Yahoo and offer a good word about the food or service if they enjoyed the dining experience. Ratings are a growing trend and search engines, Yahoo especially is pushing the trend hard as they embrace the power of social search and user generated content.

Rating search "engines" like Insider Pages, Judy's Book and Yelp are also great places to have your small business listed and discussed. I have seen some ratings from these platforms organically ranked on Google and Yahoo. The point here is anywhere a good word about your company is written it will be seen somewhere forever on the internet.

Of course Yahoo is only one place to be advertising locally. Google which garners 50% plus or minus all search on the web offers multiple entry points for local business.
All of the internet advertising options I mentioned in the first post on this blog are easy to navigate. Anyone willing to take a few minutes to study the programs can fill in the blanks and get a web campaign started. The basis of our service is we know how to plug your business into all the platforms and how to surround your business with positive word of mouth buzz.
Send us an email or give us a call. At the very least we'll help you do it yourself!

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