Changing Habits
People’s changing media consumption habits are wreaking havoc on traditional media companies. We recently reported that US Internet usage has reached the same level as television usage. We have also touched on how phone books are becoming obsolete, and everyone knows that newspapers are dropping like flies. These are very important signs of an evolving marketplace that business leaders must pay attention to.

The rise of on demand media from real time news on the web, DVRs, internet video, streaming technologies, and smart phones have empowered the masses to consume media on their own schedule and on their own terms.

The neo-consumer expects to get what they want when they want it. And this expectation does not just apply to media. It extends to products and services as well.

Changing Marketplace
Traditional advertising techniques are going the way of traditional media and are no longer enough to bring the results businesses require. Interactive technologies now play a major role in connecting customers and businesses. The smallest of businesses and least technology-enabled industries are facing the biggest threats.

For the very small business (VSB) it can be hard to justify spending money on more than a simple web site, and often considered impossible to find the means to engage with people through social media. This creates a competitive advantage for the VSBs that can effectively leverage interactive technologies.

Similarly, industries like construction that have been slow to adopt interactive technologies are at risk. There is a budding industry with a sole purpose of catching the attention of people online in need of construction services, and selling those leads to the highest bidder. This trend is not just limited to construction. It is prevalent in many industries and growing.  The main reason these lead capturing companies thrive is they understand and execute interactive marketing better than the VSBs do.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The VSB has always relied on word-of-mouth to drive sales. Social media technologies enable word-of-mouth to happen in the interactive space.

Advertising has always been about creating awareness in the marketplace. Interactive advertising focuses the awareness message on those most likely to respond.

Being found when a customer is ready to take action has always been critical. Being found online today is more important than being found in the phone book has been in the past.

Nurturing customer relationships has always been critical for repeat business. CRM systems can provide new insights into customer behavior and enable businesses to nurture more relationships more efficiently and in more compelling ways.

No more business as usual
The VSB cannot afford to ignore interactive technologies. Embracing the interactive space is an ongoing effort and must be managed as such. Developing and executing a marketing strategy is key for the VSB to evolve with the changing marketplace. At Web International we help our VSB clients implement marketing and technology  strategies that evolve the business and keep pace with marketplace.