Serving mom-and-pop small businesses is a challenge in digital marketplaces. They want to be online, but they don’t know where as there are no huge, recognizable brands. It’s a challenge for them to know whom to work with in the absence of a “Google-like” brand in the local space. ShopCity.com‘s president, Colin Pape, addressed these challenges by offering his prescription for success, which includes these elements:
- Flat-rate pricing works; small businesses want the certainty.
- “Reciprocal sales” — spend time and money with businesses, then sell to them.
- Show that you have an affinity for small businesses.
- Municipal governments are good partners.
- Chambers of commerce can be a friend sometimes, a competitor other times.
For more information and perspective on ShopCity.com see our earlier post featuring an interview with Pape.
One of the ways to tackle the issue of where local businesses can go online is to leverage relationships with trusted local brands such as media properties. David Vazdauskas, president of Local Thunder, likes to work with media properties as they complement his ability to provide integration and an online platform for local businesses. Media companies bring the big local brand, share a mandate to increase revenues, and already have existing advertiser relationships, feet on street, and promotional power. Newspapers in particular are happy to hear of Local Thunder’s video offerings as it is not their strength but adds clear value. Vazdauskas says his company works with WorldNow on an exclusive basis with television stations.
Ben Saren, CEO of CitySquares, says he’s never had a small business ask “how do I get more traffic to my site?” They’re more interested in making the cash register ring. Saren concluded, “they really don’t even care about ROI — they don’t know what it is. They just want to drive business.” That’s the kind of mentality small businesses have so it’s a bit strange trying to work with them with digital markets. Saren says they request a lot of hand-holding and that is a big constraint on the ability to scale.
Rick Ducey is the managing director for BIA/Kelsey. He is an expert in digital media innovations, competitive strategies, new product development and new business models, including digital ecosystem collaboration strategies.
Ducey oversees the firm's consulting, research and advisory services areas. He is also the program director for BIA/Kelsey's Video Local Media advisory service. This program provides coverage and analysis of how online, mobile and broadcast video technologies, competition, shifting consumer demographics and media usage trends are driving changes in the media ecosystem and SMBs and other advertisers can be successful in the new environment. Ducey assists clients with their business planning and revenue models, strategic research, market assessment, and designing and implementing digital strategies. He is also a cofounder of SpectraRep, one of BIA�s companies, which sells a patent-pending IP-based alerting system that he co-invented.
Prior to joining BIA in 2000, Ducey was senior vice president of NAB's Research and Information Group. In this position, he was in charge of the association�s new technology assessment, audience and policy research, strategic planning and information systems, including all Internet operations, and he also developed publications and seminars.
Before joining NAB in 1983, Ducey was a faculty member in the Department of Telecommunication at Michigan State University where he taught and did research in the areas of emerging telecommunication technologies and strategic market research. He also served on the graduate management faculties of George Mason University and George Washington University in telecommunications management and the University of Maryland, where he taught strategic market management and research methodologies. Ducey was selected as the Spring 2011 Shapiro Fellow at George Washington University where he teaches entrepreneurship in new media. He has published a number of research articles and papers in these areas and serves on editorial boards of leading scholarly journals in the communications field. He has also worked at radio stations WSOQ-AM/WEZG-FM and Upstate Cablevision in North Syracuse, New York.
Ducey received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University, M.S. from Syracuse University and B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
