Quote:
Originally Posted by pwalker8
Getting back to the proposition that started this thread, I think that one of the big things that the internet economy has done is set up an economy of possibilities. If a small company can identify a niche and develop a sufficient customer base, they can make good money. Really the biggest issue that such a company would have is getting noticed by their target customer.
An example that I would give is a company that I use, J Martinez, a local coffee importer. They specialize in providing estate coffees, i.e. if I buy a pound of Blue Mountain or Kona, it comes from a specific estate from Jamaica or Hawaii respectively and is 100% from that estate. So they market to coffee connoisseurs who are picky about their coffee. They started as a walk in shop, but quickly moved into the mail order/internet business. I generally put an order in and it arrives the next day since they are intown. They also sell to restaurants and high end markets.
Once again, to hop on my pet soap box, discoverability is the issue. I suspect that most of J Martinez's business is either word of mouth or restaurants. They have a website, but I'm not sure how one would phrase a google search to find them, other than by name. Hum, Estate coffee roasters Atlanta will pull them up. The internet does mean that you have more competition, but it also means you have more potential customers. Everyone doesn't have to be a multi-billion dollar business to be successful.
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In other words it's about supply and demand.
I agree that you don't have to be a big business in order to succeed. You just have to provide a service that no one else is providing in order to get your foot in the door. And advertising via the net is probably quicker and cheaper than traditional advertising as well. I mean if I were to put an ad out on the net for a product people from all over world have a chance to see it rather than just a few who buy a given magazine or newspaper. And I'd probably spend a lot less $ than I would going a traditional way as well. Certainly having an eye catching logo probably doesn't hurt. Amazon's has an arrow going from the A in Amazon to the Z in Amazon which of course means they carry items from A to Z that a customer may want to buy. Good advertising whether in traditional formats or more modern will always bring in customers. Word of mouth I think can make or break a small company as well, and bad news travels faster than good. We may tell 10 people about a good business but we will tell 5 times that many about a bad one I think. That's one reason good Customer Service is always important.