subject: The Unique Challenges of Doing Business in a Small Town [print this page] The Unique Challenges of Doing Business in a Small Town
Over a year ago a couple colleagues and I started an online business directory in a small to medium sized town. We had big hopes since we were addressing the need for a high quality designed directory that combined search engine optimization and social media know-how. It didn't quite work out like we expected. I firmly believe that all failures are actually lessons though and this was no different. I learned three key truths about working in a small or medium sized town.
1. It is a Clique: It was like going back to High School. The biz owners in this town were wary of outsiders. There were certain groups of owners, who disliked other local biz owners as well. It is very hard to break into the market there. Befriending one business owner, may mean you are losing business with three more people. Even with a large office paying high taxes, it wasn't enough to legitimize yourself in the town. On top of that, competition was severely frowned upon. We were told "we were making waves" with our directory. Apparently another online directory in the area was perturbed with us entering the market. Instead of addressing the obvious design flaws, overpricing and complete lack of social media/S.E.O knowledge of their own site, they decided to complain about us to the "clique".
2. Behind The Times: We were introducing full social media packages. These packages included Facebook fan pages, twitter accounts, social media immersion and search engine optimization. We were even offering free talks on these issues. It all fell on deaf ears. People were adamant that was no way to drum up business. I guess they'd rather spend thousands on getting their flyers into local papers. A local computer store actually told us: "Online marketing doesn't work". Oh really? That surprised me considering we had clients that had paid for their entire online ad budget and more with one deal they got online. On top of that, a year later and many of the businesses we approached are now diving into the world of social media with Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. If they had been open to us over a year ago they would have had a nice head start.
3. So Many Businesses Were Content: This isn't necessarily a bad thing I guess. It just struck me as odd, how many businesses were content. I can't count the number of times that a business actually told us "No sorry, we are as busy as we can be" or "No we don't need more business." Well, congratulations if that is the case - I find it very odd though. As busy as I could ever be, I don't think I would ever say "No sorry, I don't need more business". I would look for ways to capitalize on extra business. I am not sure if this is just an issue in smaller towns, but from my experience it is much more prevalent here. To each their own I guess, but turning down extra business is one of the oddest biz tactics I have ever heard of.
There were definitely some benefits to doing business in a small town. The few people who "got it" were very eager and voracious learners. There is a sense of community that big cities may lack and deal making is a much more laid back process. There was a lack of a rat race mentality that was refreshing.
I wouldn't stop doing business in small towns, but knowing the above I have changed my approach accordi
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