Sitting in my office here in Leamington, Ontario Canada ( just 30 miles ‘south’ of Detroit, Michigan – sounds odd I know), I reflect on how the web has changed the way I do business and in return strengthened my brand. Ten years ago, my market was essentially within a 2 1/2 hour drive of here – North America’s industrial heartland. I marketed traditionally which is to say totally offline except the token brochure website. Those efforts brought me a comfortable living.
Today, I market myself 90% online and use networking strategies both on and off-line. My market is now the world. Through my efforts I have come to build connections to companies in the Czech Republic, India, Canada, England, Australia, and the United States. Consulting has grown into a viable service to customers in need of positioning. Without the internet, this would not have been in the cards.
I recently attended a mentoring supper with local top business students from the Odette School of Business in Windsor, Ontario. All of these young people were chomping at the bit to get into the work force. None were intimidated by the economy. They were filled with optimism. Unlike my generation, they have a massive advantage – the internet. Their dreams can be realized by marketing to a global market instantly. If they never left the online world, they have the potential to build a brand of enormous proportions. If; on the other hand, their brand is limited to a niche market, they can still potentially enjoy a very healthy income.
When I do speaking engagements to predominantly small businesses, I ask the how many blog or utilize html marketing? It astonishes me how many are NOT doing either. Worse than that, it’s not even on their radar. Their reasons for not engaging the web essentially has been their desire for instant results with little effort or cost. Even in the luddite world this is not possible. I imagine, due to a simple lack of understanding (from SEO gurus is my guess) that all they have to do is have a search optimized website, customers will beat a path to their door. When that didn’t happen, they become disillusioned by it all.
It’s no different in the off-line world. They run a few ads and wonder why the phone isn’t ringing off the hook. It all boils done to a realistic strategy and having an open mind and realistic set of expectations. For my business efforts, I came to realize that patience was indeed a virtue. I enjoy musing with colleagues that you never know what the next email will bring you. Not unlike every form of marketing it is longevity that gives birth to results. As your influence grows from community to community, your opportunities grow with it. Before you know it, your customers who benefit from your product or service come from locales outside of your traditional reach. Your brand grows with the increased exposure you get.
The world is mired in a recession, but opportunity is everywhere. All around me, I’m meeting people who are starting a business.
