Queen Bee Marketing’s Blog About Marketing, SEO, and Design.

Ohnoooooo. This post dates me. I’m a sprite old 39′er (and holding.) Seems like I was just celebrating my 30th…

I had to make mention of a surprising response I’m getting from our clients. It goes like this: “I’m not doing a phone book ad next year.” And, “The only thing we use our phone book for is boosting our four year-old daughter at the dinner table.”

Well, back in my day, we used the phone book for everything. Need to find out what movies are playing? Flip to the right ad in the phone book and dial. Need a dentist? Same thing. Need an attorney, tax advisor, lawn guy (girl:), painter, trophy shop, doctor, insurance agent, etc. etc. etc. NOT ANYMORE.

From our sample of clients and internet users, the day of the phone book is GONE. How long will there even be one? Shoot, I even use Google as a spell checker. My wife’s Father uses the internet all the time. My Mom is still off-line, standing firm, “I don’t need the internet.” O.K. Mom, but how cool would it be if I could email you? I haven’t sent a U.S. Postal letter to a friend or family member in probably 10 years.

Google as The Phone Book

We try to tell our clients that web sites are similar to phone lines. You must a) have a phone line and b) get listed in a phone book. Google and the S.E.’s are the phone books. I would guess that 80% or greater of all web sites are like having a phone number but omitting your business name in the phone book. Sure, you have a web site, but, WHO CAN FIND IT? A common response is, “Our business is doing great. Just type in our name and you can find us.” Congrat’s you have your title bar at least referring to your business name. But, what if people DON’T KNOW YOUR BUSINESS NAME?

Let me get off my soap box, because Back In My Day…. Small Town USA was thriving. International trade and competition weren’t an issue. Shoot, I’m probably the last of the bunch who took a typing class in high school (on the old IBM typewriters.) I was, however, probably one of the first of the bunch to have a computer class in high school. Apple IIE. We played games like Death Maze 5000. I could explain what episode of Star Wars we were watching. Shit, I even went to the LIBRARY. (I wonder what the traffic flow in libraries is like today?)

And, Back In My Day, I started my career as a fax machine sales rep. Sure, we still have a fax machine. We have to hook it up for the very few clients who still demand to “fax us” a document. wow…

The internet is going to ROCK OUR FOUNDATION for commerce. The next five years will re-define the world. It’s now a global game, and businesses that understand this will dominate. I really believe that the days of the local brick and mortar are gone. The only local brick and mortar stores that will succeed will be those that are online and selling their goods and services to an international market.

I’m just happy to know this and to be a part of this. The REALLY amazing thing is that it’s not too late. We managed to rank www.zionsvillecandlecompany.com in less than 70 days for terms like “soy candles,” custom candles,” “scented soy candles,” etc. Sure, it took an amazing amount of work, but what if we’d waited two more years? Forget it. Game over!

Till next time,

Chris