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Jumpstart Your Local Business -- Get Online

If you're not marketing your local business online,opportunity is passing you by. So many people focus on theInternet's global reach that its potential benefit to localbusiness is often overlooked. Global information is great,but people's day-to-day lives are local. Now that so muchinformation is available online, more consumers see theInternet as something useful instead of a passing fad.Here are 5 ways that consumers are using the Internet: E-MAILAccording to Messaging Online, there were around 891million email addresses at the beginning of 2001. By nowthere are probably 1 billion or more. Almost everyone hasan email address, or knows someone who does. It's fastbecoming as common as the telephone, and just as necessary.Even if you don't have a website, you can use email tocommunicate with your customers. Send them usefulinformation, coupons, and special offers. If you don't,someone else will. PRE-SALES RESEARCH For many consumers, the internet has become the greatequalizer. They no longer have to take the word of asalesperson -- all the information they need to make anintelligent decision is online. Consumers can researcheverything from products to retail services, and make surethey get the best deal. But unless your business is online,it's unlikely they will find you.ONLINE SHOPPINGU.S. retail e-commerce sales for the first quarter of 2002were almost $10 billion, and will top $44 billion by year'send. Clearly, plenty of Internet users have gottencomfortable with spending money online. Top picks includebooks, travel, music, clothing, Computers, movies/videos,consumer electronics, and health products. But if yourbusiness isn't online, you won't get any of those e-commerce dollars. COMMUNITY & LOC

L INFORMATIONCommunity information is like a magnet -- it draws localsonline. People care about their communities and want toknow what's going on around them. They're also looking forweather forecasts, local headlines, entertainment listings,and sporting events info. Savvy business owners recognizethis and revamp their websites to include local informationand real-time content, available from companies likewww.moreover.com and www.yellowbrix.com. Content is the #1reason users return to websites. INTERNET AUCTIONSAn estimated 22 million people in over 100 countries areflocking to auction sites such as Yahoo, BidBay, uBid.comand the granddaddy of them all, eBay. The listing fees area small price to pay for the kind of exposure businessescan get. About 1.4 million items are up for sale every dayon eBay, in every imaginable category, including services,cars, and houses. Consumers can also search by region andcategory at http://pages.ebay.com/regional/hub.html - "eBayLocal Trading", where major cities are setup as regions. Ifyou're selling anything at all, especially consumerproducts, you should definitely check out eBay. These are some of the ways consumers are using the Net.For local business owners, the message is clear: yourcustomers are online...and so is your competition. How muchlonger can YOU afford to wait?


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sharon Fling is the author of "How To Promote Your LocalBusiness On the Internet", and publishes an electronicnewsletter that gives business owners tips, tools andresources for targeting local customers. For moreinformation, visit http://www.geolocal.com or send a blankemail to: subscribe@localbizpromo.com?subject=TRAART

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