Just saw this being discussed over on RP;
Online ordering threatens local hobby shop
Contributed By Rachel Richardson
Kevin Roberson grew up racing slot- and radio control cars, so when the opportunity arose to manage the Symmes Township HobbyTown USA shop, it seemed like a dream job for the Maineville enthusiast.
But that dream job is now in peril as an explosion of online buying choices threatens to make the independent hobby shop a thing of the past....
Read the rest here;
https://rodeo.cincinnati.com/getlocal/gpstory.aspx?id=100210&sid=157413
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As someone who is trying to break into the "niche" world of LPR kit manufacturing and sales, I am puzzled by the fact that the Internet is seen as an enemy of "brick and mortar" businesses rather than a huge ally.
It is often asked "How would people see your business?" Aside from all the standard, I call them "Classical" approaches that work when advertising in your town, people who cry "foul" at the encroachment of the Internet seem to all miss the same things. There is a parallel online world out there that is completely intertwined with people's daily lives.
RC-universe, RMR, RMS, probably 50 plus big crafting/scrapbooking forums... Buy advertising, join a free forum and do promotions or plug your business, the internet is not a limiting factor, it is a limitless resource. Look at the bottom of TRF's main page sometime and you'll see double the number of guests viewing the site as members, so your audience is greater than just any forum's registered membership base.
Limitations on the retailer are time, advertising budget, and willingness to supplement local advertising on radio, TV, billboards, etc. with ONLINE advertising. You can't sit in the back room and wait for people to find you whether you are operating from a classical approach or an online approach.... you gotta go find customers and show them why they want to buy from you. This is the same as before, but instead of going out on the street in your town, you go to a suitable online community.
Big, flashy expensive websites are cool to look at, but simple works, too. Online credit card transactions don't have to be Paypal... my bank does online and POP credit card payment services as well.
I cannot fathom why any "brick & mortar" business would be dying other than they are not giving their customer the shopping experience they are looking for. Everyone talks about the rocket hobby dying off and the median age of rocketeers and hobbyists in general increasing... You gotta start advertising the hobby and craft scene where your new generation of customer hangs out.
This is the newest "Warehouse Store" mentality. We went from small shops to strip malls to Wal-Mart to SUPER Wal-Mart.... Now you have the entire planet at your fingertips. The entire flippin' planet. We're advancing backward in time back to the days of the catalog store (Sears and Roebuck), except the catalog is WHATEVER you want and the store is the ENTIRE online commerce world.
How can you not make money when you can potentially do business with any person on the planet who owns a computer?
Sorry, this struck a nerve with me and I thought I'd vent a little bit.
N
Online ordering threatens local hobby shop
Contributed By Rachel Richardson
Kevin Roberson grew up racing slot- and radio control cars, so when the opportunity arose to manage the Symmes Township HobbyTown USA shop, it seemed like a dream job for the Maineville enthusiast.
But that dream job is now in peril as an explosion of online buying choices threatens to make the independent hobby shop a thing of the past....
Read the rest here;
https://rodeo.cincinnati.com/getlocal/gpstory.aspx?id=100210&sid=157413
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As someone who is trying to break into the "niche" world of LPR kit manufacturing and sales, I am puzzled by the fact that the Internet is seen as an enemy of "brick and mortar" businesses rather than a huge ally.
It is often asked "How would people see your business?" Aside from all the standard, I call them "Classical" approaches that work when advertising in your town, people who cry "foul" at the encroachment of the Internet seem to all miss the same things. There is a parallel online world out there that is completely intertwined with people's daily lives.
RC-universe, RMR, RMS, probably 50 plus big crafting/scrapbooking forums... Buy advertising, join a free forum and do promotions or plug your business, the internet is not a limiting factor, it is a limitless resource. Look at the bottom of TRF's main page sometime and you'll see double the number of guests viewing the site as members, so your audience is greater than just any forum's registered membership base.
Limitations on the retailer are time, advertising budget, and willingness to supplement local advertising on radio, TV, billboards, etc. with ONLINE advertising. You can't sit in the back room and wait for people to find you whether you are operating from a classical approach or an online approach.... you gotta go find customers and show them why they want to buy from you. This is the same as before, but instead of going out on the street in your town, you go to a suitable online community.
Big, flashy expensive websites are cool to look at, but simple works, too. Online credit card transactions don't have to be Paypal... my bank does online and POP credit card payment services as well.
I cannot fathom why any "brick & mortar" business would be dying other than they are not giving their customer the shopping experience they are looking for. Everyone talks about the rocket hobby dying off and the median age of rocketeers and hobbyists in general increasing... You gotta start advertising the hobby and craft scene where your new generation of customer hangs out.
This is the newest "Warehouse Store" mentality. We went from small shops to strip malls to Wal-Mart to SUPER Wal-Mart.... Now you have the entire planet at your fingertips. The entire flippin' planet. We're advancing backward in time back to the days of the catalog store (Sears and Roebuck), except the catalog is WHATEVER you want and the store is the ENTIRE online commerce world.
How can you not make money when you can potentially do business with any person on the planet who owns a computer?
Sorry, this struck a nerve with me and I thought I'd vent a little bit.
N
Last edited: