Re: Barbers on the Net

Dobkin Motorcade (dobkin_at_motorcade.com)
Tue, 30 Jul 96 09:47:51 +0500

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On Mon, 29 Jul 1996 18:12:41 -0500, Bob Schmidt <schmidt_at_magicnet.net> wrote:

>In fact, when discussing the opportunities and limitations with my clients,
>one of the analogies I use of a business that cannot benefit from the
>Internet is my barber. What good would it do him with a shop in Orlando if
>some guy in, say, Bombay wants a haircut? The same is true for any local
>service business where the service delivery is dependent on the customer
>being physically present.

A good analogy, although the problem is actually much worse. Even if
the guy in need of the haircut lives or works in Orlando, is your
barber conveniently located?

Although the application of web marketing to traditional retail is
still in its infancy, it is clear that the strategies with the best
chance for success will incorporate a sophisticated geographic search
engine. That's why we have Web sites like BigBook and Visa teaming up
with GIS technology firms like GeoSystems and ESRI.

Our efforts in the retail market have focused on our unique geographic
search engine which finds business locations along or convenient to a
*route*. Store owners and restaurateurs are always intrigued by the
idea that they can use the Internet to attract people driving by a
quarter-mile away.

Organizing retail businesses in alphabetical order on yellow paper is
still a lucrative idea, but the future is with the programmers who
turn longitude and latitude into search engine hits.

-------------------------------
Darren J. Dobkin The Washington, D.C. Motorcade
Hibiscus Software http://www.motorcade.com
(301) 983-3215 Route-based search engine for stores
dobkin_at_motorcade.com and restaurants in the Washington area

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