E-business solutions for your SMB advertisers

While consumers continue to increase usage of online directories, they still need some assistance to take the next step in contacting advertisers online. For example, contact the service provider to schedule an appointment. They still have to jot down the contact information on a piece of paper or feed it in the mobile and make a call. They might find it cumbersome and procrastinate, and thus the SMB is losing business.

What makes life simpler for the consumer while converting clicks to qualified leads for SMBs??
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS……Business solutions such as applications which not only serve as a repository of details of, for instance, stores, but also have search options for users to find the store by city, street, area, or distance. Or find doctors by city, specialization, reviews and insurance. In addition to these, an appointment scheduling option would take the user experience to an altogether different level. The scheduling feature enables the user to actually avail the service by contacting a particular doctor – straight from their mobile phone in case they are on the move with no access to a computer. That is actually converting leads into sales. How effortless is that?

These applications are valid for other service categories as stores, restaurants, florists, plumbers, electricians, spa, attorneys and so forth. For example, customers can look for a restaurant by preference, location, and reviews. The joy of sending flowers to a loved one with a single click on the phone through automated business solutions is incredible.

Thus emerge opportunities for directory publishers and SMB aggregators in the largely unexploited realm of business solutions – web/mobile applications in finding stores/restaurants, appointment scheduling, shopping carts, payment gateways, staff management, reporting, business analytics and inventory management that can add value to SMBs.

Capitalizing on these opportunities, search giants Google, Yahoo and Bing have been racing to e-business solutions. If Facebook stores, Google Checkout and Yahoo e-commerce solutions are anything to go by this market will continue to grow rapidly in the next 3-6 months. While many SMB aggregators continue to focus on search, the market is driving to business solutions that convert clicks and calls to qualified leads.

Add-ons as these can drive in increased revenues to any SMB aggregator or directory publisher who already has a size-able advertiser base across several verticals. Along with website development/maintenance or directory listings, a subscription for add-ons on an annual basis can boost revenues. You can do that without increasing your organization fat, i.e., by partnering with white-label solution providers with economies of scale and wherewithal at disposal already. Say there are 50,000 advertisers that need an e-business add-on, a margin on 40% at $1000 per advertiser means $20,000,000 more in annual revenues.

All you need to do is get your sales force into action selling away the idea to your existing SMB clientele. Just take it, a large percent of SMB advertisers are not internet savvy, much less e-business aware. The first steps, therefore, should be spreading awareness of the benefits of e-business solutions and how these can help their business make strides.