Offline businesses are ignoring the internet, and it's costing them dearly: A wake-up call for the future-proof entrepreneur
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Hey, wake up! I finally this out of my head and onto paper. Well, not real paper but most of you reading this are old enough to know the metaphor.
First off, there's a big-time backlash to crappy online experiences, and it's got people fed up. And let's be real, navigating poorly designed websites is a straight-up waste of time. But get this, there's hope for a face-to-face renaissance in the future because people are craving real connections. But here's the kicker - just because you're an offline business doesn't mean you can ignore the internet and social media.
There are major missed opportunities for cafes and restaurants that aren’t using the web to promote their biz, which is just messed up. Wake up, people! You gotta communicate with your patrons and check those comments on your online profiles if you wanna stay relevant and attract new peeps.
There are 2 parts to this story. This might not work in a single post but they run together in my brain so here I go.
Part 1: BACKLASH TO ONLINE EXPERIENCES
I am seeing more backlash from online experiences. People are tired of poorly designed websites or processes to “I just want a real person on the line”. Have we pushed people too far into the online place to do your work/shop etc or has Covid had people away from others for so long that longing to be with a real person is becoming important? It could certainly be partially because of this but I think that many just want to get something done and they feel that they are being held back by something.
The web can be a fantastic place but it can be frustrating as well.
The Internet is Hard!
The web has become a place where people spend nearly 50 hours every week which is incredible. I know, I too spend much time on the internet. It is always with me, in my hand or streaming into my ears. Most people don’t think much about the early web; back in the 90s, those dial-up days.
Remember the days
I like to remind people that Google began in 1998 but it wasn’t really useful until years later. Today we can get a majority of our services either scheduled or delivered via the web. We get a majority of our information there too. The web can be a fantastic place but it can be frustrating as well. I’ve wondered for some time now whether there might be a backlash or pushback to everything being on the web; a kind of renaissance of F2F experiences. Not only because people want to be with other people but because the web just sucks so much time out of people’s days. Why should I waste my time figuring out a company’s website when I want some information when a well-trained employee can tell me faster and might even offer something else I had not thought of?
Still painful today
Many experiences on the web are just painful. Finding a webpage can be the easy part then searching for a specific item can lead to time lost and the information not being found. “Smart” tools are being added to many sites which promise to assist me in completing a task but more often than not lead to more frustration. Poorly designed sites or apps just drive some people away. Of course, the in-store experience can often be infuriating due to poorly trained or just inattentive staff. Where will this lead to? Probably more to the web before that renaissance begins. I guess I just have to hang on for a while.
THEME 2: OFFLINE BUSINESSES IGNORING THE INTERNET
By offline I mean like a restaurant and online here is the internet, Google, social media, and others. Even though I just made a case for getting off the web, we are not there yet. Businesses must pay attention to the web, no matter their business.
I recently was hiking with friends and we passed a local restaurant in the woods that had been there for many decades but was now closed. Covid made business tough and for so long they found the reopening hard both to attracting enough patrons as well as finding people to work. I mentioned that I had rarely seen them do anything on the web or social media. My friends commented but why should they?
Why should they?
They were so successful for so many years. Their regular patrons came regularly, bringing their kids to eat and hike in the forest. I said that is my point, the web, for a company that delivers a 100% offline experience is about their future. How do they find that next generation of patrons who were not brought there by their parents? How do they find the next workers, via a newspaper ad? A 20-year-old looking to wait tables does not read the newspaper.
The results are mostly really poor even some abysmal
For the last few weeks, I have been on my #WorkFromAnywhere tour focussing on cafés. I have visited 8 in my region so far. Each one is either a single location or operates regionally. There is no Starbucks on my list. My process is always the same; I search for ‘cafe’ in Google Maps, I look at their Google Business Profile, I look at the updates to their profile then at photos and comments left by patrons.
Finally, I look at their website to see what other platforms they might be using. Once I have settled on my next café I then cycle there with my laptop and test how well I can work there as well as how safe I feel leaving my bike outside. That final test is all very subjective but the search I performed before going there provides me insights into how they are using the internet to promote their business. I will be posting these on my website in the coming weeks and listing them in the newsletter.
As you may already guess where this is going, the results are mostly really poor even some abysmal. What once was Foursquare or Tripadvisor where businesses could manage their location and people posting comments now Google Business Profiles (previously called Google My Business) have really taken off. Some businesses will have signs asking patrons to go to Google to leave a comment. There are local sites that also fill this role but anyone looking for a coffee, a meal, or a place to go out will often start their journey on the web with a search.
Wake up, folks!
If they use Google to search (which is 98% of you) these Business Profile results will be presented along with a map. If businesses don’t claim their location, add all relevant details and regularly check in to see comments they are losing business. Communicating with patrons is key, even when they are unfair in their views. Others are watching how a business responds or not and make decisions on whether a place is worth visiting. It costs only time, that’s it!
My next step is to collect best practices on how cafés can present themselves on the web. If you know of any good examples you want to share then leave me a comment below or send me a message. I’d love to hear from you wherever that might be. A link is below to a fantastic Instagram account for a bakery. Their bakery is located about 200km (120 mi) from me but I feel I need to cycle the 11 hours over there.
LINKS
https://instagram.com/brothaus.baeckerei?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
