Let’s say you run a local small business with a store front on Main Street. Do you need a web presence? A few years ago, I would have said, “Heck no! Save your money.” Today, I say, “Hell, yes! You’d better get on the internet bus while it’s still here.”

Now, as odd as that may sound, even if you focus mainly on doing business in your local town, the up-and-coming technology means that you will need a web presence-very soon. So what’s going on?

With the advent with mobile devices, consumers in even small towns will be using their smart phones to compare prices before they head out to do their shopping. This might even apply in the little one-horse town where I live. Actually, it’s more like a one-person town, since the cows and horses outnumber the people in Olathe, CO.

An Example from the Present
But, back to the example of how a local store needs to have a web presence. I’m a nut about horse equipment. The other day I was looking for a standing martingale, which is a nifty little doo-hickey that keeps my mare from flinging her head around. It attaches to her bridle. Now, in Olathe, there are two feed stores that also sell tack. Ten miles to the north are three more feed/tack stores. Ten miles to the south of me, there are six of these stores.

With the current state of technology in Olathe, Colorado, which is about as backwards as you can get, to find this martingale, I have to get out the phone book and dial around until I find the store that carries it in the right size and at the lowest price. In other words, my fingers do the walking, and my mouth does the talking. For more details please visit these sites:- 7mgg.com
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Looking Into the Future
Zoom forward a couple of years. Now imagine that Olathe has caught up with the rest of the big cities in the U.S. I’m looking for another martingale because my mare has gotten tired of wearing the old one, ripped it off, and killed it with her hooves. This time, instead of dragging out the phone book, I get out my “talk to me” smart phone and type in “standing martingale.” My smart phone does its brainy thing and I get a listing of all the stores within a 25 mile radius that carry this item. It also lists the sizes and prices for every item, so that I can decide, in an instant, which store I am going to visit. I can even buy the martingale with my phone and go pick it up later.

Think I’m dreaming? I’m not. This phenomenon is already happening in the larger U.S. cities. Comparison shopping on mobile devices is quick and easy. It’s only a matter of time before the technology migrates into the smaller towns in the boonies.

So even if your small business only serves a small local market, you might want to start looking at developing a web presence now. The internet is one media that rewards longevity, so the sooner you start the better.