The Internet: Changing the Face of Business
The Internet has been a hit since it was first invented, but as it gains speed and momentum, it is becoming quite clear how much it is changing the face of business. Walk-in customers and customers enticed by Sunday newspaper sales and coupons are no longer the only, or even the most common, source of business. Many customers prefer to do as much as possible online: look up store locations and hours, email the store, even buy merchandise online if at all possible.
Take the bail bonds industry, for example. It used to be that bondsmen’s offices were all located close to the jail, to capture as much foot traffic and walk-in customers as possible. Now, many are still located near the jail, but their potential clientele has grown: Potential customers can located a bondsman just by Googling their search terms, i.e., “bail bonds Santa Rosa” or “bail bonds Salinas.”
The Internet is also changing the face of business on a much smaller scale, such as in the case of the small seller or small business owner. For instance, websites such as eBay and Craigslist have done many things for small sellers. On one hand, they have given people a new forum to sell their unwanted things: rather than sitting out on your hot driveway all day, you can list the items online, collect on the money when someone decides to buy it, and maybe make a quick trip to the post office.
On the other hand, eBay and Craigslist — eBay in particular — have also given many small business owners a way to set up shop and make money without actually, well, setting up shop. eBay offers low overhead (since you don’t need a physical store) and more flexibility (same reason).
As you can see, the Internet has changed the face of business all the way from one end of the spectrum to the other. And the thing is, it’s not done yet — and since shopping and working online means better deals and less gasoline spent driving around, I’ll bet the Internet is only going to continue gaining momentum as the preferred way to do business!
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