Business Model, Part I
As we’re traversing Oneonta and stopping in at businesses to introduce ourselves and promote our directory website, we’re frequently asked, “Why are you doing this?” or “How are you going to make money from www.OneontaOnTheMap.com?” Two very good questions, I would say!
Rick has been working on this website for so long that he’s probably forgotten why he started it:) I think it had something to do with Google Maps making their software available and also his happening upon the business model presented in a book, The Four Hour Work Week. (Ha, we’ve spent countless hours, not four hours, every week on this site.) But I’ll save the details of the synchronicity that lead to the creation of our site, and instead blog about how we plan to serve businesses, visitors and residents in our area and beyond.
I’ll begin with the three C’s: Community, Coupons and Contests. Oneonta on the Map is community focused, being for LOCALS, published by LOCALS, and we want the business community to play a starring role by adding and editing their own listings, publicizing events, giving coupons or announcing sales —we want customers to say they “heard it first at Oneonta On The Map.”
To keep everything in real time — we’ve made business listings DYNAMIC — they can be easily changed, and the changes announced as soon as a restaurant changes a menu or store announces specials or sales. We’re more than just a website, we’re a web presence for your business; if you provide a web page link, we send customers to your page. If your business does not have a web page, your listing on Oneonta On The Map can contain your photo, hours of operation and what makes you unique and exciting — your web presence is here. People will find you through Oneonta On The Map. We’ll be talking more about coupons in the near future.
The contest part is about fun and reasons for our audience to return to Oneonta On The Map. Our first contest — The Gift Certificate Give Aways (to Elena’s and Green Toad Books) ends on April 15. We’ve got more ideas brewing, so keep following this blog for updates. By the way, if you haven’t entered the contest yet, the odds right now of winning are phenomenal. Tell your friends and customers about Oneonta On The Map and send them our way.
Thanks for listening.