[4] The Internet Can be Your Key
to a Well-Rounded Marketing Plan!

Even if your business doesn't have its very own website; and if nobody in your Company knows how to build one; and if you don't have the budget to hire professional web designers either; there are still other ways your business can utilize the Internet's awesome power to help bolster your sales, even in a recession.

Case Study #2: A Small-Town Antique Shop
that Made Over 90% of Their Sales Online!

Portage, Indiana (population 35,000) is a small city at the South end of Lake Michigan. Until his retirement two years ago, Kevin Monroe owned an antique shop in a town (population 3,000) just outside of Portage for about 30 years.

Business was pretty good, until about 10 years ago, when a new Interstate Highway diverted most of the traffic from the road in front of Kevin's shop. And sales plummeted.

Where his antique shop had once had maybe 300 visitors a day, Kevin told us he was lucky if he saw as many as 20 people a day come into the shop once the Interstate had opened. He tried to sell the place, but got no offers since his location was not as desirable as it once had been. So he stayed there, laying off his helpers and running a one-man shop for several years.

Sitting in the shop waiting for customers, Kevin began spending time surfing the 'Net, and then one day he discovered eBay. And he saw that other people seemed to be doing pretty well selling antique furniture on eBay. So he tried it out, taking advantage of his years of antique expertise to write creative and accurate descriptions of the items he offered for sale.

Kevin told us it took him about 3 months to get up to speed on eBay, since he really wasn't much of an "Internet guy" at first. But as sales started pouring in, Kevin began to catch on.

Every week, Kevin would put a few more items up for auction on eBay. He soon began taking payment online through PayPal, and also set up an Online Store on PayPal's website, placing an announcement on each of his eBay auction listings that directed viewers to his Online Store, so they could view hundreds of additional antique items Kevin currently had for sale.

Within less than a year, Kevin's online sales were exceeding his in-store sales by 10 to 1. Kevin told us that he was still making a few sales at the store, but the vast majority of his sales were made at his Online Store, or through the eBay auction process. Kevin also told us that whenever he had an exceptional piece to sell, it brought a substantially higher price on auction than it could ever have gotten at his shop. He shipped the items he sold all over the country, using Greyhound buses, which seemed to be reliable and relatively inexpensive, and business was going extremely well.

Paying close attention to the number of bids various items received, Kevin began to focus on stocking those items that seemed to attract the most attention. He commented to us that the secret of his success was very simple:

"My store doesn't get many customers lately. And considering all the different items we sell, maybe 10 or 15 people a week might look at a particular piece of furniture I have in the store. But that same piece of furniture could be viewed online by 300 people a day who are actively looking to buy something just about like the piece I have advertised for sale."

Kevin's online business was so good that he began closing the store during the week, dividing his weekdays between wrapping of sold items for shipment and searching for new items to sell. Weekends, he kept the shop open to accommodate his local customers and those few tourists who still straggled in, always giving shop visitors a brochure about his Online Store, which was loaded with close-up photos so they could take a "virtual" look at everything he had for sale.

About 2 years ago, Kevin finally decided to retire. He closed the shop, inventoried and advertised everything he had left, and sold it all online in about 3 months. Then he sold his empty shop, gave his home to his children, and he and his wife moved down South, where they are now enjoying a well-deserved retirement in warmer weather.