How the Internet is Transforming Old Businesses
The sheer scope of transformation of the economy that happened after internet became publicly accessible is beyond a single article. The global market gained a significant boost due to the fact, that you can now buy and sell around the globe. This means that you as a customer may be able to gauge the prices and find a supplier anywhere in the world.
As a supplier, you now have a chance to compete in the global market. This in effect means more customers and also more competition. This influences your price, as well as your quality. Many businesses rely on happy, repeat customers, so getting good reviews (for example on the global sites like Amazon.com, Ebay and Alibaba) is essential. A good customer service is a must for a sustainable business model.
If we compare old business models to the new, post internet ones, besides the global effects the internet had, old businesses could survive in a local environment decently. Due to the fact, that the local environment is shrinking (even large malls are closing down and becoming ghost towns) and internet shopping is rising steadily, we can assume the local, old business model is in trouble. Getting online presence in anything, from selling flowers to making sports bets (WagerDiamond.com) can bring significant boost to your business.
Is old business dead?
Local business still has a place. It is an alternative to consumerism in the way that you can build personal relationships with producers. This is important where you want utmost quality, for example with food.
The small, local business will be hard to eradicate, but it is only applicable in certain situations.
Can old businesses make use of the internet?
As the title of the article tries to pose the question of how is business being transformed through the use of internet, we can observe that even small business and larger industries that could work without internet presence are now racing to get their share of the internet pie.
A small investment into getting a website or a web shop can pay off in drawing more customers or just boosting the sales because people can now find you. Even just doing listings (without having your own sites) on pages like YELP or price comparisson sites can give you new customers.
In conclusion
Businesses can run on many different strategies. Personally I think there are many ways you can use to draw in more customers. That being said, if you have the ability to make use of the internet and you are not, you are leaving money on the table.