Photo: Contributed

Businesses in Canada are under extreme pressure to deliver sales and perform. In fact this recessionary time may have become the new business normal. 

The real estate crash in the USA and the saving of Wall Street changed everything. The European crisis has added more pressure to the world’s economies and the midsize business man and woman in Canada have had to adapt. 

Bank loans are not readily available so the tweaking of one’s business model is a requirement to ensure the delivery of clearly defined products and services.  Cash flow is still the goal but how you get there, in this new normal, is the challenge.

Recently I have uncovered three Okanagan Valley business owners who have adapted to the new world order.  They are utilizing Internet technologies to either revise their traditional business models or create new businesses.

Example 1- The Kelowna Shopping Guide – Owner Samantha Milligan did her research in the Okanagan.  She discovered that the Internet was a great place to feature discount coupons for her clients. She created The Kelowna Shopping Guide.  A traditional hard copy is distributed to Kelowna residences bi-monthly.  But now the coupons can be found on the web in an easy flowing directory. The benefit to her clients is that they have a one stop marketing plan which bridges the old and the new.  The Kelowna Shopping Guide is now more than door to door distribution.  The business model has been tweaked to help her clients be found on the Internet creating additional traffic between consumers and her clients.

Example 2 - Wisebeye - Owner Mike Gerardy saw the landscape changing for traditional media. He realized that businesses of all sizes were struggling to afford the high cost of traditional advertising and were looking for a way to get their weekly specials found online.  Gerardy created Wisebeye.  Businesses can now promote themselves instantly and easily for FREE!!  The site allows you to post one ad per day, including a description and image of the special item or service offered. The ads are then displayed for seven days.  Examples include gyms and spas, travel agencies, print shops, hair and esthetic salons, barber shops, pet grooming, restaurants and many others.  This site offers tremendous value to retailers who need their weekly special and discounts to be found on line.

Example 3 - Web Mobilized - With an ever changing business climate in BC and the importance of tourism in the Okanagan, entrepreneur Cameron Bowyer realized the web is being rebuilt around people. It is becoming more social. The number of individuals with apps and web browsing on smart phones and pad devices is growing. There is an unprecedented opportunity for marketers to create two-way dialogue between their brands and their customers. With Web Mobilized, Bowyer was able to achieve effective word-of-mouth marketing by leveraging the power of their customer's social networks. The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association mobile visitors guide is his creation.  It enables visitors to locate the Okanagan’s best destinations through their devices and to enjoy everything that the Okanagan has to offer. The value to visitors is obvious.  But for businesses the new technology is invaluable.  Last year alone, tourism in the Okanagan was estimated at $1.73 billion to the regional economy.

All three of these examples were launched in 2011 and were created by the need to do business in the ever changing world of the Internet.  The old real estate line of Location, Location, Location, is not the standard fare anymore. 

Today, Location, Location, Location means being found on the Internet!!  And today’s technology requires access for all devices, not just laptops and PC’s.

The future is already here.  

How will you use technology to Build Your Business?

Contact us today and start Building your Business!!