Hello……. it’s 2008. The internet has been mainstream since the mid 90′s and it just amazes me that a great deal of companies do not understand the internet! The first thing these companies had to understand was, everybody is building web sites, so we need to do it as well.

So it is very likely that if a local company that you visit in person often, will also have a web site. The question beyond that is, how good is it? Do they really want to earn your business via online and also in person?

Last night I hit the net in search for some tires for my Honda Four Wheeler. I had the spec’s of the current tires that are on it, but I wasn’t "set" on getting the exact ones, so I wanted to see some styles and prices of local companies and see what they carried. With gas prices at $3.59 per gallon, I didn’t feel like running from this place to that place etc, so that’s why I wanted to do my search on the net. I also didn’t want to talk on the phone because, A.) my mouth still hurts. B.) It was 9PM on a Sunday and all the stores were closed. and C.) It’s 2008 and there is this thing called the internet that is open 24/7 and I should be able to get the info ONLINE that I want!

First off, for searching local stores, Search Engines are NOT the way to go. I see a simple solutions for SE’s for this, they just need to put it in place. When a web site owner submits it’s site to the search engine, they Must include the zip code(s) of the brick and mortor store. When a user does a search, they could type in a zip code and the keyword string they are looking for and the search results would display a "range" of local stores and the searches results. Store X, 10 miles away and here is their site.. etc. Currently, I think Direct Navigation is the best way for local search, that’s if you know what the stores url is.

So after I found the 3 stores online that I wanted, I was floored how crappy each of it’s sites were! I mean Crappy! Not one of them displayed it’s products or prices. There was no way I could "shop" and none of them could earn my business because they "saved money" and built a shitty web site and do not offer their Products or Prices.

The first site I went to, is called Fleet Farm. A pretty big local company that carries a lot of farming stuff and everyday items people use around the house and outdoors. I know they carry ATV tires, so I wanted to see what they carried and prices. Doing direct navigation, thank god they have a domain that matches the stores name. www.FleetFarm.com If you take the time to visit the site, you will mainly see "company info", "store policies", "location", "store hours", "weekly ad". Now the weekly ad is the ONLY place they show any products offered at the store and any prices. It just so happens, they didn’t show any ATV tires in the ad this week, so I was out of luck. Lost My Business and onto the next!

Web site stop number 2, I went to the site I purchased the ATV from. This one didn’t yeild the site I was looking for threw Direct Navigation. The business name is Team Motorsports. Adding the .com and .net didn’t work. I found it funny, as the .net is Available!! LOL, so I hit Google. After a little searching I was able to find the url. www.Team-Motorsports.com . Seeing an Accessories tab made me a little excited.. Click… The first thing I see…. Forget about ordering… We have it here Right Now! With several pictures of the showroom, NO products listed, no pricing or nothing.. Grrrr. It is important to state, if you click ATV’s, they list ATV’s for sale with prices, but who wouldn’t at $6,000-$9,000 each. Lost My Business and onto the next!

Web site stop number 3. Our local Gander Mountain carries ATV’s and services them as well. Again, direct navigation to www.GanderMountain.com . Another super shitty web site. No products or prices! They do have a Current Ads section that is similar to Fleet Farms site and show some products and prices, but only for the current ad promotion! A search for ATV Tires returned in, Sorry, we could not find "ATV TIRES" in any advertised items. They have a store locator, you can buy gift cards or read some crappy articles about Fishing or Hunting and so on! Lost My Business and onto the next! This time, I am going Global!

So since my local companies do not want to earn my business, I was forced to "virtually" head all the way down the USA from Wisconsin to enter Texas to find what I wanted. A web site that offered Products, Pictures and Prices. PowerPartsPlus.com happens to carry the tires I am looking for, at fair prices and displayed all the info I wanted/needed. Now I have to pay shipping of about $32, but I am happy to do it, because of Convenience, something these local companies were not able to provide because they "don’t get it!" and do not offer their products and prices on the net!

Since I see local companies closing doors and going out of business daily, maybe some of the dudes in the suits will figure out that they need to provide more Convenience to it’s customers and offer an Order Online, Pick up at store service and display products and prices on their sites, instead of losing business to Texas or any other state, country etc!

Jamie Zoch www.DotWeekly.com