YOUNG MONEY: What is A List Local?
STEVE RAYNER: Alistlocal.com is an online directory connecting consumers with local businesses by way of exclusive member savings, customized video commercials, user ratings and reviews and hybrid targeted marketing.
YM: What challenges does A Local address?
SR: Well, when I started the company, I did it based on my personal frustration with the larger more mainstream online directories and local search companies. It seems that they’re all stuck in the web 1.0 model of strictly being focused on generic traffic generation, page views and ad sales. First of all, as a consumer the standard data on these sites didn’t help me and I also realized that these companies were so big that they were having a very hard time managing the data. Many times I tried calling local businesses from an online listing and found out that they were not in business any longer. Also, how was having these very standard and static text listings helping the small business owner? What made them stand out? What drove new customers to their locations? What incentive was a consumer given to try a new business for the first time? There was no real answer to these questions.
For many years sales people in the online directory and local search industries have been “selling” the small business owner, and thriving, on the fear of “you must be online”, and “if you’re not online you’re dead.
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