Here is where I think there might be a distinction to be made between SMALL and LOCAL businesses. I agree that the internet has probably hurt Local businesses to a large extent because people are buying more and more products online…

The internet provides the local store an ability to tap into marketplaces/increasing it’s “customer offering” by using the internet as a business tool, whether by online or in situ sales.

This is the right idea in that it is community building… but wrong because it won’t last. People will do it once (if at all) and feel they did their part.

However, if they continued to build the community on the web… they might have something.

I’ve long thought the proper vertical in local search is not by product but by location. In the 50’s, this was done at the lodge over a cold one.

Now, they need to move it online… the Chamber of Commerces are in a position to really help those they serve… they just don’t know it yet.

I think the “location vertical” is a huge opportunity.

I help local offline business owners all day long grow their business by leveraging local search to find new customers. It works for just about every business out there when done correctly.

Most people aren’t concerned about simply getting the best price. They’ll gladly pay more for prompt, courteous, and knowledgeable service.

A perfect example is the owner of a used bookstore I met with today. You can read the story on my blog if you’re interested:

http://twurl.nl/7p83t6

@teddygarcia

…but a lot of those sales are from smaller e-commerce companies. Just think of all the eBay stores alone, let alone the Mom & Pops who are making candles in their garage in Aberdeen, Washington and selling to folks in Aberdeen, Scotland. There are plenty of opportunities for well-optimized small business websites to capture great long-tail search traffic and make oodles of money.

@Malta Mom - I agree with what you’re saying. Poor service is a sure path to death. We don’t know what kind of customer service the businesses in this story provide. But I still think it’s smart for them to rally together an encourage shoppers to support local businesses, rather than always buying online from the Amazons, Best Buys, Targets, etc.

Let me give you an example, we just had a specialty toy shop open up in town. I was very excited, because I called (after 3 attempts with no voicemail) and found out they carry my favorite brand, Haba, that until now I could only buy online. So I excitably strapped the kids in the car and headed downtown (it is birthday time). I got there and was disappointed. I wasn’t even greeted when I walked in, while I was there, I felt like they were annoyed that my 3 year-old was asking questions about the toys, and even though I asked for something that wasn’t there, they didn’t offer to order it for me. A friend went there and said she bought something on the way to a birthday party and was embarrassed to give her gift because they wrapped it so bad.

So will this business be around in another year, I doubt it. Would a toy store that creates special programs for kids, writes a blog on upcoming toys with reviews, creates an email list that advertises current specials and promotions, has awesome customer service from the time you walk in the door to the time you walk out? I think so.

An article at Small Business SEM made me think that there are two types of small business owners. Type A is the proactive type. A new technology comes along and they are eager to grasp it. They may not adopt it quickly, but they attempt to understand i…