May 4, 2007 | Posted By : Peter Damato at 5:59 PM PERMALINK | Blog Comments (3)

David vs. Goliath. . . will Google get into the shared hosting space in a BIG WAY?

Now that they have firmly established themselves in the transactional business with Google Checkout, is it feasible to believe they may wish to get even closer to the customer. Should we begin to consider the what ifs and if so, when?

With Google Checkout turning out to be a relatively big success, even challenging the likes of PayPal, might they be turning their attention to controlling the ENTIRE online shopping experience on the Internet merchant side? This would be monumental and create an enormous shift in the way business is conducted. At the very least, there will be a significant adoption rate, resulting in lost business to value hosting providers everywhere. True to Google form, they could feasibly waive costs (for a period of time) to gain market share and change the economy hosting industry overnight.

Amazon just may have already done this with their Simple Storage Service. This is the model Google is using in the payments side of the business with Google Checkout, and online payment service providers have been forced to offer better services like fraud protection, loss prevention and PCI compliance just to stay competitive.

For instance, we at InternetMerchant.com focus on niche, servicing small-to-medium-sized etailers with a suite of products that are cutting edge, but eventually will be mainstream. All this will occur before the likes of PayPal, or Google could implement on a broad scale. Fact is, the big guys cannot be all things to all people, so they need to stay somewhat generic to reach the masses. Therein lies our opportunity to differentiate and beat them at their own game. While they can play in all markets, like hosting, we need to continue to find the vertical market products and services they simply cannot compete with.

It only takes a small, well-placed stone to take down a giant. Choose your weapons carefully and solely based on what do YOUR customers really want/need? The more a hosting company can be unique by providing value, as well as specialty, niche tools, the more firmly established it can become and remain.

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February 9, 2007 | Posted By : Peter Damato at 5:31 PM PERMALINK | Blog Comments (0)

Giving Consumers What They Want

Anyone who's taken Marketing 101 knows that "giving consumers what they want" isn't some overrated catch - phrase - it's the lifeblood of modern business.

And it's getting harder and harder to do. Especially since consumers are getting more specific about what they want, and today's marketplace is getting better at delivering it to them quickly and with minimal risk and effort. Innovations in retail that seemed novel just a few years ago are now shaping the entire marketplace. Television studios are offering their biggest hits in iPod - friendly formats. Digital radio is aggressively wooing traditional radio's audience. Online retailers are helping to cause widespread shutdowns of traditional brick-and-mortar stores (The Los Angeles Times: Bookshops' Latest Sad Plot Twist, February 7, 2007; Lessons from Tower's Leftovers, December 14, 2006). So when the Washington Post reports that executives are squirming under pressure from consumers to make music downloads universally compatible (Jobs Calls for Open Music Sales, February 7, 2007), it carries some serious weight.

There's a lesson in all of this, and while it may not be a comfortable lesson, it's an extremely important one: Give the customers what they want. Or someone else will.

No matter how small your business, this lesson still applies to you. If your website can't accept check payments, you're behind the curve. If your retail store doesn't accept credit cards, your customers won't have to go far to find one that does.

I'm here to explore some of the best practices in equipping your business with the tools that give customers everything they need to make sound, safe, and spontaneous purchases. Next week, we'll start getting specific. I look forward to seeing you then.

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