Columnists
Introducing the new SBN Online
Where business leaders go for local news and information
By Fred Koury
Smart Business Akron/Canton | November 2001
Few things in business command more excitement than the introduction of a new product or service. So it should come as no surprise that I'm ecstatic about the launch of the SBN Online Web site,
www.sbnonline.com.
SBN Online is more than simply a Web-based version of our monthly publication. It will be the leading provider of daily local business news and information for senior level decision-makers.
It contains daily local and industry news, executive insights, a wide variety of resources and business information you won't find anywhere else. SBN Online will evolve quickly. Nearly every day, new features and information will be added to provide just what you're looking for.
We've spent the last five years developing an extensive database in order to understand our readers better than anyone else. We knew if we did that, we could better service their needs and provide them with smart ideas and information to help them grow their businesses.
Because of this, we can offer pre-personalized information and advanced predictive modeling. This makes SBN Online the only local business site designed for executives.
I invite you to log on to www.sbnonline.com and discover what we have to offer. We will be sending out a series of postcards and direct mail pieces that explain how to use the site. You may have already received yours. It has your user name and password listed on it.
When you visit SBN Online, enter that information. The site will then use predictive modeling to deliver content specifically designed to fill your needs. Each user will get a different look and feel to the site, with industry and interest-specific news and information already loaded onto his or her browser.
We recognize the use of technology as another means to serve our audience. Now, after more than a year of work, numerous focus groups and dozens of surveys which validated our concept, we're proud to roll out the results of what local top-level decision-makers said they were looking for from the Internet. Here's what they want.
Ease of use
CEOs told us they are not Internet savvy. We solved this problem by developing an intuitive and personalized interface that does the hard work for them. We will use our monthly print publication to guide users to and around the site. And, we'll be sending out manuals to help explain how easy-to-use and friendly SBN Online is.
Time efficiency
There's little doubt that while information is available on the Internet, the Web is simply too complicated to use efficiently. We've streamlined content and developed one-stop-shop simplicity. Our goal is to make SBN Online your home page. You won't need to go anywhere else to find the business information you seek.
Local insight
CEOs buy, sell and network within their home communities. We recognize the importance of being local. That's why SBN Online offers locally generated news and information, as well as locally sourced goods and services.
Cost efficiency
Lower costs equal higher profits. We've partnered with many of the region's premier service providers and suppliers to create more efficient acquisition of goods and services. We'll also be offering discounted offerings from our preferred providers.
SBN Online's preferred providers cover nearly every industry that businesses need to work with in order to succeed -- health care, advertising and marketing, human resource management, software solutions and payroll. They are Anthem, Dollar Bank, Xerox Connect, Cleveland Clinic Health System's Center for Corporate Health, Microsoft, FirstEnergy, Hitchcock Fleming and Associates Inc., The Reserves Network, Ahola Payroll Services, Roetzel & Andress, Meritech Blue and Great Lakes Computer Corp.
Together, we plan to change how Cleveland business leaders think about using the Internet. Fred Koury (fkoury@sbnnet.com) is president and CEO of SBN Magazine.
SBN Online
