Like many of you, I experienced a wild ride through the Internet boom and bust. While my wallet may be a little thinner, our business couldn’t be in better shape — thanks, surprisingly, to the Internet bubble.
When the Internet boom was going full force, we began investigating ways to use Internet technology to better serve our audience — top decision-makers of local companies. As we were putting the finishing touches on our plan, the bubble burst.
Undaunted, we moved forward with our vision of building a Web site that not only met the needs of busy executives but did so profitably. The revised SBN Online (www.sbnonline.com), launched as a pilot site in our Cleveland market, has met both our goals.
Each subscriber to SBN Cleveland has been pre-registered for SBN Online. By using the user ID and password we supplied by mail, readers can activate their registration and get a personalized home page containing local business news and information relevant to them. Our database of thousands of articles, ideas and resources is filtered using a reader’s profile, resulting in the display of news, events, presentations and other information that best matches the profile.
The response has been great. We are ahead of our projections for users and site activity, though SBN Online is only a few months old. We are so pleased with the success that we plan to expand the concept to other cities this summer.
As I look back on what it has taken to relaunch SBN Online, a number of important lessons stand out.
1. Stick to what (and who) you know. We spent a great deal of time and money researching our concept for SBN Online. What became clear is that while we may not be concentrating on the biggest market, we are concentrating on the best market. Middle-market companies account for only 10 percent of all businesses, but they boast nearly half of all corporate revenue and purchasing power.
2. Work within a budget. In the headiest days of the Internet boom, we were quoted incredible prices for products and services. While many of these offers would have met our needs, we continued to look for the right deals with the right partners.
3. Stay the course. Even as events conspired against us, we pressed forward. The bursting of the Internet bubble had everyone rethinking the role of the Internet for businesses. As the economy weakened, more doubts crept into people’s minds. Then came the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Each one of these developments could have caused us to put the project on hold. Instead, we made adjustments and kept moving forward.
Having done these things, SBN Online was reborn even as the bursting of the Internet bubble caused other business Web sites to fold or take significant steps backward.
If you haven’t registered for SBN Online, I encourage you to do so soon. If you receive SBN Magazine under your name, you were sent a user ID and password. If you’ve misplaced it, e-mail your name, business and address to [email protected] and we will reply, or call us at (216) 228-6397 and ask for SBN Online customer service.
And please let us know what you think. We already are at work on improvements and welcome your feedback.
