In the good old days, all that you needed to put your business on the grid was a phone number and a store front sign. If you really wanted to get attention, you could pay for a good spot in the yellow pages and even hand out flyers. The reality is, as it has always been, things change.
Today, if a restaurant isn’t easily found while doing a search via Google maps, a potential customer is lost. For example, Google has now released an iPhone app that has built in voice recognition. Using this app, you can verbally ask Google, “Where is the nearest Vietnamese restaurant?” Google will then provide the Vietnamese restaurants that are nearest to your location, along with phone numbers and driving directions. If the user taps on a phone number that Google provided, the phone will auto dial the number. Wait, there’s more. Google maps also will provide a link to the website of the sought after business, where that business can provide information such as when they are open, restaurant menus, and online ordering.
Google isn’t the only online directory that provides business listings through simple queries via voice recognition. There are others that are very similar, such as Apple’s Siri via Yelp.ca, and Nokia maps.
This is why I believe that not having an online presence is a serious disadvantage. Remember people will always use the most convenient method to get the information that they need. These days, that method happens to be through apps.
