![\"Small](\"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/SmallBusinessMarketing.jpg\" "\\"SmallBusinessMarketing\\"")
<\/a>Chicago post office.<\/p>\nThanks to mail order giants that included Spiegel, Sears and Montgomery Ward \u2013 at one point Chicago was the center for massive amounts of mail orders and needed this 2.5 million square foot facility.<\/p>\n
But what happened to these giants of the mail order business?<\/p>\n
Whoops!<\/p>\n
The Internet ate their lunch.<\/strong><\/p>\n Amazon and thousands of other online companies took away their customers and their revenue and shut down these companies. And in Chicago, the empty U.S. Post Office sits as a giant reminder to everyone that passes by that you\u2019re never too big to take your business model for granted.<\/p>\n Or I\u2019d add too small\u2026<\/p>\n Whether you like it or not, the Internet has impacted almost every type of business<\/strong> including local service businesses.<\/p>\n Take my small town of Old Greenwich, Connecticut. It\u2019s a picturesque little New England town with one stoplight. 30 years ago when I moved town, we had three local pharmacies, a bookstore \u2013 now all gone.<\/p>\n People are making most of their retail purchases online \u2013 which is the same place they’re looking for a dentist, audiologist, plumber, or other service provider.<\/p>\n And while it used to be to get new business you just had to hang up a sign and get attention in your local town, now you\u2019re competing for attention online \u2013 which is way more complex.<\/p>\n Think about what\u2019s changed\u2026 30 years ago all your marketing could have consisted of having a sign made, and maybe your yellow page added.<\/p>\n Now \u2013 you need to have a website, be top in the search engines, use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and keep a steady stream of fresh content on your blog.<\/p>\n What are your options?<\/strong><\/p>\n a. You could keep using the same marketing strategies you have been using and end up shutting your doors, like so many other businesses are.<\/p>\n Or\u2026<\/p>\n b. You could leverage the Internet to get all the new clients you want.<\/p>\n