JustLocal is about enabling people to find local businesses. That is businesses close to the area where they live, close to their work, or close to a location they wish to visit either for business or pleasure.
Today I found a legal company promoting themselves in Templestowe on the web. When I find a local company or business I add the site to the local search engine. The problem I find is many businesses tend mislead people as to the area they are located.
In this case the legal firm had set up sites covering different suburbs across Melbourne. Whilst it is possible they may have representation in each area, when checking out the site there were no contact details to indicate the location of the legal practice. There was a 1300 number and an email address different from the site domain. Using the email address domain I was able to track that the most likely owner of the site to be a Bourke Street based law firm.
It is very common practice on the internet for people to attempt to get as wide a coverage for their services as possible. There is nothing wrong in the practice as long as everything is done appropriately and the consumer is not misled. Ideally however the JustLocal approach is to make it easy as possible to find local businesses in the local area.
Next time your searching for a local business keep in mind businesses will do what they can to get your business and you may end up with the extra time and inconvenience of their location not being where you expected.
With professional service firms also keep in mind they charge very high hourly rates and if they need to travel it will often be at your expense. I remember when working for a chartered accounting firm I'd travel an hour to the client, see the client for an hour and travel again for an hour to return to the office in St Kilda Road. The productive time for the client was an hour. The chargeable time was three hours plus car mileage. For some clients parking fees also applied. When looking for professional services it is prudent to consider travel time of the professional because it could end up being a considerable portion of the amount charged, as well as any out-of-pocket costs for the professional.
I personally feel tricking people into thinking they've found someone local is not the best way to get business and is something a professional firm should avoid. You want to deal with an ethical company and how they advertise is a reflection of their professional ethics.
Kelvin Eldridge
http://www.justlocal.com.au/
Today I found a legal company promoting themselves in Templestowe on the web. When I find a local company or business I add the site to the local search engine. The problem I find is many businesses tend mislead people as to the area they are located.
In this case the legal firm had set up sites covering different suburbs across Melbourne. Whilst it is possible they may have representation in each area, when checking out the site there were no contact details to indicate the location of the legal practice. There was a 1300 number and an email address different from the site domain. Using the email address domain I was able to track that the most likely owner of the site to be a Bourke Street based law firm.
It is very common practice on the internet for people to attempt to get as wide a coverage for their services as possible. There is nothing wrong in the practice as long as everything is done appropriately and the consumer is not misled. Ideally however the JustLocal approach is to make it easy as possible to find local businesses in the local area.
Next time your searching for a local business keep in mind businesses will do what they can to get your business and you may end up with the extra time and inconvenience of their location not being where you expected.
With professional service firms also keep in mind they charge very high hourly rates and if they need to travel it will often be at your expense. I remember when working for a chartered accounting firm I'd travel an hour to the client, see the client for an hour and travel again for an hour to return to the office in St Kilda Road. The productive time for the client was an hour. The chargeable time was three hours plus car mileage. For some clients parking fees also applied. When looking for professional services it is prudent to consider travel time of the professional because it could end up being a considerable portion of the amount charged, as well as any out-of-pocket costs for the professional.
I personally feel tricking people into thinking they've found someone local is not the best way to get business and is something a professional firm should avoid. You want to deal with an ethical company and how they advertise is a reflection of their professional ethics.
Kelvin Eldridge
http://www.justlocal.com.au/