Use your website to add value for a location

[Iolaus]

I was just thinking about using my website to offer businesses a little extra value for allowing me to place a machine there.  I think this would work really well for charity placements, and should probably work for commission locations too. 

Give the business a page on your site and build a mini community directory.  Restaurants could put their menu or list specialty dishes on there, businesses could put some type of special offer, i.e. mention you saw us on ABC Vending's website and receive 10% off, all would have links to their actual site (if they have one). 

There could be one page thanking the businesses for their generous donation to your charity with a list of the businesses along with a small blurb about the business.  Then each business will get their own page, linked to from the directory page, to put whatever they want on it. 

If you put a value on this, for example $50/year, you could then say something like "Mr. Business Owner, as a thank-you for your generous donation, we will include you in our community directory for free.  You'll get your own page on our website that you can use to display your own personal message to your customers.  This is a $50 value and is free advertising for your business."

Any thoughts?

[bostonvendor27]

Sounds like a win win to me!

[lurtsman]

I was never a fan of artificial "values". Generally it ends up being crap that isn't worth the fake price. However, if you do this and your competition catches on, they have a list of your accounts to go hit up.

[joebob051977]

I wouldn't care about the website advertisement as a business owner. It wouldn't win me over. If you throw in some pizza for myself or my  employees and offer to take the machine back after 2 weeks if I don't like it, then I'd say yes. It's kind of like this. You can offer an employee an extra $100 for doing a good job and they'll forget about it 2 days later, but if you give them a 6 pack of beer you are the best boss ever. We like tangible things.   

This business can be brutal sometimes.  If I can obtain a list of locations from a local vendor, I will pick out the best locations and try to steal them.

[whaletail116]

OP, how much traffic is your website generating?  Has the website ever secured you locations?  There is certainly value added from advertising, I guess it depends on the type of location that would prefer that over a small commission or charity donation.

Lurts, can you explain what you mean further?  Isn't all value artificial?

[Faith Vending]

What kind of question is "Isn't all value artificial"? Explain that comment please. Is this what you are taught in school these days?

[whaletail116]

What is value?

[whaletail116]

No need to attempt to stir the pot.  You crack me up, Old Timer.

[Faith Vending]

You can't explain it because it makes no sense. I'm bored with you. Have a nice day.

[whaletail116]

Good, I'm going for a jog.  Have a good evening.

Vend prosperously.

[bacho]

I was never a fan of artificial "values". Generally it ends up being crap that isn't worth the fake price. However, if you do this and your competition catches on, they have a list of your accounts to go hit up.

I did this when I first started and my competition tried moving in on the locations. I took the web site down. That's why this forum is so great. You get to learn from our mistakes and experiences.

[sherlock]

I did this when I first started and my competition tried moving in on the locations. I took the web site down. That's why this forum is so great. You get to learn from our mistakes and experiences.

Do you mind sharing how you found out it was due to your website that competitors were moving in on your locations?

[havending]

I think thats a great idea.  You would however need to drive hits to your site to make it worth your time and money but over all sounds great.  And as long as your locations are happy with the service and your paying them fair you should not be weary of listing your locations on a site.

[bacho]

Do you mind sharing how you found out it was due to your website that competitors were moving in on your locations?

Sorry for taking so long to reply, sherlock. He showed up at a place that I was a close personal friend of mine. He actually told my buddy that he saw the location on a web site and is trying to place his at the locations listed. I took the web site down and he didn't show up at any of my new locations since.

[JPVendCo.]

Isn't all value artificial?

it most certainly is.

value is what someone is willing to pay for something. A diamond is just a rock, but market that rock, and it can be worth thousands of dollars if a demand is created for it.

[davenj]

I'm just starting out, both with a local directory and vending.  I intend to use my site, LaceyRoad.com, to help promote my vending services, just as a directory can be used to promote any other local business.  But I do not intend to list my locations.

What I will do is offer free or reduced price ads/coupons on the site on a trial basis in return for a location accepting a machine.  The value of ads on a brand new site with little traffic is slight, but if I can successfully build the directory, then that will change.  And my own ad on the site shows how an ad can be used to link through to a listing, if the business doesn't have their own website.

The local site will also be used to test out ideas for a future county-wide site, which may or may not not be a directory format.  My vending will cover a much wider area than my own little community.  So I expect to launch a county site late in the year.  I think promotion wise, the two businesses can go well together.

As I go around to businesses and organizations in town, and hand out flyers to promote the site, I'll simultaneously be scouting for locations.  Right now, that's going to be the chief benefit of the site to my vending.  I'll let you know how it goes.