What turns a popular business or service into a ghost town and how can you avoid it happening to you?
The Internet gives us a powerful insight into how this happens. The online world is littered with websites and services, which were once popular and are now on life-support. Only last week we learned that Alta Vista, once the world’s leading search engine with millions of users, is to be shut down.
So, what went wrong with these former giants?
It may have been a lack of innovation. Perhaps a super effective competitor came along and ate their lunch. A key person might have left the business.
I’d like to add another suggestion to this mix, which causes many businesses to decline.
Attention is earned… and re earned
Today, you may have thousands of people reading your newsletter, visiting your website or following you on your primary social network. However, that can all change in a very short time.
How come?
Because it’s temporary. The attention of all those people has to be earned, AND THEN re earned. It’s one thing to attract attention: It’s something else to retain that attention on an ongoing basis.
The lesson here, is to never get complacent. Make earning and re earning the attention and trust of your clients and your marketplace, an ongoing part of your business.