Shuttle services, taxis and transfers

[raffle]

I am putting together a list of service providers offering transport services in the Garden Route. I regularly get enquiries asking about airport transfers between Knysna and George and its not always easy giving good advice.

It's a free service and any suggestions or recommendations would be most welcome.

[HandMade]

Great to hear. Shuttle services have always been such a problem in that no-one knows who does what, when and where. I hope this is a start to something really useful for all in the Garden Route.

[talktown]

Costs are rising, visitors are becoming increasingly cost conscious and the challenge is to remain competitive. Something we could try is to add value to the trips being made.

What I was thinking of was setting up a classified section and encouraging the shuttle services to advertise the other leg of their trips at a subsidised rate to whoever needs something moved. Easy enough to do with Wordpress and even if it doesn't work, something tried.

[raffle]

So a year has past. I have been busy. But the classifieds are set up. It was easy. Would welcome feedback and recommendations from the other towns enroute. I think I can manage Sedge, Knysna and Plett. And we are going to try and profile recommended service providers in each centre.

[HandMade]

Our site provides an easy to use category based search facility, which allows users to search a local business directory. Users may add their business to the site and we offer both free and paid listings. The paid listings provide web link, images and better exposure potential than free listings.

For a search of shuttle services please see:

http://www.gardenroute.com/index.php...&category=1147

For listing options etc. please see:
http://www.gardenroute.com/get-liste...p_view_id_1706

[raffle]

Which begs the question why more people do not use the site to list and market their business?

The money supply is dwindling and I can't understand why no one is prepared to do the sort of stuff that could be done to try and turn this situation around. Why is it so difficult to get local businesses to post....this is the old story of the few who always end up carrying the load. This has got to change. What might have worked yesterday is not working today. We have to come up with ideas. We have to make them work. And if we don't we are all in deep trouble.

This has to be the starting point. We need to convince as many people as possible that they have every reason to help themselves and doing so simply by complementing what the next person is doing. Does Gardenroute.com offer commissions to third parties placing client business with them? We try to offer the clients we approach a basket of services, some we offer directly and others as facilitators.

I am supposed to be focusing on Tours, Transfers and Road Freight to and from Knysna. After which I am supposed to fan out. But one soon comes down to earth with a bang. Most owners have heard the same over and over again and they are anything but polite and obliging.

[HandMade]

Which begs the question why more people do not use the site to list and market their business?

After 17 odd years this question remains unanswered. Some business owners aggressively pursue every opportunity for exposure and they are soon listed with every prominent site. Some would even go so far as to monitor the traffic generated by each link. Others either don't have time, the technical skill, or appear to think the web has nothing to offer and is just another phase, which will soon pass.

As an owner of many domains plus a web design and hosting company, I receive an average of about 40 emails per month (around 1 a day) promoting a new listing site. All seem to have the same idea and assume that suddenly everyone will miraculously flock to register on their site and pay for exposure. Its like having a déjà vu experience every 24 hours.

Some expect money upfront while others offer a limited offer until they have reasonable data. The sad part is that most assume people to be completely ignorant. It is true that one should never underestimate the ignorance of the general public, but assuming every business owner is an idiot is in most cases offensive and probably not the best way to market.

Some basic checks to measure the credibility of a site:

1. Check the original registration date. In most cases this will tell you how long the business has been operational. A new business is most likely to have very little data as well as low credibility with Google.

2. Do a Google search and see if and where they actually come up.

3. Check the site and database.

4. Check if your area is well positioned for exposure and your listing can be easily found.

5. Call or email and ask for a free listing for a limited period (say 90 days) which will allow you to measure response.

6. Ask for views/clicks stats for a listing within same area and category

7. If the site wants a booking commission, make sure they have sufficient credibility to represent you.

8. Make sure double bookings cannot occur or conflict with similar sites you have agreements with.

One can go on, but I am sure you get the gist. The bottom line is setting up a site that allows people to list, doesn't give you credibility. It takes a long time to build credibility and its even tougher to keep it. Competition is rife and the big guys have lots to spend.

[talktown]

As an owner of many domains plus a web design and hosting company, I receive an average of about 40 emails per month (around 1 a day) promoting a new listing site. All seem to have the same idea and assume that suddenly everyone will miraculously flock to register on their site and pay for exposure. Its like having a déjà vu experience every 24 hours.

The question we should be asking is what we could be doing better. And to me the answer is simple. Instead of trying to sell clients the services we offer we should be demonstrating how they can get the most value out of all the resources that are available to them. In this context, the we takes on a completely different meaning. We need to show our clients how to use the net, how to get the results they are looking for, the results they need. This is the hump we are trying to address with these sites.

All value on the web is the cumulative sum of an infinite number of smaller parts and what we are saying is that to open doors to the net you start by making yourself useful, thereafter you need to get seen and to then get used. And it is only once your site is being used, can you start thinking about adding value. Simple in theory. A little more complicated in practice.