It is rapidly becoming clear that in order to obtain worldwide relevance as a brand, organizations and individuals need to leverage the Internet effectively. It's a simple statement but in relation to Caribbean businesses and products I think it needs to be articulated. Within the region itself where internet penetration is still relatively low, businesses typically use traditional modes of promotion like advertisements, event sponsorships and celebrity spokespersons. But if Caribbean companies seek to take their products further than the region, it is imperative that they leverage the Internet. West Indian expats are a large community in the U.S. and often go to the web to seek out information on their favorite foods, artistes, events and news. It is an audience that is often ignored by companies from the region but which has the potential to increase revenue for these companies.
A web presence is necessary if Caribbean companies intend to increase their market share and I'm often amazed at how many companies don't get this. This doesn't apply to companies only, events and artistes would also benefit tremendously from good online exposure. Having worked in the Caribbean, I know that it can be difficult to see the big picture when you're on the ground, but if our islands intend to remain competitive in this economy then we need to take advantage of the tools available. It's not as if the talent isn't there.
How are small locally-owned villas along our coasts supposed to compete with large world renowned hotels if they don't even have a website which caters to tourist intending to visit the region? The same can be said for many other Caribbean businesses. If Caribbean businesses intend to thrive, their marketing strategies need to be revamped to keep up with the changing way information is sourced. And of course this does not just apply to Caribbean businesses. In another post I'll take a look at ways in which individuals typically obtain information and examine which of these modes influence their decisions the most.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
RSS Feed (xml)
You're so right - I've been blogging about this too - it's so difficult when not only do people not get the need, but for the smaller businesses, people don't understand the technology or the potential of online networking.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to take locals and Caribbean expats a lot of effort to get things changed - I believe a few success stories would make a difference...do you know of any?
Excellent points on the lack of Caribbean nationals to effectively embrace the use of the internet to promote the businesses and creative endeavours. But I think we must firstly get rid of the fear of sharing information in general.
ReplyDeleteUntil we understand that our works, products and services need as much exposure as can be had, many will still remain reluctant to embrace a technology capable of putting their ideas out to the whole world.
As Finola said in her comment positive examples are perhaps the only way to bring about a real course of action in this region.
BTW one good example may be taken from regional musician and their embracing www.torontolime.com
Great comments from you two. Thanks. I don't know of any success stories, but hopefully I can help to create a few in time.
ReplyDelete