Any business can use SaleSpider for free and with a few clicks can easily create an account, identify connections and alliances in new markets, identity sales and contract opportunities post classified, or even participate in and online trade show. Rothstein also recently bunched Hot Deals to the site. This link provides members discount for hotel rooms, car rentals, Web hosting and every business loans.
Although a free site, SaleSpider has three revenue sources. The largest source revenue is from advertising by firms that are targeting the small business market. These ads can range 20.000 $50,000 per month depending on the geographic and industry targeted. Online newsletters and mobile marketing are also revenue sources.
Competition for SaleSpider typically includes any of the social networking sites. Facebook one of the most popular personal profile sites, has recognize the business market and recently added a link called the Like button that allow businesses to connect to consumers. It provides a vast web of personal mendations and helps businesses to target ads to specific target markets using Facebook. Many companies use Facebook to stay in touch with their customers that have joined their network. LinkedIn is another social network site specify cally designed for business people to update their resume and stay in touch with business associates and contacts. Because of their fares base of users of these sites are capable of adding services for their users that could be a to Rothstein. Twitter an online social networking and microblogging services enables users to send posts to others. These post (called tweets) could be business related and have been used by some firms to inform consumers of new products, changes in services, and so on. However, the network is primarily personal networking site that reports personal events or experiences. Even with the existence of these competitors Rothstein sees SaleSpider as being the first its kind with multiple specific services for small firms that has allowed it to become the number one business networking site. He feels that continued effort SaleSpider to remain successful.
Recently Rothstein and SaleSpider singled out by Entrepreneur and magazines as a hot new small business. Growing at the rate of more than 30,000 new users per month, social networking is still in its infancy, Rothstein believes. The challenges facing. Rothstein and SaleSpider will be to remain cash flow positive and to continue to provide new opportunities for members to generate income and new business leads.
As we can see from the example of SaleSpidercom many opportunities exist in a competitive environment. Russell Rothstein's efforts in creating the venture with an understanding and assessment of the needs of a particular segment of the market. Developing an appropriate strategy to meet those needs includes an understanding and assessment of the industry, which is where we will begin our discussion in this chapter.