MerchantCircle’s Million Merchant March

MerchantCirle, the company described as a “hyperlocal business directory” and a “social network for business owners” has signed up its millionth merchant.  (Full disclosure:  they are a former client).  I have used MerchantCircle since they were founded, maintaining a presence on the service for Savvy Cellar Wine Bar & Wine Shop.  As the site has grown and evolved, I have tried many of their new features and enhancements.

Here’s my $.02 on why they’ve been successful and what type of business owner can benefit by using MerchantCircle.

1.  Focused on a large yet under-served market. Despite the fact that small, local businesses are the economic heartbeat of most economies, from an Internet business perspective, they are notoriously hard to reach in any kind of economically viable manner.

2.  Understood the needs of the target customer. As someone who owns and manages a small business (in my part time), I understand how difficult it is to manage everything that is required of you:  products, services, purchasing, employees, cash flow, customers, operations, banks, taxes, etc.  Many small business owners do not possess strong marketing skills and are challenged with understanding, choosing and managing the myriad of options that exist to market effectively online.

3.  Built a service with incremental utility and value. MerchantCircle’s service has evolved over time, adding functionality (e.g. blogs, coupons, online advertising, answers, etc.) that small businesses need assistance with . . . without a large incremental price tag.

4.  All-in-one. Many of the features on MerchantCircle are available from other leading services online.  A local listing with basic business info, hours of operation, map (Google, Yahoo!); reviews (Yelp, CitySearch), blogs (WordPress, Blogger); email newsletters (VerticalResponse, ConstantContact); online advertising (Google AdWords, Yahoo!).  But it takes time and expertise to get set-up and to maintain a presence on all of these services.  MerchantCircle has stitched together a comprehensive offering that makes it relatively easy for most merchants to establish an online presence and gain the benefits of attracting new customers and engaging existing customers.

I recommend MerchantCircle to any small, locally-focused business who wants to establish an online presence and doesn’t have the capital or wherewithal to do it themselves or piecemeal it together.