| The months following 911 were very bleak. In the | | | | guitars online. This shop mentioned that they did not |
| midst of Bushs' war there was a very interesting | | | | feel the need to keep a physical storefront now |
| economic seed being planted in the background. Not | | | | thanks to the web just like my favorite independent |
| many people noticed but it caught my attention. | | | | music store. |
| Right after the attacks on New York City something | | | | This is also happening once again with Yamaha atv |
| minor happened in nearby Norwalk, Connecticut. A | | | | parts dealers, and Kawasaki motorcycle parts |
| little indy record store called ABCD, (which got a lot | | | | experts. They are selling both used and new parts |
| of my money every payday) suddenly went out of | | | | online. But here is the catch. Not all of these vendors |
| business... or did they? This was one of the first | | | | have physical storefronts to begin with. Some do of |
| businesses who closed their retail storefront and | | | | course but many more are working online with |
| moved their entire inventory online. | | | | nothing more than a web site and a warehouse. |
| Right after ABCD moved their UK pop music store | | | | These products and services all share something in |
| online they were going to continue to communicate | | | | common. These industries have really strong |
| to their fan base through email and advertise strictly | | | | committed fan bases. They have a large pockets of |
| online. There was no major fanfare when the store | | | | people who gather online and join online forums, |
| closed. It happened very unceremoniously but I | | | | blogs, watch viral web videos, and really interact with |
| noticed it. I also looked around to see who was going | | | | other fans on the web. |
| to follow suit. This was a very significant moment in | | | | When you have a group of people like this who are |
| America's economy. This store owner knew that it | | | | deeply committed then it becomes easy to sell to |
| was going to be too expensive to keep his | | | | them. They are already customers of your product |
| storefront open. It made more sense to promote his | | | | or service even though they are not your customers |
| business on the Internet. A few months after the | | | | yet. The main thing to keep in mind is that they are |
| tragic days of 911 I was back in my hometown of | | | | already buyers. That becomes very important to the |
| Ann Arbor, Michigan. That's when this phenomenon | | | | sellers of these goods and services. |
| happened once again. I noticed another storefront | | | | The question becomes is it really necessary to have |
| closing its doors and moving its entire inventory | | | | a physical storefront when it comes to selling your |
| online. | | | | services online? If you have an extensive catalog of |
| There was a guitar shop on Liberty street that | | | | parts and items then maybe you already have what |
| closed their doors forever. They quaintly thanked its | | | | you need to become successful. This is the direction |
| customers for the many years of patronage with a | | | | of the new economy and as a business owner this is |
| hand made painted sign on the door front. They | | | | something that you will need to weigh. |
| mentioned also that they were planning on selling | | | | |