This may seem to be a simple question but it makes a great difference in tyring to build a customer/member base. I have looked at BD before but never expected a directory listing ( just name, address, and phone number and category assignment) to constitute a \u0022member\u0022. As a listing, the \u0022member\u0022 would have no access to or control over any content. Their business would simply be included in the directory. Only by \u0022claiming\u0022 a listing would they have any ability to add content or receive leads from their \u0022listing\u0022. To me, it would seem that they would only become a member at that point. This is key to growing a directory site. Only by seeing the benefit of having a \u0022membership\u0022 would they be attracted to becoming a member. It could take thousands of listings to generate any significant membership and without the ability to create a bare listing, it would be much harder to convert listings to \u0022members\u0022. So, if I wanted to create a membership site that comprised thousands of listings... which would make setting up and building a significant \u0022membership\u0022 base require starting at a very high level before it would have the gravitas to attract businesses to become members. Am I missing something or is the the BD business model for your customers?

Question

This may seem to be a simple question but it makes a great difference in tyring to build a customer/member base.  I have looked at BD before but never expected a directory listing ( just name, address, and phone number and category assignment) to constitute a \u0022member\u0022.  As a listing, the \u0022member\u0022 would have no access to or control over any content.  Their business would simply be included in the directory.  Only by \u0022claiming\u0022 a listing would they have any ability to add content or receive leads from their \u0022listing\u0022.  To me, it would seem that they would only become a member at that point.  This is key to growing a directory site.  Only by seeing the benefit of having a \u0022membership\u0022 would they be attracted to becoming a member.  It could take thousands of listings to generate any significant membership and without the ability to create a bare listing, it would be much harder to convert listings to \u0022members\u0022.  So, if I wanted to create a membership site that comprised thousands of listings... which would make setting up and building a significant \u0022membership\u0022 base require starting at a very high level before it would have the gravitas to attract businesses to become members.  Am I missing something or is the the BD business model for your customers?

Jason_BrilliantDirectories · Answer

Hi Jay, \u000a\u000aAppreciate you taking the time to check us out. \u000a\u000aThis is a longer response than I\u0027d normally write, but I wanted to share some insight from what we\u0027ve seen in what helps make a directory site successful. \u000a\u000aImporting listings and having the businesses \u0022claim\u0022 their listing is a very popular marketing strategy. \u000a\u000aHere is our best practices video on employing this strategy: \u000a\u000a\u003D\u003D\u003E https://www.brilliantdirectories.com/blog/claimable\u002Dbusiness\u002Dlistings\u002Dbest\u002Dpractices\u002Duse\u002Dcases\u000a\u000aWhen you import these records, they are counted as member records. They\u0027re just waiting to be claimed by real people. \u000a\u000aYES \u002D we could import data of millions of businesses, and wait for them to claim their listings. But the Claim Listing strategy should just be one part of your marketing mix. \u000a\u000aWhat we would recommend is to hone in on a specific target market/industry/location, and start there. A site with even a few hundred listings in a specific niche is a great online resource for visitors. \u000a\u000aEven if you bumped that up to 50,000, which is what\u0027s included in Tier 5, that\u0027s a hefty online resource for a market. Keep in mind too, you can always increase your member limits at anytime and as needed. \u000a\u000aWhy do BD sites have member limits? \u000a\u000aWell, when we first started out 10 years ago, there were no limits. What happened :) Some users were data dumping in hundreds of millions of business listings and records scraped off the internet. That\u0027s fine and all... but it really is a lot for any database system to handle reliably. \u000a\u000aRealistically, with the 50,000 member limit in Tier 5, or any of the Tiers here on AppSumo. And 5 people end up paying you $20/month. And you can add another 10,000 members to your limit for just $2.50/month. You\u0027re coming out on top all day long. \u000a\u000aAppreciate you very much. \u000a\u000aPlease let us know if you have any more questions. Always happy to help!

Brilliant Directories

Share Brilliant Directories

Related questions