News Article

In an on-line world where anyone can communicate with anyone else and everyone is monitoring everyone else, spies are everywhere, as a U.S. pet health information provider recently discovered to their cost.

Pet Assure, a U.S. national pet health-care provider network based in New Jersey recently took advantage of their rival's naivete when the West Coast provider of pet news and articles announced the addition of a health-care component (Pet Assure's specialty) in an interview with a small community weekly newspaper, six months prior to launching it.

Pet Assure was immediately notified through a Web-based news monitoring service.

This not only gave Pet Assure time to add some of their rival's benefits to one of their own wellness products, it also got their offering to market first. "That's a mistake a lot of small businesses make," said owner of Pet Assure, Jay Bloom "You should never lose sight of the fact that competitors are watching everything you do."

This is not really spying, it is a sensible use of intelligence and demonstrates the damage that can be caused by loose tongues.

Paradoxically, the Internet is an ever growing resource and we are attracted to it because of its openness and the availability of information.

On-line pet stores should be going to great lengths to make their sites 'information rich' to attract custom.

Of course pet 'stores' are burdoned with complex and sometimes fragile purchase & distribution systems but from the user's point of view they are simply providers of information.

The user has come to their site for information. They may be looking for advice from an on-line vet, details of events or news from the pet world. They may even be looking for products, what is available, what is a good price, who is a reliable supplier.

What is happening is that on-line pet stores are (slowly) learning to publish on the Web. They are becoming magazines and their product catalogue is really a searchable classified ads section, albeit advertising goods that they themselves are selling.

As magazines however, they put up a poor show. Some on-line pet store sites look like those short lived news stand publications that we have all fallen for at some time. They are overloaded with advertising and sprinkled with poor regurgitated editorial copy which is available in any number of other places.

As things stand the on-line pet owner is likely to be much more active within the pet world than the general 'household' pet owner. The editorial departments of on-line pet stores need to recognise this and begin talking to them.

Instead of irritating everyone by using discussion groups and mail-lists as places to advertise, editors should be raising issues and generating discussion.

And this of course leads us back to my opening point. The Internet is attractive because it is open and informative, but beware, everyone is watching everyone else.

Here then is the final paradox, when site editors and journalists set out on this path they are taking a risk. Firstly they are going to have to identify themselves to the group and then work hard at being open and honest.

Only in this way will they be able to expose any rivals who attempt to usurp the resulting editorial that the discussion generates. As e-commerce takes over the world the now ageing adage that to succeed on-line you must give things away, still applies. The internet is a lending library not a shopping mall.

Copyright 2000 Steve O'Malley (UKPets).
This article may be reproduced with permission of the author and correct attribution to the source.