by Jerry Mooney

Often, we forget how much things have changed with the addition of the Internet. Market disruption is guaranteed and expected now, but at one time, no one thought they wouldn’t have to go to the record store for music or the video rental store for entertainment. It seems there isn’t an industry or market that hasn’t seen changes in how they reach their customers.

One greatly impacted segment involves the products that once typically benefited from proximity. Either the purchase amounts, size of the object or necessary detail mandated local purchases and store visits or made them highly preferable. By transcending the need for proximity, markets have been dramatically expanded and opened for these products.

Through discussion of products that have moved away from localization, your product too might benefit from new ways to look at your market.

Real Estate

No product has required proximity more than real estate. It’s a large purchase, a long-term purchase and is the place you’ll be living in. Even rentals have enough significance as a living space to need required proximity for a transaction. If someone wanted to move, one or several trips to explore living spaces in the new location were often necessary. That has all changed.

The Internet has removed that proximity need throughout most of the transaction. In some cases, rentals and home purchases might even be transacted solely online. Websites like,
bettermcrbahamas.com, represent where the market has gone. A prospective buyer or renter of a luxury property in the beautiful Bahamas can view pictures of the property, connect with a realtor, ask questions and possibly rent or purchase a property right online.

A well-done website is key for this product segment to connect, sell the product and reduce what used to be a tremendous hassle for clients.

Furniture

A product that has very recently moved away from needing proximity, is furniture. Over the last few years, we have seen the bed-in-a-box disrupt traditional mattress companies and even Amazon has entered the furniture market.

Traditional and upscale furniture manufacturers have seen their model shift to be much like the new real estate shopping experience. A strong online presence where customers can visualize before entering a store has been key to their success. For a good example, check this out. Sunpan grows as a high-end purveyor due to showing high quality media and putting catalogs online. They know that the furniture is often sold before the customer even heads to the store.

Promotional Products

Companies love to give away swag. It used to be that you had a local rep and used a nearby company that had a catalog of things like custom pens or Post-It Notes. Proximity was needed, and you were limited to the selection available. The Internet opened up economies of scale for specialty shops to innovate with singular products. A singular, cool product like hotshotsleeves.com can now exist as an option for companies due to being able to connect to customers without the need for product reps and storefronts.

Does your product require proximity to be sold? Maybe it doesn’t. These are just a few examples to consider as you ponder ways to increase your visibility and availability.