[supraman_22]

Hi , iv been visiting here for a while but never posted.
Iv been thinking of starting up a directory website here in new zealand.
There are 2 main directorys already out here , yellow pages and this one called UBD. these both are pretty big companies. Yellow pages is very well known but this UBD isnt that well known but aparently gets 1million unique hits a month ( dont know how correct that is in a country of just over 4 million).

Is it worth going up against these two? , I was planning on offering a two month free period for business's registering their details , and then maybe charging a small fee ( maybe $50 - $100) per year This is ALOT less than yellow pages but the UBD directory is free for businesses. When someone visited the site , they would use a search function and beable to choose from searching by name of the business , what the business did and the location. What the other two where lacking was a friendly feel , they are both pretty boring and uninteresting , and thats where i thought i could make this one different. Then once traffic is established , i could also sell off space for ads.
What sort of cost would be invloved with making the website? I wouldnt make it myself because i want it reasonably professional looking and the search function would defeat me.

any help ,thoughts or comments would be much apriciated.

Oh and this forum has been very help so far!

[akhan]

Hi,

Have you thought about providing this service completely FREE and generate revenue from advertising?

These days serious money can be made only from publishing ads and banners.

I have adopted the same model for my Online Dating & Social Networking Website.

[akula]

no, no, no and no

You need to correct your approach. Successful businesses start with primary market research. You need to go out and ask questions from your target market about the kinds of difficulties they are experiencing and the sorts of things you can do to alleviate their problems.

Let's start right here because I am your target market. If you really want to help me with my marketing, I will take the time to answer any questions you may have, so you can diagnose the kinds of marketing problems that I may be having, and that you specialize in curing.

[supraman_22]

ok , thanks akula thats a really good idea. .
Well heres a few questions to start off with:
1. How many "directory type sites have you signed up to ( free or otherwise)
2. Would you pay extra on a high traffic site to have your business higher up on search results when searched in your industry?
3. Have you been disatisfied with any of the current directory sites? if yes why?

that will do for a start.
Thanks for the input so far.

[F360]

The kiwi that made www.nzs.com is now quite wealthy. You might have seen him on the news a few months back, he spent $300,000ish to go into space on Bransons craft!

Edit: Just realised I bumped an old thread