Thailand Yellow Pages - Business and Search Directory for Thailand

SUPERDIRECTORIES

1. What is a superdirectory?
2. Advertising your product or service on a superdirectory.
3. Value added services
4. PED's - Progressive elimination databases
5. The superdirectory vs the national directory
6. The future of the superdirectory

In countries with poor IT infrastructure, high internet connection charges and low levels of both computer and English language skills, the superdirectory is the perfect 'short cut' to the information highway. It provides a viable, low cost user friendly internet advertising option for small businesses.

There are 5 things that you DO NOT need when advertising in a superdirectory

1
Your own computer system complete with a modem to connect to the internet

2
Full time computer staff with English language skills

3
The services of a web page designer to produce your catalogue or brochure

4
An internet account for sending and receiving emails

5
A webmaster to constantly update your online advertising content

What is a superdirectory?

A superdirectory is a web site that is a member of a regional network of web sites which are identical in design and function and are cross linked at all levels. This for promotional purposes, and to better facilitate searches for services or products across the countries of a given region. Use of this concept increases the online visibility of all of the member sites as each individual web site is registered separately with the various search engines.

Superdirectories not only list businesses in a searchable database, but also provide them with web pages, bulletin boards and online brochures or catalogues, the content of which can be changed from any internet connected PC.

The primary function of a superdirectory is to provide low cost, versatile and effective online advertising to all businesses, especially those without their own in house internet connections.

The basic concepts employed in superdirectories give them significant operational advantages over conventional directories, i.e:

	Because the web site design is merely a template, the same content, with only minor variations is used on the network of web sites across a given region. This means for example, that by using a standard hyperlink, a search for furniture on the Thailand site can easily be expanded to a search of the furniture section on the Hong Kong site.
	Their main source of revenue is derived from hosting the brochures or catalogues of it's customers, not from banner advertising. The wider 'regional' revenue base translates to lower advertising rates for its clients. Web pages and bulletin boards are free, with catalogue or brochure content priced per item, so as to suit all needs and budgets.
	The revenue base is further expanded by incorporating 'local language' content on separate pages within the site.
	The advertising format used for brochures or catalogues is 'user friendly', it is designed to allow companies easy and instant 'password protected' access to their own online content so that they may edit, change, add or delete items at will.
	Business news content is categorised and presented in separate forums for 'each particular industry' allowing companies to keep abreast of developments at global, regional and national levels that may be of interest to them.
	Great emphasis is placed on providing advertisers with helpful business related information: Viable market research tools, web page performance statistics, information on trading partner countries, and in arranging face to face meetings between buyers and sellers.

Advertising your product or service on a superdirectory.

In using the simple online "builder"and "editor" programmes provided on the superdirectory, a FREE email address by Yahoo.com or similar, and the services available at any internet caf�, the advertiser can make huge savings on the hardware, software and personnel costs.

Hardware - Computers, modems, servers, LANs, etc., need not be purchased until the advertisers volume of online trade dictates the need, SME's can manage their online trade from a PC in an internet caf�.

Note: There are no adverse effects on the local computer industry; in fact there are only benefits as the SME's in question are not the industry's customers at present. However, the faster these SME's go online, and the quicker their businesses expand, the sooner they will become customers.

Software - An internet enabled browser is required to get online, and a simple photo-editing programme is required to resize photography prior to uploading it to the web site. The scanning and resizing of photo-images can be handled by your neighbourhood photoshop or even your local cybercafe, the service is not expensive.

Computer Skills - The advertiser requires no more than the ability to key in a password. Beyond that, a company employee, a free-lance computer operator, or a person working for the cyber caf� can do the work as directed by you the advertiser.

Language Skills - Apart from having separate local language pages, the brochure/ catalogue design format is designed to accept photographs or images supported by descriptive text. Most superdirectories will assist with basic translations and proof reading.

Value added services

The major corporations of the world are quickly placing their regular purchasing requirements online and establishing logistics and supply solutions between themselves and their suppliers. These corporations and other business will also use the internet for their less regular purchases. Whilst some will actively search online for suppliers, the onus is ultimately on the seller to find a buyer for his or her company's product. Superdirectories have a major role to play here. They are perfectly placed to provide a 'match making' service, matching buyers to sellers in the global marketplace. They employ a full-time staff dedicated to establishing databases of constantly changing information on who wants what, where and when. This information is then uploaded to password-protected, industry specific bulletin boards to be read by the B2B superdirectory's advertisers.

PED's - Progressive elimination databases

As the number of web sites on the internet increase your company web site, even on a superdirectory, will get harder to find. Take hotels for example. If someone ( Mrs Smith) is looking for a hotel room in Bangkok and enters the key words (Thailand - Bangkok - Hotels) into a search engine, she will no doubt be presented with a search result list of 700 or more options.

Most of the top 20 of these are sites for 'agents' or 'middle men', who for a small percentage of the room rate will help Mrs Smith find the type of hotel, in the right location, with the right facilities at the right price - that she is looking for. Her options are of course restricted to those on the agent's own hotel inventory.

When using the superdirectory to search for a hotel, she is automatically invited to use the Progressive Elimination Database.

All hotels advertised on the superdirectory have their details listed in the P.E.D. Mrs Smith may now answer a series of questions posed to her via an online form that will help her eliminate the hotel options she 'does not want'.

For example, she may fill in the box for hotels in Central Bangkok, eliminating the 500 that are on the outskirts of the city and leaving her 200 options. She may then fill in the field for 4 star hotels, eliminating the 175 hotels in the central area that are not 4 star. Her shortlist is thus reduced with each question until she finds the hotel that best suits her needs.

The superdirectory uses the progressive elimination database system in various formats to locate products or services in all categories of business.

The superdirectory vs the national directory

Higher visibility - A number of individual, but obviously linked web sites, stand a better chance of being found by 'search engines' than would a single web site.

The superdirectory network system, with it's 'section to section crossover' feature, encourages a high percentage of visitors to make a 'regional search' for a product rather than just a 'national level search'. Businesses always compare products and pricing when buying - if the opportunity presents itself.

Lower advertising rates -The common web site template system means that operating overheads such as design, content acquisition, content upload, and site maintenance etc. are spread over all the sites in the network. This of course translates to lower advertising costs to the superdirectory's clients.

The future of the superdirectory

As e-commerce grows globally the superdirectories will see their roles expanded from providing online advertising and 'match making' services, to include the hosting of forums for product reviews and consumer complaints.