A 'NET PLAY FOR MOM AND POP

摘要

Think global, act local—that marketing mantra has driven a slew of telecom service initiatives in recent years. A handful of providers are now putting a 180-degree spin on that golden rule by offering World Wide Web services targeted to smaller businesses whose customer universe rarely extends beyond city or county lines, Internet directory services are the electronic equivalent of printed phone directories—although 'Net directories offer lots of ancillary bells and whistles that printed Yellow Pages can't match, like the ability to post entire restaurant menus or whole catalogs. As with phone books, the payoff for 'Net directories is in local advertising, which generally means mom-and-pop businesses that don't have the need or the money to venture into glitzier ad venues.