While the Web is full of online directories (Yellow Pages, Citysearch, community sites (Yelp, Judy's Book), e-commerce platforms (Yahoo!Stores, eBay Stores), and social and professional networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn), there are few (if any) sites that combine all four. Until now.
More than two years in development, 7Mainstreet went live this week and claims to be "the first company to combine social networking, e-commerce and comprehensive business listings," and hopes to become the new one-stop destination for businesses looking to establish or expand their Web presence.
As founder and CEO Andy Leff explained, "What we've done is pretty much built a very comprehensive business directory [that is unlike any other] business directory out there. We offer something that's totally different than Yellow Pages. Instead of just finding the name, address and phone number of the business when you look it up, we actually bring what used to be a plain, boring directory listing to life."
Not Your Mother's Online Directory
"We allow businesses to add pictures, text, videos and maps to their pages. And they can also put their inventory of goods and services up for sale, in real time," a patent-pending process that Leff is particularly excited about. "Studies have shown that when someone is looking through a business directory, they are actually looking to buy something," he explained. But most (if not all) online directories are only pointers, that is, they point or only provide a link to the site the consumer is looking for, as opposed to letting the consumer see and purchase the desired product(s) or service(s) right there.
7Mainstreet, however, allows businesses to have a directory-style listing and sell goods and services right on their listing page. "And we don't have any upfront listing fees," said Leff. "So there really is no risk for a business to put goods and services up for sale."
The company only makes money if the business decides to use 7Mainstreet's design service, 7Mainmedia (to design its 7Mainstreet site, for a one-time $600 fee), or sells something through 7Mainstreet, in which case 7Mainstreet takes a small transaction fee on each shopping cart purchase, which starts at 5 and one-half percent and is on a sliding scale, with the percentage decreasing the more the business sells.
As further incentive to list on the site, 7Mainstreet offers members a social networking component, "similar to a LinkedIn or a Facebook," said Leff. "But instead of connecting people to people and friends to friends, we connect businesses to businesses and businesses to their customers."
7Mainstreet also allows visitors and member businesses to leave reviews and rate businesses (between one and five stars).
Try getting all that with an eBay Store, said Leff.
Helping Businesses Get Noticed Through SEO, Networking and Advertising
Asked how 7Mainstreet stacked up to Google in terms of getting businesses noticed online, Leff was quick to note that the site is search engine optimized.
"We've done a lot of work with search engine optimization consultants," he said, "to make sure that when the major search engines are running their site crawlers through the site that the pages have a better chance of being indexed." Indeed, even though the site only officially went live on February 17 (it was in Beta for many months prior), a number of its member pages have already shown up on the first page of the major search engines in organic searches.
Similarly, because of 7Mainstreet's social/business networking tools, member businesses get promoted internally, too, at no additional cost. And for those businesses wishing to gain some additional exposure on the site, they can become a Featured business or have items or services be given Featured status by contacting 7Mainstreet's advertising department and paying a fee (which Leff did not disclose).
Sharing the Wealth
Already 7Mainstreet has more than 16 million business listings — listings 7Mainstreet purchased from a data provider. And of those 16 million businesses, hundreds, according to Leff, have already claimed their listings and added additional information. However, Leff hopes to get many, many more, and is confident that he will.
That's because in addition to the many e-commerce tools and features 7Mainstreet offers, the site has set up a revenue share system. So if a business who lists on the site, we'll call it Business A, is enrolled in 7Mainstreet's 7Mainshare program and refers another business, which we'll call Business B, and Business B uses 7Mainstreet's 7Mainmedia design team to build its site, Business A gets a commission. Similarly if Business B sells any goods or services on its 7Mainstreet site, 7Mainstreet will give Business A a percentage of each sale, as a reward.
Will 7Mainstreet succeed and challenge the status quo? It's still too early to tell, but with its unique platform, low (or no) cost of entry (as you can build your own pages for free), and revenue share potential, it holds a lot of promise — and could very well be the future of online directories and business networking.
Jennifer Lonoff Schiff is a regular contributor to Ecommerce-Guide.com and runs a blog for and about small businesses.
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