Where would you find a coin-sized camera or a video camera you can attach to a phone line? The answer is obvious - a James Bond movie, or a Get Smart rerun. But, type "micro video" into an internet search engine, and you will discover that you can purchase these, and several other such futuristic devices, right here in Victoria County.
Gary Scarborough and partner John Fritz started their business a few years ago, almost "as a lark". Gary had been "fooling around" online, amazed at the amount of information suddenly easily available. After trying to buy some specialty inspection equipment, and finding it unavailable in Canada, he decided to fill the void, and thus was born "Micro Video Products."
So who, besides James Bond and Maxwell Smart, buys these - and for what purposes? The most obvious use is for home and business security. You can install a remote camera in your home in Toronto, and literally keep an eye on it while you're away at the cottage - or vice versa. But, there are lots of other applications, ranging from tele-conferencing to robotics. In fact, robotics groups at MIT, Berkeley & NASA are using their video systems. Members of Trent University and Sir Sandford Fleming College are among the few local customers. Industrial inspection equipment & vehicle rear & side viewers are also important items.
With such a specialized product line, it is important to advertise to a wide audience, and this is where the internet has made this business possible. A simple web page, showing photos of the products and a brief description, along with an email address and 1-800 number, generates the majority of their sales. The company does advertise in magazines, but this is quite expensive, and the resulting business is just a tiny percentage of that brought in by the web page. Gary is astounded at just how "wide" this audience has become. He now has clients all over the world. On the day I spoke to him, he was shipping products to Rhode Island, Europe and Australia.
Gary has deliberately kept the web page simple and "low tech". Not only does this allow him to reach the widest possible audience, but it also is easy, and thus inexpensive, to maintain. With the use of a digital camera, he can add a new product to his on-line "catalog" in about fifteen minutes. He has also deliberately avoided "e-commerce" (on-line purchasing), and has included a phone number, which many of his clients use to ask for technical advice.
Once you post a 'phone number, this becomes, literally, a full-time job. When you are doing business on the internet, location is irelevant. Unfortunately, that also means time is irrelevant. With clients in any time zone, the phone can ring at any time of day or night. So be prepared!
However, you won't hear Gary complain about having too much business. His closing advice was that the
Internet offers limitless possibilities to anyone who can identify a niche market. It is by far the most effective and inexpensive advertising media, yet requires very little skill to use.
Now, is there a market for a shoe-phone? Oh yes, I guess Bell Mobility beat me to that!
