For a former civil engineer, however, the potential for even the smallest businesses to 'get their name' out there on the world wide web was identified early on, with the result that his business is now considered South Africa’s premier online resource for accredited home, car and other service providers.
Paul Meyer’s Assist247, which is described as a 'one-stop' matrix for such service providers, currently boasts 1.5 million unique users a year and offers a three dimensional search of more than 50 000 South African services, in the categories of Services Provided/Approved By; Service Providers A-Z and Services Offered in Your Area.
"Around 2003 there was an explosion in South Africa’s call centre industry, and it dawned on me that the smaller service providers were not being represented. Most of the guys were very keen to market themselves on the internet and so we jumped in. We really grew from there," Meyer says.
Although similar operations have been undertaken in Europe, Assist247 is unique to South Africa and is highly ranked by Google.
What has made the operation even more impressive is that it is administered by only 20 people. However, the ease with which consumers can find a service provider on the website ensures the business can be streamlined and made cost effective.
"Our website is quick and easy to navigate, and facilitates searches by providing ‘Area’ and ‘Approval rating’ search filtering to ensure successful results," Meyer says.
Assist247 has also included several new features, including free Assist247 Classifieds and the Assist247 Mobile site – another platform which has worked wonders for service providers’ marketability.
"While mobile directories require lengthy download times, and can become outdated soon after you’ve gone through the schlep of downloading them, Assist247 Mobile is designed to work like a website on your cell phone. This means that instead of having to download an entire directory, you can go directly to the information you need on your cellphone — saving users time and money, while putting service providers at users’ fingertips," he says.
One of the important aspects of the Assist247 matrix concerns the credibility of the service providers.
"We accentuate the fact that our service providers are highly regarded. They are frequently accredited and approved by numerous other organisations, thereby giving credence to the level of service they offer," Meyer says.
In addition to having their accreditation indicated on the Assist247 website, accredited service providers will also display the necessary stickers and certificates at their premises and on their vehicles. To ensure the authenticity and current compliance of the service provider, it is however imperative that the user confirms the same on the Assist247 website.