Jay Moore, a.k.a. the “GPS Dude” of GPSDude.com, has been at it for over four years now, with steady revenue and site visit increases every month. It’s about three and a half years longer than he ever thought he’d be advising on and selling satellite-based navigation devices to consumers.
“I initially thought, if I make a little money, great, but I’m only going to have it for a little bit of time,” admits the 40-year-old Moore, who holds an MBA and has also been doing business consulting since 1990.
It was a drive to help his consulting clients enter the online marketplace that got Moore interested in starting GPSDude.com, which he still calls an “experiment” — an internet laboratory to test e-commerce methods, using his own money, from which he could report back successes and failures.
Moore now sells 300-400 units per month, enough to push him towards $1 million in annual sales. But the secret to his success isn’t technological at all — rather, it’s old-school customer service.
The most popular feature on GPSDude.com is “Ask The Dude,” where visitors can fill out a query form and receive advice from Moore or his one employee on which GPS unit to buy, depending on the customer’s needs and budget. And, it works, pure and simple: 75 percent of these customers are converted to sales.
“All that most of those folks want is a little personal contact,” says Moore. “When we send an e-mail out, my name’s on it.”
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