Since the mid 90s, WSI Internet has been the world’s top name in internet marketing consultation. Bobbing and weaving with the internet marketing industry though every stage of its development, they have grown and adapted to fit client needs as much as humanly possible over the last decade. Because of this commitment to providing their clients with dynamic online marketing solutions in all of the 87 countries in which their 1500 franchises are located, they have been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as the #1 Internet and Computer franchise for the last 7 years.

But that begs that any inquisitive businessman ask what it is exactly that has earned them this honor. What is it about this business that makes it so different from the competition? In short, the answer is service. Giving a dedicated and unrivaled level of service to clients, franchisees, and the greater community, has in every way, earned them the right to be called the best.

Serving Clients

This has been the groundwork for the WSI Internet brand since the very beginning. In fact, their very name expresses their intent for their clients. WSI Internet stands for "We Simplify the Internet," and so they do, impeccably. In their own words, there have been 5 essential generations of the internet and their involvement with it and with their clients. And in each generation, WSI Internet has been there to utilize every facet of the latest internet developments to its optimal capacity.

In the first generation of internet business, the only thing a company could do was design a flat brochure website that offered facts about their organization. Though, in retrospect, it wasn’t a very impressive time for internet marketing, WSI Internet franchisees did what they could to design whatever a client wanted to show off their business.

In the second stage of internet business development, clients began to see what could be visually done on a website and they wanted to have the most appealing site available, instead of simply displaying information. It was at this point that the owner of a WSI Internet franchise business became more than just a web designer. That job was passed on to WSI Internet central employees while the franchisees shifted into more of a consulting position, actually visiting clients to discuss how their sites could be made more dynamic.

As the internet continued to become a more interesting place, though, generation three brought with it the development of e-commerce and the ability to do the entire work of buying and selling on the web. In response to the growing presence of online sales, WSI Internet built programs that made an e-Marketplace possible, allowed for more functional creation and maintenance of a website, and gave consultants direct communication with production centers around the world.

With online product sales becoming commonplace in the fourth generation of the internet, WSI Internet changed their approach to almost full consultation, spending the vast majority of time educating clients on how to best leverage online resources to turn a profit. And that has only recently shifted into the latest generation, where WSI Internet finds itself today, with a wide variety of small and mid-sized business clients who must use the internet to its fullest potential. The average consumer does most, if not all, product research and purchasing online today, so any business intending to survive must use every online advantage possible, which WSI Internet franchisees willingly provide.

Whatever the client need has been at any point in the course of internet changes over the last decade, WSI Internet has always gone well above the industry norm to provide more than the competition. The commitment to the client has consistently been one of system and product innovation, exceptional service, and a knowledge of the client and his world that guarantees the best consultation and application of products for his business and his place of business. These commitments are held both by WSI Internet headquarters and each franchisee.

Serving Franchisees

Though clients make businesses possible, franchisees make business opportunities run, and as such, WSI Internet sees them as an invaluable asset to the mission of the organization and people to be well taken care of.

Part of accomplishing that is by always developing better ways of business operation and better tools for clients, giving each franchise more opportunities for success. Product development is important to this process, but so is training and continuing business support for franchisees, all of which WSI Internet provides at an unparalleled level of quality and consistency. Initial training, ongoing support, and the aid of a success coach with a custom tailored development plan for each franchisee’s business are all included in the purchase of a franchise opportunity.

But another part of serving the franchisees involves having a business model that is fit and ready to adapt to any format that will best match the franchisee’s skills with his local clients’ needs. The most readily available example of this is the variable size of a WSI Internet franchise, which can range anywhere from a one-man home based business to a 20-person operation running from a rented office space. Whether the franchisee chooses to work from home or out of an office building, the business model and central staff are more than able to make that operation work, and both extremes have already been done.

A Cut Above

Of course, internet marketing is a vast industry that is always growing, because the web is undoubtedly here to stay, and WSI Internet is not the only company to recognize the profits to be had from helping businesses utilize this tool to its fullest. But regardless of who the competition is or what they’re offering, it seems that WSI Internet is always a step ahead, which is precisely what makes it a franchise purchase to give some serious consideration to.


October 25, 2008