Putting the Web to Work for Your Business

While there has been endless hype, it is true that the World Wide Web is a totally new medium for business communication. If you want to maximize the return on your investment, however, you have a clear idea of what you want your web site to accomplish. This guide can help you decide how you can put the web to work to grow your business:

Web-Supported Sales & Marketing

Unless you provide a unique product or service, most of your customers probably come right from your local area. Although the web is truly "worldwide," your site can be designed to reach the folks in your own home town.

A low cost "brochure-ware" site is the simplest and fastest way to get on-line. However, unless you pay to place your site at the top of search engine lists or place ads on other sites your target audience might not find you. Instead, use your site to expand the power of your current marketing activities:

• Feature your web site address in print, directory, and other advertising to let potential customers know where they can get more information without tying up your sales resources.
• Professional service providers can use their site to provide detailed descriptions of their capabilities and experience that cannot fit in a brochure or directory ad.
• Save costs by maintaining much of your sales material on-line, reducing printing and mailing expenses.
• Include location and "door-to-door" driving directions.
• Have your site included in local on-line directories.
• Develop your own local network by exchanging links with other local businesses.

Since the main objective is sales support, maintenance costs are relatively low. Content should be updated as products change or your business changes (for example, store locations or hours change).

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Customer Service

The next level of web presence is a site that builds stronger customer relationships and expands sales. You can use your site to:

• Send promotional material, such as coupons and "private sale" announcements, and newsletters to customers who provide their e-mail addresses.
• Provide a newsletter with information and promotional material that is available to visitors to your site; update it regularly to keep people coming back to see what’s new.
• Provide information about local events that pertain to your business.
• Provide information that is useful to people that use your products or services. For example, a garden center could provide planting and pruning guides that are specific to their local area.
• Provide customers with information about your products rather than tying up sales or technical support. Examples include providing answers to "Frequently Asked Questions", trouble-shooting guides, and instruction manuals, as well as letting them e-mail questions to tech support.

A customer service site requires more ongoing maintenance to keep your customers coming back regularly, but every visit is an opportunity to promote new products and build customer loyalty.

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Reference Sites

A customer service site can be developed into a destination source for information pertinent to your target market. You could, for example, become the leading on-line source of information about specialty sewing machine needles. Not only will this promote your product or service, it can also reduce costs by offloading service requests that are taking time today. Of course, the cost of developing and maintaining such a site can be substantial, so it works best in narrow markets.

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On-line Catalogue

Linking a database to your site allows you to put detailed up-to-date information about your products on-line. You can put selected items or your complete inventory on-line. This can be a powerful feature if you offer specialized or rare products, such as parts for old sewing machines, rare varieties of tomatoes, or antique radio tubes, for example. Your customers will be able to determine whether or not you have what they need, and then fill out an on-line order form, call or FAX an order. This both reduces the cost of sales and opens new sales opportunities by providing an easy way for visitors to find what they need. Convenience will also bring people back when they need something else.

The initial development of a database-driven site is greater than a "static" site. The database itself also needs to be maintained, or tied to a database that you already have. Once it has been developed, however, it provides every visitor with information that is tailored to their exact needs.

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e-Sales

Allowing visitors to buy on-line can give your business an immediate boost and a global market. This is great if you sell buttons, but not very practical if you’re an anvil dealer. It's also more effective if you sell unique or specialty items that aren't available locally or through an existing mega-site, like Amazon.

If you already sell to an extended market, then on-line sales might be an easy and natural extension of your current business. If you are not, then be sure to consider the added costs that you don't have selling over-the-counter: maintaining a larger inventory, packaging, shipping, and handling returns. You also have to consider how you will promote your site. Establishing a national or even regional identity can be expensive; the smaller your target market, the more effectively and efficiently you will be able to reach them.

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Other Web Site Objectives

The examples described above cover the common objectives and features of a business web site. Your business might have specific requirements that were not mentioned. For example, you might have the need to share documents with clients in secure on-line "meeting rooms." Or, you might want to have the ability to host public discussions about specific topics. You might also want to be able to provide training classes, either for free or for a fee. You might want to provide access to information that is only available to paying subscribers. The business value of the web is growing every day, fueled largely by the imagination of business owners and web site developers who see unmet opportunities.

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