Will A Web Site Help Me Grow My Business?
By Greg Owen-Boger
© 2007 OwenProCo, Inc.
The short answer is yes, a web site will help you grow your business.
The longer answer is also yes—with a couple qualifiers. A web site
needs to be planned, designed and written well, and its success should
be measured over the long-term. It also needs to be appropriately
supported, promoted and routinely maintained. OK, admittedly that’s more
than a couple qualifiers, but they are all manageable and will be the
topics of future articles.
For now, let’s answer the more basic question of HOW your business
will benefit from an effective on-line presence. I've divided the HOWs
into six categories.
1. Boost Sales
First and foremost, web sites are marketing tools. So even the simplest
type of site, one that serves as an on-line brochure, will help you
target customers, build awareness of your company and presumably boost
sales.
2. Expand Your Market
An effective web site will help you expand your market geographically.
Since the internet has no borders, your market will grow nationally and
in some cases, internationally. Several years ago I mentioned to a
colleague of mine that it was strange how I couldn't get freelance work
in my neighborhood and yet I was overloaded with work an hour's drive
away. He replied, "Don’t you know, you're only considered an expert 50
miles away from home?" If your business suffers from this phenomenon...
going online could be a real plus.
3. Improve Customer Service
Your new web site will provide you with a new customer service tool. By
including detailed information about your product or service, a
frequently asked questions (FAQ) area and a place for customers to offer
feedback (good and bad), you are, in effect, communicating to your
customers that you care about their needs. And we all know happy
customers are loyal customers.
You could also take advantage of live chat on your site. This would
allow customers to communicate live, in real time with your sales and/or
technical staff.
4. Automate Tasks
One of the best on-line customer service tools is the appointment
self-scheduler. Salons, doctor's offices, therapists and any other
company that has to schedule appointments can move scheduling on-line
and let customers do it themselves. An on-line scheduler may not work
for all businesses, but if your clientele would support it, they'll
appreciate the freedom of handling their own scheduling 24 hours a day 7
days a week.
5. Expand Your Image
A web site will expand your company image. Even if you work out of your
basement and conduct business in your pajamas, your company will appear
larger online. Just for the record... some of my best work is done at my
home office, in the basement.
6. Build and Maintain Customer Loyalty
Stay in contact with your customers through email and occasional
newsletters. We all know it's less expensive to keep an existing
customer than it is to find a new one. And now it's even cheaper to
nurture customer relationships because email is free. Of course, you'll
still need to find new customers and a good way to do that is to send
newsletters to those who've joined the mailing list you've so cleverly
placed on your home page. If you sell consumer goods, you might also
consider using an online mailing list manager to send mass marketing
emails.
So…
Will a web site help you grow your business? YES. Most businesses
benefit in some way, over the long term, by having an effective web
site. In fact, I can't think of an industry that wouldn't benefit...
well maybe lemonade stands... but even they could offer one cent coupons
or charge users to download recipes…hmmm…
Click here to build your own E-commerce web site.
Click
here to build your own brochure-style web site.
Click here to have us build your site for
you. |
