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Why do companies need websites.
Question:
It’s the " really effective tool fordisseminating information" part that makes it beneficial to a local business. A web page can function in a way MHO is that everyone reading this ng should save Matthew’s explanation and frame it. In this nutshell he has answered the question every one of you, and every one of your customers will ask. The current rage of yuppie business talk is called thinking "out of the box." A business that considers itself too small to try modern methods — "I’m too small; my business is too local to have a website." — will always _STAY_ small. In like regard, there was a salient comment from a Small Business 2000 episode (Oregon Log Homes) … no one person is ever overqualified for a business. A business is only as good as its people … the better the people, the better the business. Best, Mac
Response:
I can think of three reasons why a "local" business should have a website: 1) To improve communications with existing customers (Steve Crisp’s example). 2) To reach a broader market (in effect, shedding their "local" aspect). 3) As part of a community-wide promotion. I’d like to expand this third aspect: Two years ago Rochester, NY hosted golfing’s Ryder Cup, an international golf tournament. We had tens of thousands of visitors from around the world who spent a week and millions of dollars here. Many of them used the Web to research the area, deciding where to go and what to do based on what they saw on the Web. I was building restaurant sites at the time. After the Ryder Cup was over I checked back with my customers. Restaurants that HAD websites reported LITTLE OR NO INCREASE in business, but MORE OUT-OF-TOWN CUSTOMERS. Restaurants that DID NOT HAVE WEBSITES reported a DECREASE in business, since their REGULAR CUSTOMERS STAYED AWAY in droves! A website as a defensive position? I never would have figured it! In any event Rochester is perhaps one of the most web-connected communities in the world. Approximately 2,000 local businesses and other organizations have websites, along with a similar number of personal websites. We’ve gone so far as to have over half a dozen local site indexes, including the one I operate, the Rochester List (http://www.sunriseconsulting.com/rochlist.html). The Rochester community is becoming well represented on the Web. — Kurt Schweitzer Sunrise Consulting, Inc. 716-427-7574 http://www.sunriseconsulting.com/ Small Business Technoplex – http://www.technoplex.com
Response:
> I have been designing web sites for some small companies that really only > have a local market. I am often asked why small businesses in this > situation should have a website. > Apart from it being "the latest thing" and also a really effective tool for > disseminating information I am often at a loss for what to say. (Being much > more interested in actual design in regards to marketing) Can anyone offer > any other reasons why small localised industries could benefit?
A website is a part of the whole. Any company must have some kind of marketing strategy and the operations to back it. Say I write a bunch of press releases and they get published and on the bottom signature I post my website. More and more people are online and like getting work done evenings and nights. It’s convenient to have informtion available. One of the most frustrting things about websites, from my point of view as a user, is the difficulty in responding or asking for additional info. It’s as though the company is showing me all this wonderful stuff but does nothing to make it easy for me to buy. No prices, no nothing – just fabulous words and pictures that wet my appetite. So my frustration is high when I can’t respond. Keep this in mind as you design websites.
Response:
Kurt Schweitzer writes: >We had tens of thousands of visitors from around the world who >spent a
week and millions of dollars here. Many of them used the >Web to research the area, deciding where to go and what to do >based on what they saw on the Web. I have found this to be the case in my local area as well. We’re a resort town, and while many of the restaurants, hotels and theme parks obviously benefit from their web sites, so do some of the more unlikely places — like comic book shops, doll shops, antique shops — anything that offers alternative points of interest outside the usual "tourist traps". LMD Enterprises… your link to the world Lauren Denissen, Internet Marketing Consultant Specializing in traffic generation through personalized design and promotion. Visit our site at http://www.lmdenterprises.com
Response:
>I have been designing web sites for some small companies that really only >have a local market. I am often asked why small businesses in this >situation should have a website. >Apart from it being "the latest thing" and also a really effective tool for >disseminating information I am often at a loss for what to say. (Being much >more interested in actual design in regards to marketing) Can anyone offer >any other reasons why small localised industries could benefit?
There are several good reasons to be on the Internet. Let’s look at them, and see if any apply. 1. Sales a) Closing the sale (accepting orders, scheduling, etc.) b) Fulfillment of the sale (for companies which sell digital information, software, information, etc.) 2. Marketing a) Local (web marketing is rapidly becoming an integral part of a complete spectrum of marketing channels, including radio, spot TV, newspaper, local papers, yellow pages, etc.) b) non-local (can be statewide, national, or international, depending on product / service – even local businesses should start thinking about ways to take advantage of the global nature of the Internet, and expand what they offer so that they can attract a non-local market) 3. Information Delivery (as you mentioned) a) Vendor info b) customer info (see #4) c) employee info (Human Reources, training, cooperative development, etc.) 4. Customer Service a) FAQ’s b) Technical Support 5. Brand Recognition (as you said, being the latest thing, keeping up with the techno-Joneses, etc.) 6. Last, and probably most importantly, Relationship-Building Everyone knows that a properly handled existing customer represents a STREAM of income. It is far less expensive to sell more to an existing customer (both in terms of higher frequency of sales, as well as higher ticket price) than it is to find, convince, and sell to a new customer. The Internet provides a more powerful relationship building tool than any other. A stronger and deeper relationship will almost certainly mean a longer customer relationship, with more frequent purchases and higher tickets. I’m sure others on this NG can think of other valid reason to be on the Net. Considering how relatively inexpensively a web presence can be established (for those who just want a simple presence – more money can be poured into the website if it turns into a serious revenue stream), it is almost a no-brainer that every business establish (minimally) a domain name and very basic information about the company. Solicit feedback at every opportunity, and wait for your customers to tell you what to do. Of course, this is all very general – without knowing the exact nature of your clients’ business, I can’t suggest specific benefits. But you can use the above guidelines to analyze your clients and find out which of the above concepts fits best. Hope this helps! Good luck! http:///www.WorldWideGuide.com Internet instructional Courses, Videos Reports
Response:
> I have been designing web sites for some small companies that really only > have a local market. I am often asked why small businesses in this > situation should have a website. > Apart from it being "the latest thing" and also a really effective tool for > disseminating information I am often at a loss for what to say. (Being much > more interested in actual design in regards to marketing) Can anyone offer > any other reasons why small localised industries could benefit?
I’ll give you a real-life example and you decide. There is a restaurant here that runs lunch specials. They have been doing it for years now. And they have a 30.000 student university across the street from them. In the past, the only way one could find out what the specials were was to physically come over to the restaurant which is situated along with about two dozen others – all running lunch specials. Now, anyone can go on-line to see if they want that particular special without a hassle. On the other side of the coin, obviously a restaurant can only serve so many customers in the lunch hour. If the seats are full, even if the diner wants the special, they can not eat it without a significant wait. But with a web site, anyone can order ahead for a take out, have it ready for them, and don’t need to sit down to eat. Nor do they have to wait. Nor do they have to kill the phone line trying to get through among all those others trying to phone in their order. And the restaurant never suffers since they always stay at capacity anyway; they are simply picking up significant take-out business that they otherwise would not have because of the limitations of phone orders. Now, perhaps if you clued us into exactly what type of business you are servicing, we could come up with something specific. Steve Crisp PagePlop Web Hosting Service http://www.pageplop.com
Response:
Cheryl, > more interested in actual design in regards to marketing) Can anyone offer > any other reasons why small localised industries could benefit?
The most successful reason I have ever shown my clients on why to have a website is a copy of their competitor’s site. — Nancy Roebke — Learn to Network! Increase income, cut costs, and put an end to cold calling. Get our FREE series of articles that teach you the secrets
Response:
Well, maybe that small company can sell its products across bigger markets with a website.
Response:
>Apart from it being "the latest thing" and also a really effective >tool >fordisseminating information I am often at a loss for what to say. (Being >much more interested in actual design in regards to >marketing) Can anyone >offer any other reasons why small localised industries could benefit?
It’s the " really effective tool fordisseminating information" part that makes it beneficial to a local business. A web page can function in a way similar to the electronic Bulletin Board System of just a few years ago. You can put in information and links that are valuable to your customers and prospects. This is a benefit to your customers, which is always a good thing. You can store information about rates, prices, policies, service areas, etc. so your customers can have 24 hour a day access to all the information they might want about your business. You could even use online forms and autoresponders for people to sign up for service or buy products online. Local customers can see when you are available to work in their area, check on their own accounts, send email for you to reply to, etc. If the prospect is in the Early Adopters market segment, he will be likely to enjoy finding you on the web, he might even be more likely to see your message there than in other media. If you read "2020 Vision" by Stan Davis and Bill Davidson you will get lots more ideas and see how "small companies that really only have a local market" can "informationalize" their offerings and expand to a worldwide market — virtually ALL of them! Even used cars, beef cattle, and real estate are being sold over the internet these days. Local service companies can sell information about their industry or information of interest to people like their customers all over the world. A local business could be created to list all available appointment times for, say…. dog groomers, in a city or county. Charge groomers to join, charge dog-related businesses to advertise, and let clients schedule their own appointments with online databases and programs. (Just an example) The cost of creating and keeping a web site can be so low that even in only a few customer come to a local service that way, it’s profitable. Matthew Osborn Used, Rare, and Out-of-Print Books and Book Search Service. "Most of the books in the world are out-of-print; and new books cost too much. Tell me how I can help you today!"