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Setting Your Sights On A Website For Your Business |
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 You've read all about the
dot-com fever in the last five years. You've
heard about highs: Internet companies listing on
the stock exchange, and employees making huge
amounts of money. But increasingly, you've also
been hearing about the lows: how some Internet
companies have simply run out of funding and
crashed. Yet despite the bleak news about
dot-coms, you know full-well that the Internet
is part of everyone's future-and your business
should be in the position to capitalize on that
future.
Every entrepreneur in this day and age
wants to get his business on the World Wide Web.
And with more than good reason. These days, an
Internet presence has become an integral part of
running a thriving business in the new
millennium. This holds true whether you are
selling goods or providing a service. In fact,
every business man knows that harnessing the
Internet effectively can be critical to the
success of his business.
But before you
set sail onto the Internet ocean, some issues to
bear in mind.
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The Path To Profit |
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Taking your business-whether it's a
product or a service-onto the Internet can be
quicker, easier, and less expensive than setting
up an office for it. But remember, success on
the Internet is about building a name, which
your target market recognizes and responds to.
Your Web site should respond to your customers'
needs, provide them with the information they
want and need, and persuade them of the value of
your product or service.
It is also
important to harness the interactivity of the
Internet. Through your Web site, you can gather
valuable information about the consumers you
wish to reach. You can get useful feedback about
your product or service and thus identify areas
of your business that you can improve, change or
refine.
In short, your Web site can be your
marketing tool as well as a communications
medium. The key is using it effectively.
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The Purpose Of Your Web Site |
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Why set up a Web site at all? Many race
blindly toward the Net without a clear
objective, merely because of the fear that they
will be left behind. But this is not the case of
last one to get on the net loses out. It's not
about being first. It's about being focused.
What is it that you want your Web site to
achieve? This will, of course, depend on the
kind of business you're running, the goods or
products you're selling, the service you seek to
provide to your customers. And the answer can be
one or any number of things. Are you a B2B
(Business-to-Business), a B2C
(Business-to-Consumer), or a B2P
(Business-to-Professional) or a little bit of
all three combined?
A Web site can sell
products directly to your target market. A Web
site can be an integral marketing medium to let
people know about your business. A Web site can
be used to develop a qualified list of prospects
or a database of potential members of your
target market. A Web site can help you achieve
many things, but it is imperative that you
decide what that will be.
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What Your Web Site Will Contain
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Having a Web site means having content to
put on it, which means further that some
strategy has to be involved. Profit from the
experience of others who have discovered that a
well-designed Web site is integral to any online
marketing effort. They have also come to learn
that online content is what brings customers to
a particular site-as the adage goes, content is
king. Current research already demonstrates that
the successful sites are those that have
relevant content that responds to the needs of
your particular target market.
Put yourself in
the mind of your ideal consumer. What is it that
he or she wants to know about your business.
Moreover, what is it that your ideal consumer
wants to know-that can somehow be related to
your product or service, to your name and brand.
If you run a food catering service, your Web
site does not have to be limited to your menus
and fees, but you can also provide your users
with tips on entertaining guests or planning a
successful shindig. If your product is targeted
to parents with small children, your Web site
need not be limited to photos and price lists,
but it could have additional information about
activities for weekends. If this additional and
related information is presented well, tied to
your brand name and business-it will help bring
in more potential customers who may eventually
buy your product or avail of your service.
Apart from content, bear in mind that a
good Web site is not limited to product
information, product shots, and your business'
branding. A Web site provides businesses with
the opportunity to build a database of
information on your customers. Information is
currency. And that's a two way street: You don't
just give out information, you can collect it
too. Your site should have an avenue where users
can give you information about themselves as
well as their feedback on your business. The
database will enable your business to capture
everything from demographic information to
qualitative information about your product or
service. Furthermore, it is essential to have a
visible privacy policy, which should clearly
state what you plan to do with this
information.
Finally and perhaps most
important, your Web site must have a clear and
easy way to contact you. This can't be
emphasized more. Whatever your business is, the
opportunity for contact is critical. Give your
users a way to reach you by telephone, fax, and
email. This contact gives them the opportunity
to actually buy your goods or avail of your
service. Ultimately, that is the best thing any
Web site can achieve-and your site should be no
exception.
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Keep Them Coming Back
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It's time to see how your content holds up
against the list of things that get the users
returning to Web sites that are already up and
running.
In surveys according to the
latest Forrester research, 12 elements keep
users coming back. Seven of these involve what
is on your site, namely: High quality content
(this refers to the writing, the style, what
kind of information you provide); Coupons and
incentives (the promotional vehicles that your
site offers, whether that's free products or
coupons), Favorite Brands, Games, Custom Content
(how much content can be personalized and
tailored to an individual user), Purchasing
Ability (a vehicle that allows customers to
actually buy items online) and Chat (whether
there is a vehicle for building a community on
your Web site).
The other five factors that
keep the users coming back, relate to how well
your Web site is constructed. These are: Ease of
use, Quick download (how quickly your site can
be downloaded), Frequent updates (you should
have a facility for updating the information on
your site on a fairly regular basis), Cutting
edge technology, and others. Keep these things
in mind as you start making decisions on how
your Web site will be built.
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Who Will Create Your Web Site |
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You've plotted out your potential path to
profit. You've determined your purpose, and
you've outlined your intended content. It's more
than clear at this point that your business will
benefit from a Web site. Now it's time to make a
tough decision. Who will create your Web
site?
While doing it yourself may be the least
expensive option in terms of cash outlay, it may
actually be the most unrealistic. Unless, of
course, you just happen to be a computer
programming major and HTML is a hobby. The truth
is, building your own Web site can be time
consuming-and even if you succeed, you can't be
sure that your site will look professional. In
short, serious graphics, nifty images, a
visually arresting and easy-to-navigate lay-out
is the barest minimum you will need.
Professional sites are worth what you pay for
them if you're serious about wanting your Web
site to attract business.
Smaller
businesses and organizations hire Web designers
to do this job, and that is a very realistic
option. The best way to test out a Web designer
is to have a look at work he's already done. If
you like his work, there's a good chance you'll
like what he can do for you.
Apart from
building and designing your site, he should also
train members of your staff to operate, update
and maintain files. After all, your Web site is
constantly changing, thus it should be
changeable and updateable. If your web designer
can train your staff sufficiently, you may only
need to call on him for major site upheavals.
Another possibility is keeping him on a retainer
to maintain your site, every month or every
week, as needed.
Above all, the beauty of
your Web site is that it is not static. In fact,
the magic of the Internet lies in this dynamism.
Harness that dynamism, and your Web site can be
the cornerstone of your successful business.
(This article was contributed by
Christopher Lai, Director-Head of Business
Development, CSG, American Express International
Inc.)
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