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To Web, or Not to Web: That is the Question
By Dale Walls
Since the dawn of time, communication has been an undeniable obligation to the success of any creature on our fair planet. The most obvious example is human communication. Our means of communication be it direct or indirect, drive the successes within our everyday personal, family, and business lives. With today’s high speed, low drag methods of communication via the Web, Cell Phones, and Instant Messaging the art of communication, and the means by which we deliver it, has evolved dramatically over the last 20 years.
The question now is how are you communicating to the online community about your business? Is it effective or ineffective? Do you even know? Do you even have an Internet presence to tell the World just what it is that you do? Having a web presence today has become as much a requirement as having a business card. How often do you introduce yourself and provide a business card expecting one in return? Would we not all agree that this is one of the first things we consider when interacting with a potential new vendor or business connection? The fact that if this person does not have a business card, how legitimate could they really be? Today’s world has already started to view web sites in the same light.
Your business’s web site is more than just a virtual brochure. It is a virtual sales person. Now looking at it in that perspective, what would you require of a sales person representing your business? Virtual or not, they’d need to represent your business’s culture, professionalism, presentation, service ability, and be able to answer simple questions about your product or services. Your web site needs to effectively communicate to your current and future customers. It has to show the legitimacy which is your business and really sell it to those new customers eager to do business with you. If you do have a web site, review it often to make sure it is aligned with what you really want potential buyers to know. If your product or service changes regularly, embark a plan to update your web site regularly with fresh content.
Probably one of the biggest mistakes we see on the Internet today amongst small and medium businesses is the lack of attention given to design. You can tell when a site has a smooth flow, is easy to use, and is actually useful. Other sites come off very hard to interpret or are difficult to find information. If nothing else, as a visual medium it has to be friendly to the eye. It needs to be more than text, color, and bullet points. Make sure your web site plan has quality design in mind by remembering the old adage about first impressions.
Just because you do your own sales doesn’t mean that you need to do your own web site; unless of course you have the talent and the time. If you don’t, look to a professional. Qualified web designers can often do in two days what would take you two months. Plus they have the time that usually we don’t. Interview with them as you would anything else. Ask for references and examples of work and be sure to follow up on them. Be willing to commit efforts of your own to the project to ensure that the final result represents your business well and proper. Work with them on your content and key words. Ensure that information on your site is what your customers would actually be looking for in reference to your product.
Once you’ve got your web site online with your domain name, make sure you publish it on any and all marketing materials or advertisements. Make sure that you use email addresses associated with your domain name as well. When people receive emails from you, it is far more professional to have your email address associated to your domain name (name@business.com) rather than your ISP (name@verizon.net). It also sparks recipients’ curiosity and they’ll end up on your site.
As your virtual sales person, you need to know how your web site is performing. You wouldn’t just unleash a live person out within the community and not measure how effective he or she is in driving new business through your door. Your web site needs to be set up to give you the valuable feedback on what it is actually producing for your business. There are many easily implemented tools that you can use to go way beyond the classic ‘hit counter’. Really what good is a standard hit counter today? So you know 50 people came to your web site this week…great. What would you ask of your real sales person if they came back to the office Friday afternoon and said, “I talked to 50 people this week.”? You may want to know just a little bit more. For example: Who were these people? How did they hear about us? Where are they located? Have you talked to them again? What did they want to know? These simple questions are easily answered with proper implementation of your web site. Make sure you’re getting this type of valuable information. If you’re not, you’re missing out on the true investment that went into your web site in the first place.
Unless your business card says it all, make sure you have some sort of web presence online. It doesn’t need to be a huge site or major investment. If you’re already got a web site online, review it quarterly to make sure it’s what you want it to be. The points listed in this article are a small scratch on the surface of the potential of a web site today. There is much more that can be applied to further the experience. But in its simplest form, your web site can help you represent your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and at your customers’ convenience.
Dale Walls is President of Corsica Technologies, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner & Small Business providing complete IT Solutions for businesses, government, and home computing in Maryland, DC, and Virginia. Feel free to contact Dale at 443.262.9290, or by email at dale@corsicatech.com.
