Your Web Site is More Than a Brochure

A few years ago when the Internet began to generate a lot of excitement in the world of business, it compelled every company to have a web site. Logos were scanned, typefaces were chosen, and a new site was launched.

Now the web is littered with company sites that haven’t been touched or updated for years. Many of them have broken links and old content; inexpensive advertising and easy customer targeting didn’t materialize for everyone.

Oh sure, there are some companies like Amazon and E-bay who are doing well at their web business. But what really can the web do for you, the small business owner, who’s business isn’t the web?

You essentially have two options:

Sell merchandise online (E-commerce)
Use the web to promote your business

Selling online is generally difficult for a retail company since the people who are willing to buy your product online are different than the people who are willing to drive to your location. Obviously, you’re doing something right with the drivers, but it may not translate to the onliners.

However, just because someone physically visits your place of business doesn’t mean that they won’t visit you online. In fact, your web site can be a great way to help your customers buy more from your retail establishment. For instance:

Learn more about what you have to offer
See special offers and deals
Generate “brand loyalty” to your store

The goal here is to get your customers to want to see your site initially and then convince them to return to it regularly.

In the early days, many businesses hired a print or ad agency to create their web site, and the result looked like their company brochure. This might be good enough to get people to look at it once, but does anyone actually re-read a brochure?

Let’s look at some ideas to get out of that confied, static environment. If you want more, you’ll just have to meet with us because the best ideas are exclusively for you.

Content Control

It seems simple enough, but changing the content of your web site is anything but. It is time-consuming to make manual changes yourself and expensive if you keep hiring your consultant or ad agency to do that. The end product might not be getting the results you expect.

There are solutions and programs that can make it as easy as sending out an email.

Have Something to Say

Good business web sites not only describe the business, but the products too. Better business web sites give the customer more. More what? Well, that depends on your business. A restaurant could not only describe the background of special dishes, but they could also offer cooking tips. If the restaurant owner is from another country, perhaps she could even talk about traveling in her native land.

Of course you aren’t a writer… you don’t have to be. You can hire a writer to do the first couple of drafts, and then you can revise it a little before you publish it. Your writers don’t have to be professionals; college students and independent artists are often quite willing to oblige. And what about your niece who enjoys her Creative Writing class in High School? Often the person who helps build your web site will have suggestions.

Email Campaigns

Most people who “surf the web” are looking for new sites, but they regularly check their email. If you can create a mailing list of your customer’s email addresses, then you can email them when things on your web site change.

We have found that the best campaigns also have the content available on their web site. You should also reward those who are on your mailing list with special promotional coupons.

Be Personal

You aren’t a large, indifferent corporation, you are a small business. Capitalize on that! Make the customer feel that they know you like a friend. This creates a strong loyalty that will help the customer think of you first.

For example, APA Ini (on SE 7th Ave in Portland, Oregon) specializes in importing merchandise from all over the world. I routinely get their bi-annual newsletter that not only includes the products that they are importing, but also the stories of their traveling. While I have never met the owners, I feel like I know them, and it makes going to their shop interesting and exciting because of the connection to their adventures.

This is a taste of how you can change your web site from brochure-ware to a site that really promotes your business and gets your customers to visit you more often. And the more they visit, the more successful your business becomes.