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How To Market Your Storefront with a Website
Many people think that the Internet
offers a tremendous marketplace, while others will question
the extra effort and money to purchase and design a
website. Some of the money-making values of having a
website are summarized in the following paragraphs for
your consideration.
1. If you have a local group of customers and want to
expand to the neighboring areas, states or even, countries,
without spending massive amounts of costly advertising
money or even leasing more company space, then the
Internet can work very well for you. Niche markets
(small groups of customers scattered about that are
interested in a very specific item or service) also
work very well on the Internet.
2. As a business owner, you need
to provide a map and directions to your store for your
customers and enable them to look up specials, discounts,
limited merchandise, or varieties and prices of each
item you market. For instance, let's say you sell cheesecakes
and you would like to spend less time on the phone explaining
the different varieties, how many people the different
varieties will serve, prices, and availability. Here's
how this could work online for you. You would provide
a secure, encrypted order form thereby collecting the
person's credit information as well as their address,
phone, and email information. They would list their
preferences as to varieties and sizes of cheesecakes.
This form would be sent directly to your email or to
your fax so that you would have the items ready for
the customer to pick up that day or the day they designate.
You would have the cheesecakes shipped for those that
cannot make it to your store. When a customer returns
to order another product from your website, they would
not have to fill out most of the form as it would already
be in your database.
3. You build their confidence
when you show customers that you have their best interest
and shopping convenience in mind when you open a website
and properly maintain that website with new and updated
information. Customers will appreciate being able to
read about the owners, the store's policies, the service
after the sale, and any other items you think would
develop a rapport to allow them to do more business
with you. Having a website allows your company to develop
its style and branding and develops a sense of security
for the customers in doing business with your firm.
4. A small operation can look just
as important as a large corporation. A website builds
confidence and value into your products and services
and allows you to receive orders you may have missed
without being on the Internet.
5. If you do advertising on the radio
or TV, newspapers or direct mail, having a website
gives the customer a place to review what you tell them
in the ads in much more detail. Every ad should
reference your website so customers can view the details
at a time and place that is convenient 24 hours a day
seven days a week. You can quickly change and update
information on a website without the expense of printed
materials.
6. You can do any promotion online
that you can do offline and much cheaper. Coupons,
money-off sales, discounts, employee recognition, limited
merchandise you want to move, all these can be marketed
on your website. Keeping the website up-to-date can
be provided by your webmaster at a very nominal fee.
I hope that you can see from some of
the above points that having your own website is necessary
in today's marketplace for any small or medium-sized
business as well as any at-home business. Customers
are out there looking for you and you need to take advantage
of where they are looking and, right now, that is the
INTERNET! Since your competitors have a website, they
are perceived as being more up-to-date. The ease, convenience,
special online savings, information about your company's
mission, your services, your ability to communicate
with customers are all important reasons for having
a dynamic online website. Online marketing will only
continue to grow.
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