Whilst you and I are likely to splash and play in this wonderful playground we call the web, to a large number of smaller business operators, the very word stimulates a response more akin to drowning.
It’s okay for those of us who essentially use desktop computers as our tools of trade, the wonders of the web became patently obvious some time ago. But for many whose line of business dictates that time on the PC is time away from what earns their keep it remains a source of intrigue and frustration.
It is these business operators who are likely to see their website as a pesky grudge purchase which they’ve been told they have to have to remain competitive.
Often it’s not until I (or their kids) conduct a Google search on their category of business and show them how many competitors inhabit the all important prime real estate of the first few results pages that the penny drops that they may actually be losing significant business to their swifter and more web-savvy competitors.
This is often followed by a second penny when they realise how much time and/or money they have to spend playing catch up football.
Beyond brochureware
It is these relative laggards that are likely to provide what in the industry is known as ‘brochureware’ – essentially a ‘rip’ from an existing brochure that has no underlying editing or eMarketing capabilities and requires their web designer to make even the slightest change – introducing an expensive and unnecessary barrier to all important fresh content.
The result is a website that provides the most basic of information which is likely to have dated some years ago.
Not only will visitors to this website sense this lack of freshness and suspect the business is not truly serious about wanting their business, search engine ‘robots’ will also detect a stale website and not bother indexing them with any frequency – leading to poor visibility when prospects search relevant keywords.
But these compelling reasons are only the tip of the iceberg of benefits your website can deliver when it includes now affordable tools like:
…and many others.
Here are just a few of the less publicised benefits you should be reaping from your website.
1. Save time on phone calls
How much time do you or your staff spend on the phone providing information about your business and its products or services that could otherwise be answered on your website?
Your website will save time otherwise spent talking to customers both before and after the sale. Before, by providing as much information as they need to qualify you as a supplier candidate and after, by providing post sales information, support and advice.
Don’t get me wrong, you should always be available to speak to in person as soon as possible, but a good website can reduce not only the time spent on the phone but their accompanying telephone charges by as much as 90%.
2. Reduce query-to-order turnaround time
How often are sales or production processes delayed because you haven’t been able to “touch base” with your prospect or customer? And how many sales have been lost because a competitor beat you to the punch?
A well planned website can drastically alter your success rate with these issues. In fact, this is one of the lesser publicised benefits of a comprehensive website as prospects and customers help themselves to the information they are after rather than wait for you to get back to them – increasing the chances of a costly delay or lost sale.
3. Repel tyre kickers
Who hasn’t wasted time dealing with a person or business who is never really in the market for your product/service?
A comprehensive website will provide this tyre kicker with all the information they need to understand that you are not the supplier for them – rather than waste your precious time dealing with them.
4. Improve cashflow
Who doesn’t want to improve their cashflow during these cash-strained times?
A properly planned and implemented website will allow you to take either full or part-payments upfront, providing you with immediate cash in the bank rather than that which appears in 30, 60 or 90 days.
Or receive cash which may never otherwise appear at all. As pointed out here recently, your website can close the sale immediately instead of let your prospect off the hook and go elsewhere.
You’d better believe it. No matter how good you and your product is, if you don’t allow the prospect to activate the sale when and where they want to, they will simply go elsewhere at the click of a mouse.
5. 24/7 customer service
As much as customers like the convenience and clarity of a human at the other end of the phone, this capability – delivered in any serious way, is an expensive exercise.
But most queries can be answered with well written and navigated support information and increasingly video and even more affordable webinars (or webinar archives).
How much would you save if you could migrate customers to these capabilities?
6. Save the planet
How much of your printed promotion and documentation could be delivered online instead of in print?
A well planned website can easily act as storage and access to all kinds of information.
My firm for example provides its entire procedures manual within an extranet (password protected website) which saves not only reams of paper but the time and effort of keeping it up-to-date.
7. Stay top of mind with your customer
How often have you lost a piece of business because your planned contact was just a little too late?
A comprehensive website solution will provide the tools to keep in touch with customers in a non-invasive way.
For example, a news item publicising a new product or improvement can be repurposed for all of your website, an email newsletter item and a ‘tweet’ (Twitter message) – allowing customers and ‘followers’ to receive the information in a disposable and non-invasive way – yet reminding them that you value their business.
8. Passive database growth
A website which doesn’t encourage and enable eNewsletter signups is like giving away your product for free. Might please a lot of customers but fundamentally misses the point.
Your database is the River of Gold that made fortunes for newspaper and directory empires.
Why? Because they essentially cost nothing to promote to, unlike the various expensive means of promotion and advertising.
It should be harnessed at all costs!
So when you are next trying to justify your first website or an upgrade from your staid old one, don’t forget that such an investment will uncover a range of not overly obvious benefits that could well make or save you a small fortune.
Have you uncovered any gems I’ve missed? Tell us about them by commenting below.
Craig Reardon is a leading eBusiness educator and founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team which provide the gamut of ‘pre-built’ website solutions, technologies and services to SMEs in
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