12 Good Reasons to Build a Web site
(& a Couple of Bad Reasons Too)
by Bob Langdon
When you start thinking of your Web site as an electronic Yellow
Pages ad, you're doomed to failure. You might as well flush your
money right down the toilet, because your customers aren't going
to log onto the Internet to find out who their local widget dealer
is, they're going to look in the Yellow Pages.
So why bother with a Web site? There are many good reasons—here
are twelve to get you started:
To Enhance Your Image
Having a presence on the World Wide Web sends a message to your
customers and prospects. It says, "Hey, we're with it, we're
up to date, we're technologically sophisticated." This is especially
important if you sell high-tech products.
To Disseminate Business Information
What are your hours? What lines do you stock? What lines can you
order? Do you offer financing? What about rentals? Do you accept
American Express? Where is your store anyhow? When is your next
sale? Why should anyone do business with you? What are your interest
rates? Do you have any special deals/rebates going on? Do you ever
get any used stuff in? Do you take trades?
To extend your business hours
Even when your store is closed, your web site is working for you.
It's like being open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And you
don't have to pay any employees or worry about how they're answering
your phones when you're not there.
To Save Money
If you've ever published a customer newsletter, you know how effective
it can be. You also know how expensive it can be. It seems like
the price of printing has doubled in the last five years. You know
the cost of postage has gone up, and it's a pretty safe bet that
it isn't going to go down any time soon. Now you can post your customer
newsletter on the Internet and notify your customers by postcard
when each new issue comes out. Better yet, have them sign up for
your electronic mailing list online and e-mail them when the next
issue comes out. Your total cost to publish and distribute your
new electronic customer newsletter—$00.00
To Reach a Niche Market
If you sell niche products—those items that might have a strong
market in a large metro area, but make eking out a living in East
Cowpoke, USA a real challenge—then you really need a Web site.
With the World Wide Web, the world is your market.
To Reach the Affluent Buyer
Think about the type of people most likely to visit your Web site—college
educated and with enough disposable income to buy a personal computer.
In other words, just the kind of people you're looking for.
To Provide Superior Customer Service
Think of all the unique ways you can make your customers' lives
easier. How about taking online loan applications, or helping customers
find rare or hard-to-find items? All they have to do is type in
their names, addresses, and phone numbers, and you can call or e-mail
them back with the answers.
Just the FAQs, Ma'am
If you've been in business for awhile, you probably hear the same
old questions over and over again. Answer these questions before
they're even asked by posting the answers on your Web site. You'll
save your customers and your sales staff valuable time.
To Look Bigger Than You Really Are
One of the nice things about the World Wide Web is that there is
no black or white, male or female, young or old, big or small. On
the WWW, you're judged by your deeds. You can be bigger than your
biggest competitor. All you have to do is act the part. After all,
professional is as professional does.
To Gather Low-Cost Market Research
Did you ever wish you knew what your customers were thinking? Online
surveys can be a great source of low-cost market research information.
Find out once and for all, what your customers like/dislike about
doing business with you. Which of your competitors do they buy from?
Why? What do you do that really bugs them? What don't you do that
they wish you would? What don't you sell that they wish you did?
In short—what the heck do they want from you? You can find
out the answers to these questions and more with your Web site And
it's cheaper than a Doring Study.
To Keep Your Name Out There
Have you ever made a really big, unexpected sale as the result of
a business card you handed out somewhere? Imagine what might happen
if you handed out 87,000,000 business cards! At last count, that's
how many computers had access to the Internet. Of course, you couldn't
afford to have 87,000,000 business cards printed. You can, on the
other hand, afford a Web site.
To Close Direct Sales
Last, but not least, you can make direct sales over the Internet.
We put this last, because closing sales should not be your number-one
priority. Internet sales should be considered incidental, the gravy
on your meatloaf, so to speak. You're never going to get rich selling
product directly to the consumer over their Internet. Someday maybe,
but not today. Then again, you won't sell a lot of big-ticket items
over the telephone either, but would you think of conducting business
without one?
And a Few WRONG Reasons to Build a Web site:
Because Everyone Else is Doing It
Because You Want to Get Rich Overnight
Because It's the "Right" Thing to Do
Because Your Employees Want You To
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Web Site Design and Search Engine Marketing 
