Guest author: Wes Hopper
Effective Web Sites For Local Businesses
Effective Web Sites For Local Businesses By Wes Hopper
One area where most small businesses waste money is with ineffective web sites. Of course, the most ineffective web site of all is one that doesn't exist. If you're in business, you should have one, period. Even if you're in a small town and your business is just local.
There are three primary reasons for this. First, it helps you establish credibility. These days, the lack of a web site is a warning flag to customers who may worry that you'll be here today and gone tomorrow. Second, it provides you with an opportunity to establish a relationship with potential customers and stay in touch with them in a non-confrontational way. Third, it allows you to establish yourself as an expert and trusted advisor by providing information about your service or industry that is helpful and informative.
Here's how most small businesses waste their web site money. They treat it like a big print ad and make all the mistakes that they love to make in print ads - big company name, pretty pictures, a blurb about how wonderful they are, and little or nothing about the benefits to the customer. Sometimes they have their cousin put up an amateurish web site for them that just screams, "Look, we were too cheap to hire someone." Or they simply list on some community or organizational site and don't even get their own domain name. These decisions do not build confidence in your potential customers!
The key steps to an effective web site start with getting your own domain name. You can register the name for $10-$15 per year, so it's not expensive. If the name you want is already taken, there are lots of options for similar names and you can usually find a good one. You can have your web site hosted by a competent internet company for $10 - $20 per month, so that's not expensive, either.
You'll want to have the web site built by a graphically talented professional or gifted amateur who is willing to take direction from you. That means you have to be clear about what the site is about. To do that you need to think like a customer. Anticipate what someone coming to your site might be looking for, or want to know, and make sure the answers are easy to find. Just like your other ads, you want to identify the problems the customer might have and show the solutions or benefits the customer will get. If you let your marketing get egocentric with "We're the greatest!" splashed all over the page, you'll be disappointed in your results. Start your page with a headline, just like a print ad, that identifies a problem or benefit, and follow it up with supporting material. And answer the questions they're likely to have.
Let me give you a good example. Recently my wife and I were thinking about trying a particular local restaurant for the first time. We weren't sure that they served what we wanted, so I thought. "Maybe they have a web site." I found it easily using the restaurant name and a search on Google. Now there are three primary things people might come to a restaurant site to find - hours of operation, location, and menu. All were clearly found on the first page, including a link to print out a copy of the menu! Somebody had thought this web site through and they got it right. I was impressed! The food was excellent, too.
One thing that's often overlooked is that if you want people to come to your establishment, make it clear where you are. Give some landmarks or a small map and clear directions. It's amazing how many companies think that just an address is all people need. Make it easy for your first time customers by assuming they don't know the area at all, and create your directions with that in mind.
I mentioned at the start of this article that your web site should allow you to establish a relationship with customers and position you as an informative expert. To do that the site should allow you to capture their contact information. So make sure that your give them some reason to give you their email. An ethical bribe such as a free report, interesting updates or newsletter, or special discounts as a member of a "club" of some kind are some of the incentives you might use.
If you build your site with these ideas in mind, you'll find that it's actually an investment paying dividends, not a bottomless pit for your money.
Wes Hopper is the founder of Create Success Seminars and an author, trainer and motivational speaker. He is dedicated to assisting sales people and entrepreneurs in finding their purpose and living their dreams. Find more information at http://www.CreateSuccessSeminars.com Download his amazing ebook "The Astonishing Power Of Gratitude" at http://www.DailyGratitude.com
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