6 Things to Do with Your Small Business Web site

By Hafele Internet Marketing Coordinator, Rob Ainbinder

Last time we covered some reasons to have a web site for your small business. In this next installment in our Internet Marketing Series we will look at six ideas for your closet business Web site.

What I really like about the Web is the unlimited variation and innovation. This list of 10 ideas is merely a starting point.

1. Make your Web site the center of your online marketing universe –   What do I mean by this? Take steps to make it extremely easy for a prospect (or customer) to find you online. How do you do this? Simply link to your Web site from: your email signature,  Google places page, Facebook page, LinkedIn page, Flickr account, etc. Then, link out from your Web site to all those pages/places online.
2. Offer a way for Web site visitors to stay up to date/receive special offers. This might mean producing an occasional email newsletter (using a service like MailChimp free for small lists) or, offering readers of your blog  to subscribe to your RSS feed.
3. Test different offers on your Web site. Depending on your business this could be a free initial visit with a percent off. Or, a free accessory with a minimum purchase.
4. Test different calls to action: Do you have a Contact Us form or Appointment Request form on your Web site? If you do, consider using a free tool like Google Web site Optimizer to test how well a small change to your form might work.
5. Offer tools for clients. This could be something from a PDF worksheet download to a web form or more complex product/service configurators.
6. Collect and display testimonials from past customers on your Web pages. They add credibility to the hard work you’ve already done and will instill confidence in prospective customers.

What are some of your ideas of things to do with your small business web site?

This post was originally published as “6 Things to Do with Your Closet Business Web site” in Hafele America Co ClosetSpotlight newsletter.

Internet Marketing 101: Do I Need a Web Site for my Small Business?

By Häfele Internet Marketing Coordinator, Rob Ainbinder

Many small business struggle with the question of whether to have a Web site or not. You see the advertisements for “DIY” Web sites from accounting software companies and/or late night ads which promise an easy path to Internet riches. But, the fundamental question remains: Do you need a Web site?

To answer this question lets refer to a bit of research:

• According to a recent survey by PEW Internet, the percentage of adult Americans who access the Internet using broadband (high speed internet service like cable or DSL) grew from 63% in April 2009, to 66% in May 2010. In increasing numbers your potential customers are accessing the internet at high speed.
• When it comes to buying local, consumers often “ROBO” (Research Online, Buy Offline). Forrester, states that online research will influence US$1 trillion in offline sales by 2012.

If after reviewing the above research you think you would like to have someone create a Web site here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Do you have before and after project photos, company logo, a picture of you and a biography about you/your company already written and available in electronic format?
• Is your company name available as a domain name? One place to check is Whois.net www.whois.net
• Are you able/willing to update the written & graphical content of your new Web site? Most modern Web sites have the capability built-in for you to add/edit content. Your prospective and returning customers don’t want to return to the same Web site months or years later. A Web site that hasn’t been maintained is a sure sign “no one is home” and is a turn off to your prospects and customers. If you aren’t up to the maintenance task ensure that your Web site agreement spells out the number and frequency of updates. In addition, you should know exactly what is/is not included in an update by your web site vendor.
• Do you have a budget for this project? Professionally done web sites can cost up to several thousand dollars depending on complexity. There are also annual and monthly costs for web site hosting and domain name registration to consider as well.
• Optionally, if you are going to sell products online: Do you have good quality product photos and item descriptions available? Do you have a merchant account that will allow you to process online, card not present payments? If not, you will need to set up an online merchant account or use a service like PayPal and/or Google Checkout.

For more information on the “ROBO” mentality mentioned in this article please refer to: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/69295.html

This article originally appeared in Hafele America Co. ClosetSpotlight Newsletter entitled: ” Internet Marketing 101: Do I Need a Web Site for my Closet Business? “