Ask Girl Geek: What Can a Website Do for My Small Business?

Hi Annette,

How do I know a website will benefit my small business?

Carol

Dear Carol,

The most common use small business owners have for the internet is to communicate with their current or prospective customers via email or to search for products and services they need for their businesses. I believe small businesses have YET to tap the amazing benefits of having an internet presences.

Some of the other ways small business might benefit from having a website are ....

1. to sell products or services online 24/7/365 via an e-commerce site
2. to give basic information about their business, i.e., location, products, hours, information about what they do and why someone should chose them over their competitors.
3. to prospect for clients...in other words to give people searching for their type of business enough information to prompt them to decide to do business with them...to call or come into the store.
4. to extend their reach to a wider or larger market ...regionally or nationally or worldwide
5. to set themselves and their businesses apart by being available online
6. to save money on direct mailing and advertising by doing it all on the web. When your business is on the web you're not only saving the cost of the ad, but postage, time to do printing and stuffing envelops, etc. Plus, your clients can interact with you via email or chat.
7. to communicate or interact with current or prospective customers via blogs, email newsletters, online questionnaires, chat
8. clients can post requests for bids via an online form
9. vendors can find your business and they can sell to you
10. post answers to frequently asked questions and serve a customer service function.
11. troubleshooting...to post diagrams or instructions for clients to download
12. process credit card payment
13. schedule appointments or reservations (such as for a doctor's office or for a hotel)
14. post testimonials
15. post photos of your products or showcase jobs
16. establish your expertise
17. to search for qualified employees to conduct customer satisfaction surveys
18. to do market research to see if there's enough interest in a new product or service to provide it
19. to open new markets

Thanks for asking!
Annette

Ask Girl Geek: Internet Marketing Consultation

Hi Annette,
I wonder if you could let me know what services your web site promotion consultant provides, and what the cost would be?
Thanks.
JS

Hi JS,

Basically this service is about marketing to your targeted niche via the many options available via internet and through your website. There are a variety of ways to do that. Such a strategy would take into consideration your strengths, preferences, budget and timeframe. For example, many coaches/therapists are introverts, therefore they shy away from public speaking and networking, but they excel at writing and one on one interactions. Other coaches/therapists I've worked with have no time to write, so they may need help selecting other methods of establishing their expertise with their clientele. Perhaps posting an interview with you via audiopodium or having you schedule some online interactive chats would do the trick. There are many many ways to use the internet to promote any business.

We would start with a basic needs assessment, which may or may not include a thorough review of your website and your overall marketing strategy. I'd get to know your business goals, help you define and find your target market, then design a marketing strategy especially for your business and budget.

If your website is not drawing the business you want, we might need to do an analysis of the site, including reviewing your keyword strategy, marketing message, site statistics, current search engine rankings, and any other website promotion strategies you are using, such as Pay Per Click advertising. In other words we'd look to see how your current website is performing and determine ways to make it perform better. We'd also look at other marketing efforts and see how they work together synergistically.

Second, we'd also look at other promotion strategies specific to your business and designed for your niche. These might include a mix of traditional promotion strategies and innovative use of the internet.

My fee is $150/hour for this service. If there is enough interest in this, I would be willing to offer a group.

Thanks for asking!
Annette