if
you don't think the Internet is important to your business, try this
simple test. Using one or more of the popular search engines, do a
search for the name of your business and do a search for the names of your
biggest competitors. Surprising
isn’t it. I know you found
at least one or two mentions of your business despite you having made no
attempt to create any presence for your business on the Internet.
And you likely found dozens of links to your competitors - who are
aggressively using the Internet in a dozen different ways to build their
businesses and take your customers with them.
Unless you are planning for diminished sales, erosion in your customer
base, a short career, and a long retirement, here are four basic steps
that you must take to start the process of integrating the Internet into
your business. Once these
pieces are in place and measurable results are being tracked, you can then
decide what additional steps you want to take in using the web to further
strengthen your customer relationships and further build your sales.
A website with purpose:
Having a web presence that you can manage is the fundamental first
step in integrating the Internet into your business.
Yes, your business needs a website.
Managing your website means having the ability to adjust content
– words and images – and having the ability to stimulate at least some
amount of customer interaction. At
the absolute minimum, your website must include one or more webpages that
can be accessed directly by your customers and by strangers looking for
the goods and services you sell. Having
a directory-type listing within an online shopping mall is simply not good
enough. Your website needs to
be located with its own unique domain name:
www.yourbusinessnamehere.com.
As your first step onto the Internet, your website needs to focus on the
most fundamental and important information about your business: Who
you are, what you sell, where you are located, your business hours, and
other information that will both inform and motivate an online browser to
become your paying customer – online or in store.
Within a two or three page micro website, there is ample room to
establish the personality of your business – a few candid photos of your
busy retail floor, a brief history of your business, awards and other
recognition that your business has earned.
Be sure that the phone number and email address to contact your
business is prominently displayed on every page.
This becomes the call to action for even the slimmest website.
To get started:
Spend an hour or two surfing the Internet looking at the websites
of your competitors, neighbourhood businesses, and other businesses that
you admire. Note what these
businesses are doing to inform and motivate their visitors.
Then spend an hour surfing for information on building an
entry-level website. There is
a plethora of options – from local web developers and subscription
services to providers who work with you entirely online.
With this information in hand, you can begin planning for your
introductory website.
Meaningful email: No doubt you already are
using email to help run your business.
Emailing with suppliers, service providers, and at least a few
favoured customers. Once you
have arranged for the web domain address for your website, use the same
domain address to create email addresses for your store, your employees,
and yourself. One or more of
these addresses needs to be published on your website for customers
wanting to contact you. To
organize customer email traffic, create unique addresses by topic, for
example, customer service, product information, customer feedback, as well
as topics unique to your business.
If you plan to send emails to your customers telling them about upcoming
promotions, new products, and other important information, you need to
start collecting customer email addresses.
You can do this through your website and in your store.
Remember - only take email addresses from customers asking
to be contacted. Never assume
that because a customer has emailed your business that she wants to get on
your mailing list. Ask first.
To get started:
Check the business email you are currently getting.
What are the most common topics customers are writing about?
Consider converting one or more of the most common topics into
email addresses for your business. Investigate
how other retailers collect customer email addresses.
Research best practices on customer emailing and then carefully
plan out the customer email program that best serves your customers and
your business.
Local search: Remember back to our earlier
online search for mentions of your business and mentions of your
competitors. Online searching
for local businesses, be it the local branch of a national chain, local
restaurants, the neighbourhood drycleaner, or your shop, has become one of
the primary consumer uses of search engines – almost completely
displacing the printed Yellow Pages and other offline directories.
You do not want to leave online mentions of your business to
chance. You need to manage
your business’s online profile and reputation, providing complete and
accurate information to search engines and local online directories.
You need to follow customer comments about your business, both to
understand the level of your customer satisfaction and to respond to
issues and concerns that customers are posting about your business on
social media and local consumer websites.
To get started:
Search online for local business directories, online Yellow Pages,
search engine local listings, and other local online listings.
Each of these resources will gladly help you set up and effectively
manage your business listing on their site, and may offer advice on how to
best participate in consumer discussions about your business at their
site.
Bring the web through your
front door: Your
website and your online marketing and customer service activities form
what is in fact another storefront for your business.
Understand this and take full advantage of it.
Promote your web presence in all promotional materials, in-store
signage, store-front displays, everywhere that a customer connects with
your business. Encourage
customers to visit your shop online. Ask
your customers how you can better serve them online and offline –
combining the inherent strengths of both retail environments to build your
Internet-integrated business.
To
stay up-to-date on new ideas and proven best practices in
Internet-integrated retailing, visit bricksNclicksPROFITS.com regularly
for the latest VIEWPOINT and
links to articles from a wide variety of web-strategy experts.
Happy
retailing,
Peter
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contact Peter, click here
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