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8 Reasons To Get Your Local Business Online
By Sharon Fling
If you're a local business owner, you've probably been
wondering what to do about the Internet. Maybe you have
already have a website, but it's taken more money out of
your pocket than it's put in it.
You might be thinking you should get online...but you've
heard it takes too much time and money. It's tempting to
ignore the issue and hope it goes away, but there are some
very good reasons to get moving - and here are 8 of them:
1. GEOGRAPHIC TARGETING.
The ability to target online users by geography has
improved, and it's a lot cheaper now. Local advertisers can
now be sure that only local eyeballs will see their ad. The
targeting capabilities and options are endless. It's also
become more affordable for small businesses. For example:
For less than $10 per day, you can drive traffic to your
website and build leads for your business.
* Target your campaign to local audiences or to our entire
audience.
* Pricing plans range from $304 per month to $2,535 per
month.
* Plan sizes range from 25,000 impressions per month to
200,000 impressions per month.
2. IT'S PRACTICALLY FREE
It's so cheap to have a website now, why wouldn't you? You
can get a domain name for $10, get a build-it-yourself
website (more about this later), and you're in business for
$19.95 per month.
Compare that to the outrageous prices charged for yellow
page ads, which can range in price from $1,000 to over
$100,000 per year.
Combine this with the fact that a growing percentage of the
population is turning to the web for information every day
and you have a powerful marketing tool.
And as I mentioned earlier, there are tools available now
that will allow you to build your own website just by
pointing and clicking. So you no longer have to pay a web
developer hundreds or thousands of dollars to get a great
looking website.
These aren't tacky looking cookie-cutter websites --
they're very professional looking, and actually look better
than a lot of websites built by "professionals." And as
your business grows, your website can too -- add new pages,
a message board, email marketing, ecommerce capability and
more. You can add any or all of these features quickly and
easily...all at the click of a mouse.
3. IT'S A GREAT COMMUNICATIONS TOOL
The Internet is the ultimate communications tool - fast and
cheap. You can use it to communicate with suppliers,
resellers, and of course, your customers. Some uses
include:
* Send discount coupons by email, reducing direct mail
costs
* Get customer feedback through email or feedback form on
website -- it's quick and it's easy, so you're more likely
to get customers to participate
* Send product information or announcements
* Send periodic newsletters with useful information and
special offers
* Put your brochure or catalog online, reducing printing
costs
For some businesses, simply putting their catalog online
has saved them thousands of dollars a year in printing and
mailing costs.
Of course there will always be people who want printed
catalogs, and not every customer will have email. But in
terms of cost, you simply cannot beat the economics.
To follow up with 1,000 customers through direct mail will
cost $340 or more just for the postage...but with email
it's virtually free. And being able to interact directly
with a customer on a regular basis is priceless.
4. TO MAKE CONNECTIONS
There are lots of business people online, including people
from your local community. People from the same communities
have a way of finding each other online... and as always,
it's not what you know, but who.
Just as you might pass out your card at a local chamber
meeting, you can do the same thing online with your
signature file - and a lot more people will see it.
It's also a lot more time-effective than face-to-face
networking. Rather than driving somewhere and sitting
through another boring chicken dinner, you can get online
and meet prospects and colleagues at any time of the day or
night.
And you can develop a reputation very quickly online,
adding to your credibility and opening even more doors for
yourself - all without setting foot outside the house.
5. TO SERVE YOUR LOCAL CUSTOMERS.
A website can be a worthwhile investment even if it's just
an electronic version of the Yellow Pages: street address,
phone number, business hours, forms of payment accepted,
contact information. Except...what happens if you move, or
your area code changes, or your hours, or anything else
that's printed in the Yellow Pages? You know the answer to
that one.
But a website is dynamic -- information can be updated at
any time, plus you're not limited to 2 or 3 lines worth of
information. Plus there are so many ways to interact with
your customer, which is a lot more interesting for them and
potentially very valuable to you. Here are some very
low-tech examples, very easily added to your website:
* FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions or FAQ, is a popular term on the
Internet. And in real life, there are always questions you
hear over and over from your customers. These are the
questions people have about doing business with you, and
you certainly want to make it as easy as possible. Why not
save everybody some time and post often asked questions -
and their answers - on your website?
* Visitor Polls
Invite your customers to give their opinion about something
of interest. For example, a business that caters to parents
who home school their children posed the question: "Which
question are YOU asked the *Most* about home schooling?"
This question is relevant to the target market and
something they most likely have experienced. It invites
them to participate and along the way, give their opinion
about something.
But most important to the business owner, it can be a
source of incredibly valuable information about the
customer - and it's free. It also makes your website more
interesting (as long as the poll changes often enough).
* Discount Coupons
What better incentive for someone to visit your website
than to save money? Customers love getting a bargain, and
the great thing about coupons is the customer usually has
to buy something to get whatever goodies the coupon offers.
Your coupon will especially motivate the prospect that was
already thinking of doing business with you. If you're
using a website building tool, it can easily be added at
the click of a mouse, and unlike a yellow page coupon, you
can change it anytime.
These are a few simple examples, and this list can easily
be expanded: order status, press releases, product
information, a searchable product database. Again, the
possibilities are endless.
6. TO GET PUBLICITY
Every business needs exposure, and one of the best kinds is
media attention. If your business is something new and
different, send out a press release that includes your URL
-- you could get written up in the local paper.
Even an ordinary business can get media coverage if you can
come up with the right angle - perhaps a follow-up to a
previous article? A human interest story? The media is
always looking for interesting stories and if you're
creative enough, maybe yours could be one of them. And what
better place for the public to get more information than
from your website?
Perhaps you could sponsor a local event, or do some
volunteer work. Your business will get the credit, along
with a mention of the website URL.
The more places the public can find information about your
company, the better off you'll be. In our increasingly
wired society, having a website makes it easy for more
people to get information about your company. And they can
get it more quickly and easily online.
7. BECAUSE YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE ONLINE
Did you know that 40-48 million adults went online last
year looking for local content? The average local user is
college educated, makes good money, and likes shopping
online. They are more likely to make purchases than
non-users of local content, either online or offline. This
demographic market is every business owner's dream.
As more local information becomes available online, people
are starting to look at the Internet as something useful
instead of a passing fad. Consumers are getting online in
record numbers, resulting in a critical mass of local users
in top markets, and spreading across communities of all
sizes.
Chances are a number of your local prospects and customers
are part of this desirable demographic - and that number
will only increase.
8. SO IS YOUR COMPETITION
Seventy-eight percent (78%) of all U.S. small businesses
are connected to the Internet, and nearly 50% will continue
to maintain active, purposeful Web sites this year.
Analysts at www.emarketer.com have predicted that 72% of
small businesses will engage in e-commerce by 2002, racking
up an impressive $230 billion in total revenues.
Maybe you think nobody in your industry is using the
Internet. But I guarantee you...whatever your business, one
of your competitors is successfully using the Internet to
promote their business - perhaps not locally yet, but it's
just a matter of time. If your competition is there, you
should be too.
So there you have it - 8 good reasons to get your local
business on the Web. Notice I didn't include the reason "to
sell something". Too many people have made that mistake -
going online with the attitude of "if I build it, they will
come" - slapping up a website and expecting the masses to
beat a path to their door, credit cards in hand.
It doesn't work that way on the Web. A website is not like
a Yellow Page ad, where just by having a listing, people
will see it and show up.
Many small businesses have had problems adapting to the
Web. Fear, confusion, and business pressures have kept many
owners from embracing the Net.
For those that have tried, failure to understand the
culture of the Web has often led to disappointment at the
lack of results. To make matters worse, aggressive
marketing by big brands is steadily eroding small business
market share across many industries.
If small business is to survive, business owners must learn
to harness the power of the Internet...or risk losing their
remaining market share to competitors that "get"
technology. For those who choose to ignore the "elephant in
the living room", hoping the Internet will go away, it's
only going to get worse in the days ahead.
What's the answer?
Make the decision to get started, then start small. Use
do-it-yourself tools to build a little website, then add
on. Let it reflect your personality and creativity.
Reach out to your target market and build relationships.
Network with other local business owners.
Do these things with confidence and excellence...and
online success will be yours.
About The Author: Sharon Fling is the author of "How to Promote Your Local
Business On The Internet". Visit her sites to find out why
"The Future of the Net is Local" -
www.localbizpromo.com or
www.geolocal.com
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