Do I need a web site?

As of July 2003, Canada has a population of about 32,507,874 and more than 15.5 million of those individuals use the Internet on a semi-regular to regular basis. That's nearly 50% of all Canadians! Those are statistics no small business in Canada can afford to ignore.

In New Brunswick alone, 44% of all residents (more than 321,200 people) use the Internet on a regular basis. Is your product, service or organization available online to that mass number of people?

If you have as many customers as you can handle and no desire to increase revenue or grow, then you probably shouldn't worry about moving to the web. On the other hand, if you want:

Increased Exposure

Do people know about your business? Do they understand your product or service offerings? If the answer is no, even in some cases, a web site could be the missing link between you and your customers.

Increased Availability

A web site exists online for any interested party to see, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Can you say the same about your place of business or your phone? If the answer is no, think about a potential customer looking for information about your products/services on an evening or a weekend when your offices are closed. If that potential customer could find the information they need from an easy-to-use website, when they need it, you've just turned that potential customer into a customer.

A New Marketing Avenue

Do you have a marketing budget for newspaper, radio, brochures, etc? If so, why not include a web site in that marketing budget? Your web site does not have to be anything more than another avenue of marketing. Different marketing avenues target different markets. Consider this:

Children at the age of 6 are using the Internet. They begin to learn about the world of computers and the World Wide Web at a very young age. While you might not be marketing to children, what about the younger generation (i.e. late teens - early twenties) who grew up in the same environment? Many individuals don't bother with a phone book or a newspaper these days; they go straight to the Internet where a world is at their fingertips. Can you afford for this entire generation to reach your competition's web site instead of yours?

A Level Playing Field

While you might not have the budget to compete with your competitors in terms of newspaper and radio advertising (which for the most part, is untargeted marketing), your web site can be an affordable, high-return marketing technique which will level the playing field.

There are plenty of other reasons for your company/organization to have a web site. I can provide you with a free analysis to determine whether or not your business can benefit from a web presence. Contact me today and start using the Internet to its full potential!

But I already have a web site!

Many companies have already made the move to the web. If you're in this situation, ask yourself a few key questions:

Since the launch of my web site, have I noticed an increase in revenue, exposure, potential customers or benefits in any other area?

Unfortunately, many web designers/developers only strive to meet the immediate project requirements. I pride myself in not only meeting, but going beyond requirements by coaching companies/organizations on what exactly their web site should offer. A web site is only complete when it serves informational, marketing, sales or other purposes for the client. In short, a project is finished only when the end-product will have a positive impact on your business.

Does my web site generate relevant traffic or return visitors?

Many web sites act about as lively as 2 year old newspapers:

• Content becomes stale and is never updated
• There is little or no attempt at visitor to customer conversion
• The site is not visible on the major search engines, resulting in minimal traffic
• There is no incentive for return visits; lack of new products or special offers, no additional information for the return visitors
• No open communication to entice return visitors (i.e. newsletters, monthly update notices, etc)

The most important things to any business web site are traffic and return visitors:

• Without traffic your information/products/services reach a minimum amount of potential customers, resulting in little or no positive impact on your business.
• Companies are constantly fighting an up-hill battle trying to generate new interest in your web site/products/services. Return visitors are the type of people who will refer your web site to their friends; they will improve your business because they already believe in your products/services.

Does my web site project a strong, consistent, visually appealing and usable interface?

Many web sites are poorly organized, they appear dated or unpolished or they are hard to use. The problem is that to see a positive impact in your business through the use of a web site, you need the two factors above (traffic & return visitors), and in order to get traffic and return visitors, you need a good web site. It's like a pyramid; the top level of the pyramid can not be achieved or sustained without the two levels below it:

Ok, so maybe my web site could use some work!

Many people don't want to admit that their web site isn't achieving the results they expect. Often, they spend a great deal of money to get the project launched and then expect their web sites to do all of the marketing/sales work for them. Unfortunately that's not always the way it turns out. Together, there are ways we can improve the performance and impact your web site has on your business:

Web Audit

I can provide you with what's called a Web Audit. This will be a detailed description of the areas in which your web site may be lacking in the areas of:

• Information Architecture
• Usability
• Aesthetics
• Search Engine Optimization
• Content
• Compatibility

Web Design / Development

Once we can determine where your web site needs work, together we can come up with ideas and improvements to make your web site of real value to your business.

Being highly skilled in graphic design, web design, web development and identity/branding, together we can come up with winning strategies to transform your web site into the well-oiled machine it needs to be to generate a positive impact on your business.

Conclusion

I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope it has been an educational tool for you.

If you would like to pose any questions that have not been addressed in this article, I am available to answer any of your questions free of charge, and I encourage you to take advantage of my expertise. If you would like to inquire about my service offerings or ask any questions, please feel free to contact me via phone or e-mail and I will be happy to assist you in any way that I can.