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"E is for
Everything?? . . ."
by: Philippa Gamse
This article
was originally published in three
installments in the "Foundry Trade Journal",
2001.
Just this
week, a member of my audience asked me the
following:
"Why would a
local company, with a large investment in
trained, professional sales people need a
Web site?"
Great
question! And you might be thinking the
same. . .
Maybe you
already know many or all of your potential
customers, maybe you have very defined
processes and production cycles that don't
change very quickly, maybe you're suspicious
of the Internet "hype" - especially now that
so many e-companies are falling by the
wayside.
But we also
know that the Internet isn't going away. 407
million people are now estimated to have
access - that includes 167 million in N.
America, and 113 million in Europe. Younger
people increasingly spend more time online
than watching TV. And the April edition of
this magazine has an e-commerce focus . . .
The true
challenge now – which personally I also see
as a great opportunity, is to understand all
the ways in which using the ‘Net can help
your business, and from this to strategise
the best investment of time and money.
So if it's
here to stay, how can the Internet benefit
your business - and what's currently going
wrong?
There are some
key elements that prevent many Web site
owners from maximizing the potential of
their Internet-based activities:
1. Tunnel
vision on sales and new business: it takes
at least five times the time and expense to
acquire a new customer as it does to keep a
current one. Your Web site can be a great
tool for providing ongoing customer service
and support - and achieving significant cost
savings to boot!
Most people
access the Internet for information on
products and services that they either use
now, or are considering buying. So, your Web
site can be a great place to provide ongoing
customer support for your products. If
you’re worried about giving away trade
secrets to your competition, place these in
a password-protected area.
The best way
to build your content is to compile a list
of questions that your customers most often
ask. These may be sales related, but can
also cover operations, quality assurance
issues, etc. If you don’t already know the
questions, have your receptionists and sales
people keep a note pad for a week. Then, put
the questions, together with the answers, on
your site.
This provides
a 24 hour a day, seven day a week
availability of service for your customers,
whether your office is open or not. And, it
can save significant costs in terms of
telephone support time.
2. Not "asking
for the business": I know this sounds
obvious, but how many sites have you seen
where it's quite unclear what the site wants
from you? Every page of your site should
have a strategy, and be clear about inviting
visitor interactions to achieve your goals.
Many times
when a new client comes to me for e-business
strategy consulting, I ask them a few
seemingly simple questions: “Who are your
markets? What do they want from you?” and
“What do you want from them?”
Sounds easy
enough. But often, there are visitors to
your Web site that may be different from
your traditional customers – and sometimes,
you either currently offer or could create
new products or services that they’d buy.
Thinking
through all the possible audiences for your
site, and all the ways in which you might
interact with them is really crucial in
creating your Web strategy.
Then, so is
knowing who you expect to be looking at each
page of your site, and what you want them to
do. This might include requesting a catalog,
asking for technical support, signing up for
a newsletter, etc. Include clear text links
and invitations to the visitor – and make it
really easy for them to contact you.
Too many pages
online provide great content, and then just
tail off into nothing. Don’t let yours be
among them!
3. Under-utilising
e-mail: e-mail is a powerful tool when used
appropriately (and an awful one when not!)
It can be used for marketing, customer
service, public relations, in-company memos,
business research . . . and much more. Look
at your real-world communications - could
e-mail save you time and expense?
E-mail
marketing can be done without the costs of
design printing, and postage associated with
traditional direct mail. It’s almost free of
charge!
It can be used
to send notices of new products, or upgrades
to existing ones. It can keep your customers
informed of news and events in your company,
and around the industry. If it’s offering
brief, valuable content, most of your
contacts won’t object to receiving it –
although of course if they do, you must take
them off your mailings. But, with a few
subtly embedded links to key pages in your
Web site, it can be a great traffic
generator.
Your own
database of your customers, prospects and
other contacts is the best place to start –
and take every opportunity to nurture that.
Ask visitors to your Web site to sign up for
your newsletter, product alerts, or other
materials. If you buy any lists, be very
careful that they’re bona fide and you won’t
be accused of spamming recipients.
And whatever
you do, answer your e-mail! Lack of e-mail
response is always one of the biggest
customer service complaints around
e-business.
So,
consistently mine your customer list. Send
them targeted, relevant e-mails, and grow
your business relationships electronically!
Let’s say it
again – the Internet isn’t going away.
Today’s challenge lies in understanding how
to use it to maximise your market reach,
optimise the efficiency of your operations,
and achieve the best overall return on your
online business investment.
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