To create a presence on the internet, businesses need to have
a good understanding of what they wish to achieve before they
start developing their site.
While this may sound very simple, often businesses focus
on their core capabilities or just simply running their business.
When it comes to developing a website, they do not put in
as much time or thought as they should.
Knowing what you want to achieve with your website will
help your web developer to meet your needs as efficiently
and effectively as possible.
Knowing why you want a website and being able to communicate
this to the web developer is very important. Ultimately this
will save you money and help to build your business. There
are three key reasons for having an internet site. Often
the purpose of the business website will cover more than
one of three categories:
- Letting people know you exist, and how to contact you
- Automating a service which your business provides
- Selling your product or service, and gaining new business
Let's explore each of these in turn.
1. Letting people know you exist, and how to contact
you
This is an extension of your yellow pages advertisement.
If someone wants to find your business they can type in your
companyname.com / .com.au / etc into their browser's address
bar to find your address, phone number, what you offer, and
maybe complete an online form to ask you a question.
2. Automating a service which your business provides
There are many tasks carried out by your business on a day
to day basis. Some of these tasks may be carried out through
your website, or could be in part replaced by allowing your
customers to self-serve from your website. For example, if
you receive many calls from your customers inquiring as to
the estimated delivery date or progress of their order, you
may decide to allow the customer to quickly see the status
of their order via a secure order tracking feature on your
website. This will provide a better service to your customers,
streamlining your processes and often theirs, and allow you
to concentrate your resources on fulfilling the orders.
3. Selling your product or service, and gaining
new business
On an ecommerce site, where a customer can order and pay
for your product or service and in so doing, kick start the
process inside your business to fulfill his or her request.
The process to fulfill the customers request may take many
forms, for example an email with purchase details sent to
the right person or department in your business or, in more
sophisticated solutions, the creation of an order in your
manufacturing control system. This type of website will also
provide information regarding your product or service to
assist in the sales process and help customers to make an
informed decision about whether it is your product or service
that they require. Effectively promoting your product or
service via your website and an online marketing strategy
can assist you to increase your sales and reach additional
target markets.
Copyright Contact Point IT Services
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Heather Maloney has a Masters in Technology (Internet) and
has been operating a business in the provision of web development
and technology solutions since 1996. Heather has also project
managed a broad range of IT projects for a wide range of
businesses from small through to multinational companies.
If you would like to explore ways to utilise the internet for
your business, please feel free to contact me via:
http://www.contactpoint.com.au
