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Step 1
Small businesses have been thriving for years despite competing with large businesses that have more resources. What are the advantages small businesses have over their larger competitors? The answers are no different today than they were ten or twenty years ago. Small businesses are able to offer consumers personal attention, knowledgeable advice, and good service. Whether the product is furniture, clothing, books, lodging, meals, electronics, toiletries or stationery, consumers prefer good service. They want personal attention. They want knowledgeable help and advice. As a small business owner or even as a consumer, you undoubtedly already know this.
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Step 2
Even so, in many cases, small business owners have failed to translate these advantages to their website. You probably already have a website if you are a small business owner. Once you have your shop in cyberspace, think about what can you offer that will bring consumers to your checkout counter rather than moving on to the next shop. Internet shoppers want the same valuable personal service you offer them in your traditional brick and mortar store.
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Step 3
If someone walked into your stationery store and asked you a question about card stock, you wouldn’t, even on your worst day, tell them you might provide them with an answer in a few days or a week or so, yet many small businesses do just that on their websites when they don't check their email and respond quickly. Answering email enquiries in a timely fashion is the simplest and most important thing you can do for your small business online.
The most frequent problem I’ve encountered on small business websites once I’ve located the contact information is the slow response time to my query. At least 65% of those contacted never answered at all. Of those who did respond to my queries, approximately 88% responded only after five or more days. This sort of tardy response implies that the business owner is not serious about Internet business and more importantly, doesn’t care if I buy their product or not. Most consumers will take their business elsewhere if they don’t get a quick response. In this day and age of nearly instant gratification, it is unlikely that a potential buyer will wait a week to find out if the product really does suit her needs when she can find it somewhere else quickly. If you have a website, check your email at least daily, and ideally, several times every day. -
Step 4
Make it easy for your shoppers to find the information they want. Be sure that your email address, telephone number and other contact information are easy to find on your website. This sounds so easy and obvious, but I can’t count the number of times I have visited a small or medium sized business website and been unable to find contact information. Remember, one of the strongest advantages of your small business over large corporate sites is your personal attention and service.
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Step 5
Besides making it easy to contact you or your sales staff, you should also make it easy for the Internet shopper to find out more about you and your staff. You should have an easy to find link that will highlight your experience and knowledge. You don’t have to have a PhD to convince your Internet customers you know your product or service. You simply need to give a short summary of your pertinent training or experience to illustrate why you can offer advice and expertise about the product they want to purchase. The most successful small and medium business websites include an easy to find link that reads something like, “about us”.
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Step 6
If your small website can only promote a few items on your home page, experiment and change the featured products from time to time. Interestingly, successful small business owners are often surprised to discover that what sells well on the Internet is frequently different from what sells well in their traditional shop. While the customer who walks into your shop is most likely from the area in which the shop is located, the customer who steps into your internet shop may be from Japan, Italy, the U.S., Iceland, Germany or Brazil.
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Step 7
It is tremendously important that you keep your website stock up to date. If you have a high product turnover, i.e., if you sell unique, one of a kind items such as artwork or vintage items, you will have to dedicate more time to keeping your internet shop stock up to date. It is immensely important that you understand that the very highest percentage of your Internet shoppers will be what I call first time buyers. That doesn’t mean it is the first time they have purchased something on the Internet, it means it is the first time they are buying something from you. This is why it is so tremendously important to keep your stock up to date. Most of your Internet buyers will not be return customers. Most of your Internet customers will be buying an item from you for the first and perhaps only time. If the ordered item is out of stock, you’ve lost a sale.
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Step 8
If your small business sells a service rather than a retail product, it is still vitally important to keep your website up to date. Keep your prices updated and if your service offers a variety of options, be sure your website details each type of service and its price range. For example, if your Bed & Breakfast Inn offers several two person rooms at varying prices depending on season, day of week or other criteria, simply display your current price range and be ready to check your email frequently. More travelers are booking lodging online today than ever before. If you only check your email once a week, don’t be surprised if the customer who queried you by email four days ago finds lodging elsewhere and you never hear from him again.
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Step 9
If you feel your websites warrants a more professional appearance, and your budget allows, you can hire a professional website developer to build your website. If you don’t have a trusted website developer and are unsure how to choose one, do a little research by looking at other small business websites. Naturally you will want to look for business websites that are similar to yours. Which ones do you like the best? What do you like, dislike about these sites? Make a list. Most websites that are built by professional website developers have a statement of authorship with a link so it easy to contact the developer. Try to find several that you like and then query each with your needs and ask for price quotes, how long the process will take and if you or your staff will require special knowledge or skill to maintain the site. The developer may offer to maintain the site for a monthly charge. This sort of thing can get expensive and isn’t really necessary as long as you ensure that the proposed website can be maintained by your or your staff.
If you find that your budget doesn’t allow for the expense of a professional website developer, don’t give up on making your website professional in appearance and profitable. There is a plethora of help for small businesses on the Internet. If you take a little time to surf the web, you will find that seemingly everyone wants to help small businesses be successful online. There are thousands of websites where helpful souls want to help you make your website and will teach you everything you need to know and ask for nothing in return. -
Step 10
Ultimately, small business owners will find success online in much the same way success is built in the ‘real world’. Though you may never be able to hire a full time IT expert, there is no reason you can’t be successful putting your business online. Remember that small businesses find success because of the advantages they offer that large corporations cannot. When consumers try to contact a human at one of the large businesses online, they are seldom rewarded with personal help. If the consumer is able to find an email address to send a query, it is very likely that he will receive an automated response that does not come anywhere close to addressing his query. This is where small businesses have the easy advantage, that is, if they choose to use the advantages they have.
Comments
JackLTrades said
on 3/10/2009 Wow lots of great info. I will have to print this one.