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A lot of brick & mortar companies still don’t have
websites and they seem fine with that decision. But is it a good
one? I don’t think so. In fact, I think any company without
a website in their marketing plan is shooting itself in the foot.
Here are all the things a website can do for a company:
Generate more leads
These days, the most common complaint I hear from growing companies
is “we need more leads”. A website can help. Any site
that has “can’t-find-it-anywhere-else” information
attracts prospects, and if the site attracts enough of them, you’ll
gain a following. From followings, leads are generated.
Qualify those leads
When surfers visit your site, you should always encourage them
to take the next step. Whether this is purchasing one of your
products, signing up for an online newsletter or filling out a
survey, your visitors want to know what to do next. Provide them
with several different ways to respond and your website will separate
browsers from buyers.
Attract new visitors
Web surfers are not traditional bricks and mortar types. Most
are comfortable stopping by, introducing themselves and even purchasing
your products without ever meeting you face to face.
Stay open round-the-clock
We all know how disappointing it is to drive to a store only to
find it closed. With a website in today’s market, any company
can be open for its customers 24/7. Even though your employees
are sleeping when an inquiry comes in at 2 a.m., your customers
appreciate that you were open when it was most convenient for
them.
Increase media access to your company
A good website offers a press room so media editors and reporters
can help themselves to the information they need. You’ll
find that there’s a direct correlation between how accessible
your website is to the media and the number of media contacts
your company gets.
Self-serve service
The Post Office now offers an online service called Delivery Confirmation.
After paying an additional 40 cents at the postal counter, you
can track online where your package is in the mail system. What
was once an overhead service for the Post Office is now a self-serve
function for its customers. What if your company could transfer
service functions to its website like obtaining owners manuals,
tracking shipments or answering frequently asked questions?
Load sales tools onto your site
One of my clients loads their latest PowerPoint presentations
onto their website. That way, a sales rep in Boston can give a
presentation to a prospect in Wyoming without either of them leaving
their offices. Think of the travel savings if you adopted this
approach.
About the author
Jay B. Lipe, CEO of Emerge
Marketing, works with growing companies to improve their marketing.
Because of his work developing marketing plans for 100’s
of growing companies, his nickname is the “Plan Man”.
He’s also the author of the book The
Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses which is available
at major bookstores and online at amazon.com.
He can be reached at lipe@emergemarketing.com
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