| Websites that pay their way |
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The first corporate websites were a hot, me-too fashion item. They didn't do much except burn money and somehow that made them hotter. Today websites are paying their way and more, as they become increasingly critical to almost every business model. Here are the main ways your website should be earning for you.
Attract good employeesThe phenomenon of internet pre-shopping also applies to people considering a new job. They want to know: Is this a good place to work? Does management value staff and recognise their work? Is this a company that's going somewhere? Will a move be good for my career? To find out, they go to the internet. Maybe before they even apply. The anonymity of the internet is especially important for high-skill people who may not want anyone in their industry to know they are looking, until they are ready. A strong employment section on your website will help you attract the best people in a time of skills shortage – and perhaps give you the jump on your competition. Attract good suppliersSuppliers are businesses just like you. Just like you, they know they do good business with some buyers and but not so good with others. They give their best to the good buyers, especially in times of crisis. You can use your website to position yourself as a quality buyer. Include a password protected suppliers section that gives them emergency mobile and home phone numbers. Include information they need, such as your ABN, bank details, opening hours for deliveries and so on. You might even include standard forms they can use to acknowledge orders, notify despatch and so on. The best supplier websites also have a downloadable procedures manual that sets out precisely what you expect from them – and what they can expect from you, including a disputes resolution procedure. Easier promotionHaving a detailed website can make promotions easier and more efficient. Instead of trying to squeeze your whole story into a small space, you can reference the website. Your website gives you the space to really deliver your message to a receptive audience or qualified shoppers. The promotional power of your website is increased if you offer freebies (such as information downloads or special benefit vouchers) that buyers really want. And of you can get your site ranking on search engines, it becomes a promotion in ots own right. CredibilityAdvertising is often like boasting, it's everyone claiming to be the best. Your website however gives you the space to prove your credentials and establish credibility. You can do this through professional articles, white papers, reports on seminars and other profiling that demonstrates expertise. Credibility equals belief and people buy when they believe. Customer engagement (social media)Web 2, the social web, is all about engaging with customers on their own terms. It's fast, sometimes risky if you don't play it straight and certainly not fully understood, but it is the way of the future. We recommend starting now, in a small way, to test how you can best make this important social trend work for you. Fast complaints resolutionThe longer a customer broods over a service shortfall, the more it festers with them, the bigger the problem seems and the harder it is to resolve. If you appear to be not responding to them, the whole process is accelerated. So the faster you get to a complaint, the better the outcome. Websites can be used to speed the complaints process. If you use an on-line complaints procedure you have to design it carefully to emphasis it is a fast-response mechanism and not a "round file, do nothing" fob off. What has worked dramatically in some contexts is linking the website procedure to a social media contact such as Twitter. Twitter is immediate, Twitter is fast, and if you make an initial complaint response within minutes via a direct tweet, people are willing to believe you are serious about a fast resolution. Better make sure you follow through though; Twitter is just as fast at spreading bad vibes. Follow-on sales (order parts, accessories)Many businesses sell a major product and then subsequently sell spares, consumables and accessories. With lower costs of sale, these add-ons can be major profit contributors. Websites are an ideal tool for promoting add-on sales. If you already know your customer, you can send them an e-newsletter or email encouraging them to the site with special offers. Once they are there, you can show off your whole range. Add-on buyers are the most willing to spend time browsing the products section of a site and buying what they like. And the process gets them more emotionally involved with their original purchase – your major product. So load up on product information and invite your exiting customers on down! Foreign tradeAround the world increasing numbers of companies are looking to buy and sell overseas. Their preferred method of finding potential trade partners is of course the internet. No problems with time zones, even language barriers are eased when there are pictures and they can re-read to get the meaning clear. What better way to wave a flag to the world? And invite new trade partners. Information/brochuresInformation brochures sell products. They are the most basic sales tool, that helps prospects turn themselves into buyers. Unfortunately, they often don't contain enough information, or exactly the right information – and they go out of date very quickly. But if your website is your brochure, you can include as much information as any buyer would want and update it daily, hourly, more often if needs be. Information sells and websites deliver more information and better information for your dollar. Internal management (intranet)Every business has internal procedures and forms. Often they have shared information (customer databases, facility use calendars, leave calendars). They may even have ongoing discussion about current issues. And social news to share around. A staff only section of your website (an intranet) is the most efficient way to meet these internal needs and keep your organisation moving forward. New customer acquisitionThere is a cycle to purchase behaviour in most markets. It starts when a person first has an interest in the product. Even though they may be weeks or even years away form purchase (say for a house or overseas holiday) they start gathering information. Then they move closer to purchase, gather more information, make a decision. Your website is the ideal tool for reeling this prospects in without spending valuable face to face time on them too far out from the purchase phase, by giving them the information they are looking for. Information brings in new customers. And a website because of its anonymity is the ideal information system for the wedded customers of your competitors, who are perhaps reconsidering their relationship, or at least thinking of an affair... New servicesYour website can play a role in launching new services, quickly spreading detailed information and educating your market about your new offering. If you add a web-based competition you can speed the learning process through extra traffic. Pre-shoppingOne of the most important emerging aspect of Web 2 is preshopping. For many products customers still like to be served by a human being, in a shop with a touch and feel display. But they are time poor. They can't go to every shop, traipsing all over town. So they pre-shop, on the web. They check out products and retailers and make up a short list of shops and products they will look at. If it's not on the web, it doesn't get considered. So it is that even hard core "bricks and mortar" products like houses are now finding 80% + of their sales are preceded by an internet search that narrowed down the list of builders and models to be visited. Pre-shopping is not just a retail phenomena either, businesses are increasingly checking out potential suppliers and partners on line before they make contact or make a decision. ReferralsAustralians are not very keen on giving US style direct referrals, but they will help out good supplier in culturally appropriate ways, some of which are ideally mediated via a website. For example, we are comfortable referring friends who are in the market to information they may find useful. Sometimes giving them printed information is OK too, but referring someone to an authoritative, information-rich and practically helpful website is easier. Just make sure your website has the kind of information the average Australian would be comfortable referring a mate to. See the section on The Great Aussie Referal for more information. Another kind of referable is the testimonial. If your satisfied clients are happy to be quoted, with their name and business, this is as good as a referal to the people who know them. Most people who are genuinely happy with your service will agree to a testimonial and may even agree (or prefer) that you write it. Remember, don't go overboard, keep it very factual and direct and short. Reference to specific incidents are good. Service inquiries/bookingsIf you service products, whether on-site or at your workshop, you can improve service to your customers and streamline your own procedures via an on-line booking system, that lets people deal with you when it suits them. You'll get even better results if you run a live calendar system that lets people choose booking slots. And you'll have to fend fewer queries and complaints if you let people track their job on line – and if you automate sending them email or sms status reports. On line service booking and tracking is a win-win for suppliers and customers. Supply line managementOne of the great business successes of the internet, post dot.com, has been improved supply line management. Today almost all businesses of any size demand their suppliers plus into their online supply management system for everything from orders to delivery schedules and product labels. For manufacturers or retailers it means greater reliability and predictability of supply, so they can put the just-in-time theory into practice. Quality control tools are also dramatically improved. And supplier who take the trouble to integrate their procedures with buyer supplier management systems are a big jump of non-compliant competitors. Stay in contact between buy cyclesFor most products, customers have buy cycles. For milk and newspapers the cycle is daily, for cars it's two to four years and for houses its five to seven. If the cycle is longer than two or three months, customers can easily forget how pleased they were with your service (or how displeased they were with a competitor's service). As they approach their next buy phase, they may be distracted by some new promotion or offer – and you lose them. Staying in touch across the buy-cycle is critical to repeat business and there are some great web-enabled, automated ways of doing it. News, service reminders, accessories offers, new product announcements are all ways of retaining top of mind awareness and perhaps pulling the buy cycle forward. The most effective strategies are custom designed for your product, situation and customers. Terms and conditionsEveryone has terms and conditions of sale. Most companies have rules about getting a copy of the terms signed by the client, but very few consistently achieve this. Your best backup strategy is to mount your full terms and conditions on your website and add a statement to all your invoices and paperwork that placing an order/accepting delivery implies acceptance of the terms, with a web reference. Then, if you ever do have to take some action, you may be pleased to find you do have a legal basis for charging interest and recovery costs, for seizing goods and perhaps for other actions. Putting your terms of trade on your website could be the most cost effective little thing you ever do. Warranty registration/update information/special offersWhy wouldn't you let people register on line, for warranty, updates and special offers? On-line registration is easier and cost free, so people are more likely to comply. They'll feel better about you and you'll gain valuable marketing information. There's another reason too: when people first receive or unpack their product is when they are most likely to make a referral to another potential customer. Waiting the mail is no way to capitalise on this short window of opportunity; internet registration can be your tip off for immediate, automated action. See The great Aussie referral. |