A Web site is an inexpensive 24/7 sales tool for your business.
By Bryan Chesen
To understand why your Web site can be the best tool you never knew you had, you must understand the types of Web sites and their purposes.
Web sites can be classified into three types: e-commerce, community-driven and brochure
E-commerce sites are essentially online stores that sell products directly to consumers. The most popular example is Amazon.com.
Community-driven Web sites feature content contributed by the users. They don't sell or advertise any particular product, but exist to create an online community. The community-driven Web site sells ad space to generate revenue for the site. Myspace.com and YouTube.com are two examples of this type of Web site.
Brochure sites are the most basic and most frequently used type of Web site to advertise businesses. They may still sell products online or create a small community of visitors, but the main business exists outside of the Web. The brochure site meets three business needs: providing information, projecting the quality of the business and generating sales.
Information A Web site can be as simple as a yellow pages listing. Warren Buffet made plenty of money without using much more than that for his businesses' Web sites. However, if you're not an ingenious investor who made billions before the Internet even existed, you might want to add more to your site.
The possibilities for your Web site include video, audio, photos and as many words as Webster can define without worrying about printing costs or airtime. The Internet is one of the cheapest forms of occupying space in the universe. Many Web hosts also offer tools that allow you to edit your own Web site and change content at any time through content management systems that even the most basic computer users can easily use. It's like purchasing a car and being taught the basic skills of engine mechanics.
Once your site is up and running, you have offered all the information anybody could want to know about your business, available day and night, year round and from anywhere in the world. Your small business just went international. So look good doing it.
Quality of Your Business You want your Web site to reflect the way you envision your business. If your site is outdated or broken, it looks like your business is poorly run. As far as the user is concerned, the Web site is your business. Like corporate dress or business cards, Web sites are a business industry standard and a way of projecting your company's image. However, business cards and ties don't actually describe what you do or how well you do it, a Web site does.
The design and functionality of your site is much cheaper to develop and plan than your physical office space. Depending on what type of business you run, it's likely that the consumer will visit your Web site before they visit your business location. Web sites can balance the scales of consumer interest in your favor, a fact that is often dismissed. It's important to realize that Web sites are not a tech-geek's trademark or the computer savvy club's secret handshake. The Internet is the largest and most frequently used source of information in the world, so utilize it.
Sales A Web site allows you to make a perfect pitch every time. Organization of your site leads the reader while they still feel in charge. Through careful phrasing, they drive their own interest in your product, and who do people trust more than themselves?
People who visit your Web site are already interested in your product. They want the information without the hassle of dealing with a person and they want the information immediately. Those concerns can best be met through the Internet. Your Web site is the best salesman you ever hired. It is an encyclopedia of knowledge, always at work and never wanting a raise.
Small business owners have to understand that while they may not have the budget to advertise to a mass market, it is important that they do not exclude the people who are already interested in their type of product and actively looking for them on the Web.
Bryan Chesen is co-owner of Greenhouse Advertising, a boutique-advertising agency specializing in Web and grassroots marketing. You can reach him at or www.greenhouseadvertising.com.
