What Makes a Web Site Successful

Bahamas B2B

·	Bahamas B2B offers web hosting, web marketing, e-mail services and a variety of small business services.

Contents

·	Contribute Articles Domain Name Tips E-mail Management Free Directory Listing Publish News Web Design Estimate Web Hosting Web Tools

Other Resources

·	Contact Bahamas B2B Privacy Policy Bahamas Site Map Bahamas Search Bahamas Tech Support Support Bahamas B2B

What Makes a Web Site Successful?

The internet is one of the great business opportunities of this century (and the next). Unlike television, radio and national publishing, it is not dominated by big businesses. Small companies and individuals can get exposure and success at an extremely low cost. It is truly a level playing field where even the little guys can compete and excel. Large companies must meet this challenge or get left behind. If you are innovative and offer interesting and useful information, customers will choose you. It doesn't take vast resources to reach your target audience, it takes a well developed web site.

Information based businesses excel online.

The world wide web is essentially a vast storehouse of information, it is a virtual world made of information. Products such as Coca Cola a may have nice web sites, but nothing is really going to make it more than a carbonated beverage laden with sugar. Coke is an information poor product. Lawyers, accountants and many service businesses on the other hand offer information-based services. The more sophisticated your product or service the more information information rich it is. The web is the ideal medium to interest and educate a client or customer. In a world where information is available at the click of a mouse, these businesses will thrive if they are able to offer something of value to a potential customer who will then be compelled to make personal contact

What this means is that if you build a site throw away your company brochure (or at least reduce it to secondary importance). Information rules the new frontier and hints of competence are no longer sufficient. Assign paramount importance to information on your product or service. This may seem obvious, but many sites fail to provide even this basic level of information. The web is a great way to indicate a specialized product or service and small firms will have clear advantages in the new age.

"We're already on the web"

Many companies think they can be online without a web site. Online Malls, directories, yellow pages, and various other online "listings" are not a substitute for your own web site. The web is not about listing your name and address somewhere, it is about drawing in and holding the attention of your customers and the public. A site gives an instant impression of who you are and what level of service you offer.

Keep and retain your Audience

The web offers new information at a phenomenal pace, a dead site is of little value in a world where change dominates. The web user is an information-seeker with an infinite thirst for new, better and useful knowledge. Online newsletters and constant updates about the state of your business or industry is a great way to ensure repeat business. Most sites are static, online brochures, this won't work. Keep your audience interested and coming back. Change or perish.

Imagination, Innovation & Drama

There is no "automatic" way to do business on the internet, just as there is no automatic way to run your run your company or get new customers. It takes individual thought, effort and work. You must plan your internet presence carefully to reflect the way you do business. That effort will require imagination, innovation and hopefully some drama. Your internet presence is fast becoming the criteria customers and clients use to judge your company.

Why You Need To Be Online!

To make business information available
What are your hours? What do you do? How can someone contact you? What methods of payment do you take? Where are you located at? What is today's special? Today's interest rate? If you could keep your customer informed of every reason why they should do business with you, don't you think you could do more business? You can on the WWW.

To serve your customers
If you look at serving the customer, you'll find even more ways to use WWW technology. How about making forms available to pre-qualify for loans, or have your staff do a search for that special item your customer is looking for, without tying up your staff on the phone to take down the information? All this, and more, can be done, simply and quickly, on the WWW.

To answer frequently asked questions
Whoever answers the phones in your organization can tell you, their time is usually spent answering the same questions over and over again. Post them on a WWW page and you will have removed another barrier to doing business with you and freed up some time for that harried phone operator.

To allow feedback from customers
With a Web page, you can ask for feedback and get it instantaneously with no extra cost. An instant e-mail response can be built into Web pages and can get the answer while its fresh in your customers mind, without the cost and lack of response of business reply mail.

To change information quickly
Electronic publishing changes with your needs. No paper, no ink, no printer's bill. You can even attach your web page to a database which customizes the page's output. You can change as many times in a day as you need. No printed piece can match that flexibility.

To reach a highly desirable market
The demographic of the WWW user is probably the highest mass-market demographic available. Usually college educated or being college educated, making a high salary or soon to make a high salary, it's no wonder that Wired magazine, the magazine of choice to the Internet community, has no problem getting Lexus and other high-end marketer's advertising.

To create a true 24-hour service
Business is worldwide but your office hours aren't. Web pages serve the client, customer and partner 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No overtime either. It can customize information to match needs and collect important information that will put you ahead of the competition.

To serve your local market
We've talked about the power to serve the world with a Web page. How about your neighborhood? There are enough local customers in most areas, including The Bahamas, who have Web access to make it well worth your while to consider Web marketing. One local restaurant even takes lunch orders through the Internet! But no matter where you are, if the customer has Web access, you should be there too.