The Internet has proved a powerful equalizer for small businesses. But entrepreneurs can't just build Web sites these days--they have to build great ones that truly snag viewers and turn them into paying customers.
"For many businesses, a Web site is the first way that your clientele will look at you--even if it's just to find your address and phone number," says Rand Fishkin, founder of Seattle-based search engine optimization consulting firm SEOmoz, which aims to increase the odds that search engines will happen upon a given site. "The quality of your site is often a measure of the quality of your business."
While most entrepreneurs probably should farm out the programming of their sites, they shouldn’t turn over the design process altogether. Getting the biggest return on your online investment hinges on understanding what works and what doesn’t, so you can give the coders as much smart direction as possible.
Indeed, having a well-oiled site could be the difference between surviving the current recession and succumbing to it. "Conversations between manufacturers and buyers used to take place over the phone,” says Linda Rigano, director of strategic alliances for ThomasNet, a consultancy for the manufacturing industry. “Now that same conversation is conducted through the content on manufacturers' Web sites."
The folks at Ericson, a Willoughby, Ohio-based manufacturer and distributor of temporary power and lighting products, would strongly agree. Two years ago, Ericson overhauled its site with ThomasNet's help, creating a catalog featuring detailed descriptions and pictures of its products, along with an easy-to-use search function.
Despite the persistent downturn in its key markets, Ericson has thrived, thanks in great part to the 20,000 potential customers who surf the catalog every month. That activity translated into an average of 25 price quotes per month, a quarter of which ultimately result in orders, each averaging about $3,000 to $5,000.
"Since re-launching our site, we have received more purchase orders from customers who find us online because they get a much better idea of what we're selling than they used to," says Phil Bearden, who heads the company’s Web marketing efforts. One of Ericson’s newest marquee customers: the CityCenter Las Vegas, an $8 billion collaboration between MGM Grand and Dubai World.
