Schewanick Computer Services

It's easy to build a Web site. Anyone can do it for
little or no money. What is not easy is building a
successful business with it. So how do you do it?

Start by asking yourself: "Why do I need a web site?
What will it accomplish for my business?"

The biggest mistake you can make is to build a Web site
that doesn't do anything for you. This may seem
obvious, but too many companies build Web sites simply
because they believe it would be neat, or because their
competitors have one. Without a real purpose, a Web
site is just a complete waste of time.

By the way, there is always a good purpose for starting
a web site - you just have to discover it. Just look at
all the great things that will happen to you when you
start your own web site:

- Your business will be open 24 hours a day. This means
you won't have to stay open on Thanksgiving or
Christmas day. If you live on the East Coast, people
from California will still be able to shop in your
store after you close. Any time someone wants to know
your hours, location, directions, or any other details
about your company, they can get it without disturbing
you.

- Low staffing costs. When you have a web site, you can
offer your products and services without hiring any
extra employees. You won't have to spend any resources
on compensating or insuring your new staff members and
still be able to maintain the same level of sales and
customer service.

- Gain thousands new customers. Because anyone in the
world can see your web site, you will gain customers
from other states and countries while you are putting
in the same amount of effort and money.

- Create an image of a well established company. The
Internet is a great medium through which you can create
any image of yourself you want. It is all in your
hands: design a professional web site, add helpful
content, and your company will immediately take a step
up in the image it represents. No matter how small your
business is, with the right tools and a great desire
you can make it look like a corporation on the Web!

- Save on postage and printing costs. Think of how many
cards you mail out to let customers know about your
sale. All of that can be eliminated by putting the sale
information on your web site and inviting your
customers to visit it. You can collect your customers'
E-Mail addresses and keep in touch with them about
special events in your store via E-Mail.

- Unlimited advertisement. If you ever advertised in a
local newspaper, you know the costs. You are being
charged per line, per inch, and per color. On the Web,
there is no limit to how much you can put. You can add
pictures, articles, newsletters, rates, product images
and so much more! With just one web site, you can have
almost unlimited advertisement for the same low monthly
cost (under $25 a month!)

- Improve communications. If you have employees or
suppliers, your web site is the best way to communicate
between you and them. Changes take effect as soon as
you post them on the Web, and everyone can see updated
information without having to wait for a new database
of products, and without contacting you directly.

- Impeccable customer service. This is a dream of any
entrepreneur: "buy my product and leave me alone". By
this I mean that business owners do not like to spend
time explaining to customers how to use the product,
how to install it, troubleshoot it, clean it, move it,
turn it, and whatever else can be done to a purchased
item.

- A web site will become your best friend in meeting
the needs of your customers. It will answer all their
questions. Simply create a page of "Frequently Asked
Questions" and include its address on every receipt.
This way, before they come to you for help, they will
come to your web site for answers.

- Online presence - in step with your competitors. You
must think of the Internet as a gigantic the Yellow
Pages book. More and more people use the Web to shop
for information, services and products. If you are not
there - your competitors are! Can you imagine not being
in Yellow Pages and try to reach local market?

- Unless you spend a lot of money on newspaper ads and
other local promotions - no one will know your business
exists. The same thing with the Internet. If people
can't find your company on the Web, you might as well
not exist.

- Get those cranky customers, too. Many people do not
like to shop in the stores, malls and any other noisy
places (I am first!). They are afraid of long walks,
pressure from sales people, sneezing customers and
bumping shopping carts. Once they discover online
shopping - they will never go back to the stores unless
absolutely necessary. By putting your products online,
you satisfy the needs of such customers and therefore
succeed in one more niche.

- Showcase your work. Whether you are a real estate
agent, construction business owner or a beauty salon
specialist - you can put your work on display when you
have a web site. Anytime a potential client wants to
see your past work and projects, simply refer him or
her to your site. No need to scan and mail pictures, or
bring your client to a finished building project.

- Promotional Costs are very low. When I interviewed
the manager of NY State Nissan dealership, he shared
with me the costs of running an online ad compared to a
newspaper or any other printed advertisement. He said,
"We can run a whole month of advertisements online for
the same amount of money we pay for one newspaper ad!"
That's right, on an online promotion you can spend $97
a month, while paying 10 times that much for a one-time
large ad in a magazine!

- Beat your competition to the top. Competition online
is huge today! There are over 3,000,000 sites on the
Web and this number is growing. Still, I see at least 5
businesses a month who are not online and getting a web
site is not in their near future plans.

Why am I telling you this? Because if THEY don't get a
web site - YOU have a better chance at succeeding.
Insurance, home improvement, gift shops and other
companies are among those I see dragging their feet in
putting their businesses online. This means if you do
it now, before EVERY company is online, you will be
among the pioneers!

Yep, that's right - Internet is still in its babyhood,
no matter how many web sites there are out there. It
has been less than a decade since companies decided to
use web sites as part of their marketing strategies.
Can you imagine what it will be like in 20-30 years??

I could go on and on, but I hope you are convinced:
YOUR BUSINESS ABSOLUTELY NEEDS A WEB SITE!

Even if you are not planning to sell directly online,
people will find your web site and contact you about
the services you offer. You can place your web site
address in your newspaper ads and any other promotional
materials to make people aware of your web site.



About the Author
Milana Nastetskaya is a full-time web developer and the
author of 3 books: "Create Your First Business Web Site
in 10 days!", "65 Instant Web Answers!" and "How To
Install and Troubleshoot CGI scripts".
http://www.firstbusinesswebsite.com
http://www.instantwebanswers.com
http://www.installcgi.com