Many people see the internet as an advertisement tool. However for a business, a website can be considered as a “branch office” that operates 24 Hours a day, 7 days a week. This is because it has all the facilities that an office has to explain the product, explain the company and in most cases to take orders. It is never possible to get a 24 hour sales person, but you can get it with the internet. Then again, the web site is a fraction of the cost of a branch office. What more can you ask for?

What can people expect to receive at this “branch office”? People can stop in at their convenience any time they want and browse through your offerings. They will be able to :-

* Read the brochures in the rack by the door,
* Pick up a copy of your “Common Questions People Ask About our Business,”
* Solve their own problems with your detailed Troubleshooting Guide,
* Scribble messages on the pad of question forms you’ve provided,
* Look at detailed information and specs about each product you offer, and, if you have a vending machine in your lobby,
* Make purchases day or night.

What’s the monthly rent? Somewhere between $100 to $300 per month for smaller to medium businesses. And the initial build-out of your branch office costs only a few thousand dollars. Sure, you’ll need to remodel every year or two to keep it up-to-date, or some offices allow you to remodel it yourself without any fees! But that’s a small price to pay for the new customers your branch office will bring. Remember, don’t think “advertising,” think “branch office,” and you’ll begin to grasp the Internet opportunity.

I WANT TO GO GLOBAL AND REACH THE WORLD.

On the Internet, geography has ceased to be a barrier. A small business market used to be limited to a one hour drive from its store or office. No more. People now shop a global directory on the Web and let the best site win. People can buy items that they can’t normally get in their local store and get it delivered right to their doorstep. You do not need a worldwide office to sell, you just need a web site with the right information and marketing.

I WANT TO SELL DIRECT

That is one other advantage the internet has. You can jump the existing distribution chain that sells sky high prices to end users. Many online-only businesses are essentially order-taking front offices. Product fulfillment is through manufacturers and distributors who agree to drop-ship directly to the customer. This way the Web retailer doesn’t incur expenses for inventory and warehousing. A really scary development to many manufacturers is the growing temptation to sell directly on the Web and by-pass the complex distribution chain they have built over many years. The manufacturer doesn’t want to anger distributors and dealers. But increasingly, competing manufacturers sell direct from the factory and undercut the price to the end user. For many manufacturers, it’s a decision to either sell directly or lose marketshare. Agony! What do you do when the Dell Computer equivalent in your industry sells directly over the Web, pulls in $14 million per day in revenue, and grows faster than any other competitor? You sweat bullets, and finally bite the bullet. Direct retail sales via the Internet is growing exponentially. What an opportunity for your business! Whatever your reasons for going online or not going online, the simple fact holds true – there is simply no harm in letting others know your company exist and mean business.

Install a “Signature” in your E-Mail Program.
Most e-mail programs such as Outlook, MSN and Yahoo allow you to designate a “signature” to appear at the end of each message you send. Limit it to 6 to 8 lines: Company name, address, phone number, URL, e-mail address, and a one-phrase description of your unique business offering. Look for examples on e-mail messages sent to you. This one phrase description can be something to catchy that people will never forget your website address. Of course keep it in good taste!

Capture Visitor E-mail Addresses and Request Permission to Send Updates.
On your website’s feedback form, include a checkbox where the visitor can give you permission to e-mail updates about products or services. Now your e-mails to visitors are not “spam.” You’re responding to their request for more information. If you can capture industry information and country it will even be better as your outgoing emails to these subscribers can be more targeted. But only ask for the information you need or few visitors will respond. DO NOT ask for too much information, ideally, a 10 sec time frame is all people have to give to you in filling up such forms.

Publish an E-Mail Newsletter.
What do you do after collecting all the mailing list information? This is the next logical step. While it’s a big commitment in time, publishing a weekly, monthly, or quarterly newsletter is one of the very best ways to keep in touch with your prospects, generate trust, develop brand awareness, and build future business. You can distribute your newsletter using your e-mail program, or better still have an email marketing campaign manager, like this one reviewed here where you can have an email content creation tool, content management tool, broadcasting tool and a subscriber list management tool.

Send Genuine Special Offers to Your Visitors and Customers.
Your own list of customers and site visitors who have given you permission to contact them will be your most productive list. Send offers, coupon specials, product updates, etc. Personalizing the subject line and the message will increase the results. Keep your content simple, yet creative. If you need help to create professional looking emailers and you do not have knowledge in HTML or front page, the ESPioneer solution can do wonders for you. See it here.
Email marketing is cost effective and can be non intrusive. Keep to the rules and you will be able to get more response from potential clients.

Include Your URL on Stationery, Letter Heads, Envelope, Cards, and Product Literature.
This is a no-brainer that’s sometimes overlooked. Make sure that all reprints of cards, stationery, brochures, and literature contain your company’s URL. And see that your printer gets the URL syntax correct. In print, I recommend leaving off the http:// part and including only the www.domain.com portion. Of course if you select a catchy and easy to remember URL, you can expect to have a slight edge.

Promote using traditional media.
Don’t discontinue print advertising you’ve found effective. Rather than discontinue them, you may even be able to scale them down by almost half sometimes and in the process save advertising cost. Of course, the reason why you can afford to scale them down is because you have included your URL in the ad and therefore you need not put up too much material to confuse the potential buyer. View your website as an information source to the ad. Use a two-step approach: (1) capture the readers’ attention with the ad, (2) then refer them to a URL where they can obtain more information and perhaps place an order. Look carefully at small display or classified ads in the back of narrowly-targeted magazines or trade periodicals. Sometimes these ads are more targeted, more effective, and less expensive than online advertising. Consider other traditional media to drive people to your site, such as direct mail, classifieds, post cards, etc.

Develop a Free Service.
It’s boring to invite people, “Come to our site and learn about our business.” It’s quite another to say “Use the free currency calculator available on our site.” Make no mistake, it’s expensive in time and energy to develop free resources, such as our SMEcentral Site, but it is very rewarding in increased traffic to your site. Make sure that your free service is closely related to what you are selling so the visitors you attract will be good prospects for your business. Give visitors multiple opportunities and links to cross over to the sales part of your site.

Issue News Releases.
Find newsworthy events (such as launching your free service), and send news releases to print and Web periodicals in your industry. However, opening or redesigning a website is seldom newsworthy these days. You may want to use a Web news release service, such as one offered by Eric Ward’s URLwire (www.urlwire.com) or the free PR Web (www.prweb.com).

It is one thing to have a web site and another to market it. The above information is presented to show that any business can have the opportunity to market their web site easily. In most cases, you do not have to spend extra on top of what you are already spending on print stationery, advertisements, etc. It is just about adding your URL to these traditional media.