Several years ago the internet was considered to be for large businesses. They had the money to invest in the technology, in the expertise, in the marketing to promote a website. These days almost all businesses of any substance have a web site, most of your competitors included.

As far as customers are concerned, the web is a valuable tool to search for suppliers, to find out about their products and to compare them with others. In any business, if your products are not listed online, they will not be considered by these buyers. In fact just being online is not enough. The comparison that is available for buyers now puts your products under the spotlight in such away that you must communicate your product differentials brilliantly to ensure that buyers just don't buy the cheapest. How is this done? Take a good look at any mail order catalogue. They can offer low cost and luxury versions of the same item side-by-side and they will get some people to buy the more expensive product. You must use the same communication techniques to make sure your potential customers know why they should consider your products over those of the competition.

When potential buyers have decided to consider your products, can you rely on them to call you? In fact less than 60% will, unless you are very lucky. You need to have an active website that steers the customer to your products and services and then asks the customer if they would like more information or if they would like you to contact them. If you were at an exhibition, that is what you would do, and the rules of human behaviour are not much different on the web.

The web is also much more than a information channel for products and services. Gone are the days when people were scared to purchase online. This is even more true in a business context. I know of many (>£20 million) business where they are now selling more products online than they are offline. Your website must be able to take orders from customers in a way that is both clear and reassuring. We all know that customers will easily bolt at this stage. The secret is to have a process and a design which gives the customer no reason to reconsider and at the same time to provide reassuring communications that they can read if they begin to waver. This is a massive topic. In fact there is one annual report only focussed on this topic, produced by US experts, that is over 2000 pages long. However, given the data that over 50% of sales can be lost at this stage, it is a topic worth spending time on.

Not many people talk about brand on the internet, but I think that it is a topic that is not given enough consideration. I think it has become a basic instinct in business to look people up on the internet. If you meet somebody at networking, at a trade show, or if a business is referred to you as a potential supplier, the next time you are back at your desk, do you look them up at on the internet. I certainly do, and I see people around me do it all the time. The means that we need the right combination of graphics, of written communications, and technology platform, to create the right impression with these potential new contacts and clients. In a world where everyone is online, people are now highly critical of website production values, and DIY is no longer enough unless you are an expert.

In conclusion, almost every business needs a website. That site must communicate the unique selling features of your product in a persuasive way. The site must allow customers to buy your products in a slick and reassuring way so that you don't loose any sales. Finally, you need a website that you can be proud of, because it presents your business in the best possible light.

Mark McCormack
http://www.markmedia.org.uk