Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

What Every Small Business Web Site Should Include

BY JEFFREY GOLDFARB

Walt Whitman wrote more than a century before the Internet was a gleam in anyone’s eye that the “art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity.” The best Web sites incorporate into their design and communication the same time-tested trait observed by Whitman all those years ago.

Although creating an easy-to-use Web site for a small business can seem daunting, with the myriad technological tools and splashy graphics available, a few simple items are all a site really needs to get up and running.

Some of these things may seem preposterously obvious, but surf around a bit and it doesn’t take long to find hundreds of businesses that forget the information consumers want most.

For starters, every site should have the company’s full name and a clear, short description of what the business does. Make these two things as clear and distinct as possible. Maybe even set them off in a separate color, size or font. But make sure it’s absolutely perceptible to users who you are and what you do: nothing could be more important.

Contact information is also a must. Show visitors how to reach you by phone, and make the number visible on every page of your site, designers advise. Inform people where the business is located and with whom to correspond via e-mail to answer questions or for more information. Make sure to include city, state and country. Sound silly? You’re liable to get international visitors who will wonder if you’re in Manchester, New Hampshire, or Manchester, England.

Let Web users know what hours your business is open, and with an additional nod to worldwide users, include the time zone you’re in for good measure. Tell them which holidays you observe. Remember, the object of a Web site is to add value for your existing customers and to make it easy and inviting for new ones.

None of this primary contact information should be more than a click away and, most likely, should appear somewhere on the home page. An additional perk can be a map showing directions to a store location or company headquarters, if needed.

Even if you don’t provide a road map to your business, make sure to include a navigation menu for your Web site. This makes it easy for visitors to find precisely what they want on your site and lets them hop right to it instead of clicking down paths that lead them to information they don’t need.

And definitely make sure that a link back to the company’s home page is available from every other page on a business’ Web site.

“That really is annoying for people if they have to do a lot of clicking around to get back to the main page,” said Ron Zemke, the president of Minneapolis-based consulting firm Performance Research Associates Inc.

Tell people about yourself and management. Big chunks of Main Street may have been razed to make way for the Information Superhighway, but customers still like a personal experience if they can get one. Give people a short paragraph, and maybe even a photo, with a little background and history about the company and the people with whom visitors will be interacting.

Remember that uncomplicated sites load quicker, especially for customers using dial-up modem connections, and even for those using broadband. Keep it simple, and it’s more likely that surfers will not get frustrated and move on.

“One of the first things we learned when we did our study on use of business Web sites is that people give you eight to 10 seconds to prove yourself,” said Zemke, who co-authored “E-Service: 24 Ways to Keep Your Customers When the Competition is Just a Click Away.”

The most important thing, however, for any small business Web site is to make sure it works. Try all the links and make sure to hire a host that specifically understands the needs of small business owners.

“Having a system that supports the needs of a small business usually is not any more expensive than any other hosting,” said designer Hensley, who helped create BeyondFleece.com, whose founder recently won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy.

“A Web site is worthless if the system behind it isn’t powerful enough to handle enough visitors or is going down all the time or e-mail is constantly disappearing,” Hensley added.

Jeffrey Goldfarb is a New York-based reporter who writes about corporate finance, media, technology and design.

Customer Spotlight: Highrock Christian Church

Highrock Church
Billings, MT

Founder and Pastor: Casey Scott

Highrock Christian Church is a one-year-old independent, non-denominational church that welcomes people of all backgrounds, but caters specifically to Gen X couples with small children.

Tips from Casey:

1. Look at what similar businesses do and improve on their good ideas. Other churches take breaks during the service, so we decided to do a break right in the middle of the service that is a coffee and mingle break, rather than just a stretch and bathroom break. Our congregation loves it and it sets us apart from the rest.
2. You reach who you are. You attract who you are, so don’t try to be someone you’re not.
3. Strategic consumerism works. When you’re starting out, go to the same place at the same time every week and build relationships with the people there. Those people will become loyal advocates.
4. Don’t start anything if you are not willing to fail.
5. If something isn’t working, you don’t have time to wait around and see if it eventually will. You have to be willing to change direction quickly.
6. Find someone who is going through the same things that you are. It helps to commiserate with someone who is also starting something and can empathize and share good ideas with you.

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Endorsement Marketing

BY NANCY MICHAELS

As I travel the country speaking to entrepreneurs and small business owners, I’m struck by the number of people who have terrific client relationships, but would never ask their client to put a good word in for them with a prospect. Why are we uncomfortable asking our client base to spread the word on our behalf so that others might benefit from our product or service we offer? More than likely, we’re afraid someone will say no – they’ll reject us and that’s a situation we’d rather not have happen.

Here are some suggestions on how you can launch an effective and powerful endorsement marketing campaign and take the pain out of the process for you and your client. If you’re wondering what the difference is between an endorsement letter and a testimonial letter, here’s the cost – sweat equity and a commitment to follow-through on a three-tiered approach to connecting with your prospects. What type of business might benefit from this experience – virtually any business from the local sandwich shop, copy store, accounting firm, to individuals targeting CEO’s of Fortune 500 firms. This takes the idea of a testimonial to a new level because the letter is going direct from your client to your prospect list.

Here’s how it works.

Phase One: Endorsement from Client

Ask your best client (particularly after they’ve said something wonderful about you or when you’re prepared to show them the “draft” of the letter) if they would assist you in the growth and development of your business by signing off on an endorsement letter that would come from them (that means on their letterhead with signature) and be delivered to a pre-determined list of people (your prospects) that you’d be willing to share with them for their review and approval. Obviously, they wouldn’t want a letter of endorsement going out to their competitors, etc.

Write the letter on their behalf and have it completed by the time you ask them. When you make a request and are prepared, your success rate will increase significantly. Include bullet points for easy reading, statistics (if you have them) regarding the results that working with you has brought your client, present an offer (invitation to meet with you for a consultation, a coupon or discount, etc.) and additional information (a copy of an article authored by you or reprints of publicity received, etc.). The letter ideally should be about two pages in length.

Ask your client to sign his or her signature on a blank piece of paper, retrieve their company letterhead or personalized stationery, print the letter out and send it from the town that they’re based in (if different than your own). Hand write their names on the package and mail via priority or first class mail.

Phase Two: Follow-up Letter from You

About two to three weeks later, send a letter out to the same list of prospects from you. Acknowledge the letter that your client sent out on your behalf and reiterate the points made in that letter (without being redundant if possible). You can express in more general terms what you have to offer a prospect and that your client-focus has earned you the kind of endorsement they just received. Include a fax back form (don’t forget to put your fax on it) that they can send back to you for additional information. Include three other quotes from satisfied clients, and again, include an offer (discount, giveaway, coupon) and an article that you’ve authored or that you think your customer base would find of interest that relates to your business and would assist them as well. For instance, the sandwich shop might send a tip sheet or article on casual entertaining with a checklist of everything you need for a party of 10 or 20 people. Send it around Super Bowl time and they’re likely to pick up the phone to place the order. You get the idea.

Phase Three: Grand Finale Letter from You

Update them on additional news related to your client’s success in connection with your product or service. Refer back to the original letter (even send a photocopy of it to refresh their memories and be absolutely sure they receive it – you never know who might be opening their mail).

I recently asked a client of mine to assist me with an endorsement campaign and I had no idea what I’d send out with a third letter – what would possibly be new if a few weeks time. Fortunately, timing (and the seeds I had planted months before) worked in my favor and I was able to send them a recent article I had written, a reprint of an article written about me and notification of an award I had received – all building blocks to increase my credibility with my prospects. In addition, prepare them to receive information in the future such as a newsletter, etc.

We all like doing business with people who we view as being successful and having a proven track record. When they come recommended, it becomes a no-brainer to contact them if we have a need for their service. If your list is developed with time and care, all of the prospects you’ll be contacting should be interested in your product or service. Endorsement marketing is one of the most cost-effective and powerful forms of marketing for any business.

Nancy Michaels is the founder of Grow Your Business Network and offers private coaching services to small business owners. She can be reached at nmichaels@impressionimpact.com