Small Business Products & Services (P&S)

As a consumer, I’m always on the lookout for specialty items, and everyday wares. Generally, I’ll shop at the major retail outlets (Walmart, Costco, major shopping malls) for most general items. But at other times, I’m seeking new restaurants, or a specific items or services.

Other than referrals from neighbors, friends and family, the only real way for me to get quality information about a product & service (P&S) in my local area or community is to check online. Like most people, I’m busy, I don’t have copious amounts time to spend trying out each new restaurant, going window shopping, or interviewing a business owner in their service area (such as a Dentist). So I need an efficient method to identify what I’m interested in, what products and services are being offered, and information pertaining to procuring it.

The common sense way to derive this information is to use the Internet to review the websites of these small businesses. The types of searches include everyday activity that you might encounter such as Ophthalmologist in my town, Chinese food in my county, or divorce lawyer in nearby city. I could use the phone book like the Yellow Pages, but that only provides me with a telephone number. At the end of the day, I don’t want to cold call small business owners until I have enough information about their business.

Gone is the Phone Book

If I am interested in eating Mexican food, and want to find a local Mexican restaurant, I can’t rely on a phone book to provide me detailed information such as the telephone number, address/driving directions, menu, and food pictures.

Furthermore, while I trust most of the referrals from friends and neighbors, they may not be immediately available to solicit their recommendation. The only way for me to get instant & quality information is to get online, enter my criteria, and read about the business from their website. Let the restaurant owner tell me about their food, the types of ingredients they use, catering services, and the ambiance of the restaurant. I want to see pictures of a lively dining hall and flamenco dancers on Friday nights, and peruse over an inviting menu for me to savor.

How to use your website to increase sales

As a consumer, I want to do a quick Yahoo! or Google search in my locale, and want to get down to that store now. Online shopping is great when I have ample time and patience when buying a product. However, it’s not very beneficial if I want something on-demand or instantly. For example, if I request overnight shipping on a product to get it to me fast, the charges become cost prohibitive and eliminate any realized savings that I could claim from the online sale price. That’s when I use local website look-ups to acquire products and services in my vicinity rather than the phone book.

As a consultant for small businesses I often advocate to my clients to get a website up and running. I’m often surprised to find that most small businesses (dry cleaners, restaurants, medical professionals like dentists, doctors, automotive repair shops, attorneys, accounts, architects, etc…don’t have a website!) If not, how, as a consumer, will I ever find their business? Invariably, they’ll be overlooked, and the small business with a website will eventually be selected.

How to integrate your website into your small business

If you do have a website I recommend leveraging the following solutions on how to increase traffic and sales, drive traffic to your retail store, promote your products and services and expand your referrals.

These tips are practical and easy. Best of all, they cost virtually nothing to implement, yet are an excellent way to drive business your way immediately!

ADVICE FOR EVERYONE
I always advise writing your website address (URL) on your flyers, brochures and letterhead or footer page. Leave no stone unturned. When you're at parties, social engagements, or public speaking always plug it. Don’t be shy to toss it out there, but do so in a professional manner, not in a tacky way.

Always put the website in your marketing ads, and Yellow pages and phonebooks. While I don’t use a phonebook, there are still plenty of old school types that do, that’s why they still get dropped off at my doorstep 4 inches thick. Often, when I get a local circular in the mailbox, I only visit the businesses which interest me with a website address.

I want to checkout the product or service first, before making a telephone call. Making a telephone call is too intrusive and I might just be window shopping. But having a website for your small business is all you need to get me interested.

The website should be simple, easy to navigate, yet descriptive enough to keep me interested. It should also look professional and not overdone on graphics. K.I.S.S. is the old acronym that comes to mind. If you have bumper stickers, be sure to write it there, or other marketing products like buttons, pens, and t-shirts.

Having a website is prestigious; it shows that you're a professional, serious about your business. It helps foster an impression that your business is not a start-up or small operation. This builds customer confidence in your product or service and suggests that be around for a while.

Retail Store Owner:

(Boutique stores, hair dressers/stylists, automotive businesses, retail/clothing stores, jewelry shops, flower shops, etc...)

If you have a retail store or outlet that is in a shopping plaza, one of the best ways to gain visibility and get customers to remember your store is to put your website on the front glass window. This is simple to do using decal letters which you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes.

Sometimes customers may express interest in your product, but don't have time to visit the store.  Potential customers walking or driving by can easily look up your business quickly using a computer or a smart-phone like the iPhone or Blackberry.

Recent studies have shown that people can often remember the address (URL) but forget or long business names. Website addresses are short and catchy, (DavesTrophy.com). But long business names (Dave's Award & Trophy Shop) are complex and difficult to remember.  In this modern age, customers can visit your store after they get back to home/work and check your business out instantly. They can also bookmark the site and visit it anytime. Best of all, URLS are an easy method to pass onto a referral about your business.

Service based businesses:

For service-based business like lawyers, medical professionals, accountants, always add your website address to your business cards, letterhead, and email. At the end of the day, your job is to showcase and market yourself. It’s not necessary to list prices on your site. Leave a little information incomplete like this so the customer is inclined to call you. Each service job is often specific per client, so putting prices on the site can deter customers.

Having a simple, yet, professional brochure site is all you need to have the customer bookmark your site, and give you a call. It's also the easiest way to pass on a referral. For example I can tell my friend about Linda’s Accounting Services by simply telling them to checkout LindaCPA.com There, my friend can read about the services Linda provides, and contact the business owner via email or telephone.

I’m surprised by the number of medical professionals that don’t have website even today. The only one group that is assured to have a website is a Chiropractor. They know the power of the website, and often their business is not referred. However, Optometrists, Podiatrists, Dentists, and even doctors should have a site. Consider this a link between the patient and your specialist. At a medical professional, you’ll be able to talk about your specialty, explain your hours of operation, provide a map and directions to your office, detail the types of payment you accept along with valid insurance, and have a contact form. Your contact form is a 1 way email box to you so you can receive feedback. It doesn’t need to be complex, or a scheduling system, just a link to you. Again, your cost to implement this is nominal, and your Internet ‘footprint’ begins to grow.

You can also measure your visibility and the interest in your business with simple website metrics to see how effective it is. Most of all, it's extremely important to put your website address (URL) in the circulars, marketing material and phone book. It's a lot more convenient for customers the research a business online and during weekends and nights versus calling a business during the day.

Labor Contractors/Handyman:

This is a large pool of construction companies, plumbers, home remodeling companies, pool cleaning services, repair services and other types of labor-intensive contracting. Why is it that only the large companies have websites, but the small individual contractors do not? You should always portray yourself as a big company providing excellent value with reasonable prices. Here, you’re customer is relying on your knowledge and expertise to help resolve their problem.

Always put your website in your marketing ads, pamphlets, or classified ads! If you advertise in the PennySavers or CraigsList, you must put your website in there too. This will boost your first impression that you’re a big and professional company, and often compels customers to call. I once recently needed a sprinkler repair service. I checked out the PennySavers and the first ad with the website. First, I reviewed their site, saw pictures of their trucks and services they performed, and hired them on the phone to provide a written estimate. I tried to reach other contractors, but their phones went to voice-mail and I didn’t get the impression they were up-to the job.

With a website, you can have email messages sent directly to your cell phone. If I can’t reach you on the phone now, I expect you to call soon. If I provide my name and contact number via a contact form, we can route that message to your cell phone as an SMS message.

It’s good practice to provide your prices on your website like hourly rate and indicate if you provide free estimates. Also list your contractors’ license number. Put a logo on your site to show that you’re licensed and bonded. Also, you can request for a coupon. Say 10% off all jobs with this coupon code. This way you’ll know the lead source. By developing trust with your customers and giving an impression you’ll be around for a long time, will definitely help you get that call and land that account.

Restaurants:

Always list your website address on your to-go menu and somewhere on the menu where it can be seen easily. Some up-scale restraints don’t like to show their website on the front glass because it may look tacky in this industry. If that’s the case then use your menu. Let your customers know on your site that you cater at parties and events. Provide your hours of operation, map, and credit card logos of the cards you accept.

How to pick a website design company

If you don’t have a website, you should seriously consider getting one. Last year there were 129 million searches made on the Internet, of which 45% of these were looking for products, services, or information in their local area. So it definitely pays to have a low cost, highly visible website that can attract this traffic.

If you conduct a search on the Internet for “website design”, you’ll find more 200 million return hits. Therefore, to help you select a website design company, keep the following criteria in mind:

1.    Inform the website development or design company that you need a professional looking “brochure” site. These are sites with multiple pages such as (home page, contact, map, description of company, etc) that describe your small business, provide information about your service and range of products, and immediately connect people to you.

2.    Produce a professional website that is creative and informational without being overloaded. Incorporate some ‘minor’ flash animation and enough pictures to make the site cosmetically appealing, but not be “over-the-top”. A handyman that wants to get presence on the Internet doesn’t need an overly fancy site. It will only detract from the services he provides, instead of focusing on it. However, showing his truck or pictures of renovations always help to persuade your customers in using your products and services. Testimonials also help a great deal and should be included.

3.    The development start-up costs to get the site up and running should not exceed $100-$200. If you pay more than that, you’re getting ripped off.

4.    Annual domain charges should not exceed $10-$15/year.

5.    Your website should come with multiple pages. I often see website design companies promising only 3 pages plus additional charges if you want more. That’s another rip-off. Make sure your design/development company allows multiple pages for what you need. This can really vary but 5-8 pages at a bare minimum should be included in the startup costs.

6.    Most website companies charge for hosting the site. This is a monthly fee which you pay to keep the site up-and-running. This should not exceed $15.00/month. Typical costs are $12-$25.00 depending on the company. By paying more for hosting, you only loose money, since all hosting companies are equal. They serve only one purpose, and that’s to keep you site up and running. Likewise, be careful of very inexpensive hosting companies. Yahoo! has hosting for only $8/mo. However, you are personally required to do all hands-on administration on your site. As a small business owner, you don’t have the time or maybe knowledge to manage this. So be sure to find a design firm that will maintain your site.

7.    Make sure you use a website design company that allows you to make changes to it throughout the year. For example, a restaurant that features its menu online may want to change the content or prices periodically. Therefore, the design firm should accommodate you free of charge at least 3-5 times per year to make any required revisions for your site. Often, rip-off sites will charge you an hourly cost of $15-$50/hour to make the subsequent revisions. There should be no hourly charge if it’s in the allotted revision window of 3-5 per year.

8.    Make sure you are the registered “owner” of the domain. While the hosting company may register it for you, there should be a clause in the statement-of-work which indicates that you own the domain name, and not the website development firm. If they refuse to write this in, walk away. By omitting this, they can hold you hostage as they’ll keep your domain name while raising monthly prices on you.

9.    Do not sign any long term contracts. Website design firms make most of their money over the long term through a nominal markup on the hosting fees. Make sure that you have the right to terminate the contract without any penalty at any time.

10.  Make sure you get your own email addresses. While you might have a preferred email address that you want to use, your customers should email you at the website domain email address to instill your brand name recognition. For example, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it rather than This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . This can always be forwarded to your personal account if you so desire. But conditioning customer to write to the website domain email segregates work and home activity.

Reprinted with permission from Automobile Club WESTWAYS Magazine, May 2007 Vol.99 No.3.

Jay Shah is a business consultant that specializes in retail and small business marketing, advertising, and promotion. He also owns a website development firm, SmallBizSites.biz