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The Globe and Mail

REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS: YOUR WEBSITE

Making a statement on-line

Being on the Internet isn't enough in today's connected world. A company website has to attract eyeballs, bring in customers and drive growth, MICHAEL RYVAL writes

By MICHAEL RYVAL

Thursday, March 17, 2005 Page C4

Special to The Globe and Mail

High-speed Internet and consumer demand for on-line information have pushed almost 75 per cent of small Canadian businesses on to the Web. But just being there isn't enough.

Websites have to not just attract attention, they have to keep it.

That means your site needs to be clear, informative, easy to get around and up to date. Too many bells and whistles or too little helpful information and frustrated readers will simply leave.

"It's important to do it well. If you just use it as an electronic business card, it doesn't work," says Mike Barton, owner of All Stars Courier Service in Concord, Ont., who set up his website a year ago. "It has to be designed so that it doesn't bore people and its points are precise and concise."

Jo De Gasperis, a Toronto web designer and head of Raintree Studio, agrees, noting that that one common failing is poor or difficult navigation.

"If you can't figure out where to go for some information within a few seconds, then chances are you will lose that person. It has to be very easy to use," she says. "If it's not eye-catching, whether in print or a website, it's money lost."

Some small businesses try to save money by cutting corners on their sites, adds web designer Susan Duncan, but that only creates a poor image.

"They cram all the information on to one page," says Ms. Duncan, who owns http://www.ottawaweb.ca, a directory of links to services in the Ottawa area.

"The Internet is a go-go medium and people don't have time to read all that text. They will go to another site."

While there are no precise numbers on the number of small business websites, their popularity has been escalating.

An estimated 75 per cent of small companies in Canada have their own site, says Ted Mallett, chief economist at the Toronto-based Canadian Federation of Independent Business. That compares with 53 per cent in a 2002 survey of its 107,000 members.

Part of this growth is attributable to the rapid adoption of high-speed Internet services. "Twice as many companies are using high-speed versus the old dial-up technology," Mr. Mallett says.

But it's also driven by demand for information by consumers and potential clients. "Customers expect to get information about your company on-line," he says. "It makes a lot of sense to make that available."

Having an effective website doesn't have to mean complicated on-line ordering systems and complex multilevel pages.

For many, at least initially, the benefits are primarily as an advertising medium, Ms. Duncan says. "Instead of looking through the Yellow Pages, a lot of people search for information on-line. It's faster, easier and there's more information."

And that means, if you're not there, potential clients will find and hire the competition that is.

Just ask Mark Train, head of Acumyst Ltd., a janitorial services firm that serves about 300 customers in Mississauga, Ont., who set up his website three years ago.

"We're in a very competitive industry and our clients are called by competitors on a weekly basis," says Mr. Train, who has been in business since 1988 and has 80 cleaners on contract. To protect his market share, and boost sales, he uses a mix of telemarketing, brochures and flyers plus the website, http://www.acumyst.com.

"We use it as a support system. When customers go to the website they get a lot more information than in the letter I send out to them," says Mr. Train, adding that the website generates about five sales visits each week. "If your competition is not doing this, it gives you a decisive advantage."

So what does a good website need? Experts say it should offer:

Your company's background, strengths and areas of expertise.

It could also include links to articles about the firm.

A "questions and answers" page that provides solutions to potential customers, which could either generate calls or, conversely, reduce nuisance calls that waste time.

Easy access to the information as visitors go from page to page.

Contact information, including phone numbers, names of contacts, locations and e-mail addresses. Remember, many people still want to deal with staff.

The key words that define your company on the home page, to make it easier for search engines to find and list your site.

Most important, experts say, the look and feel of the site has to be targeted to the audience.

A lawyer's site, for instance, should be conservative in appearance and evoke a sense of experience and trustworthiness. But if the company makes video games, its site should create a sense of excitement and buzz that will invite a response -- which requires the latest bells and whistles in the form of so-called plug-ins that appeal to a tech-savvy market.

"Know your audience," says Ms. Duncan, who asks her small business clients to articulate their objectives before developing a website.

"Any business that puts some thought into what it is doing and regularly revisits its website will get a return."

Most web hosts, she says, report on the number of visitors. This information can help businesses make changes to their sites to boost the number of visitors.

Connie van Reenen, owner of Labelle Florist in Winnipeg, spends up to 10 hours a week fine-tuning her site, http://www.labelleflorist.com, introduced last May.

"If I feel something is not working because the search engines are not finding the site, I can make changes," Ms. Van Reenen says. "Just because you are ranked No. 1 in some areas on Google today that can change tomorrow."

While on-line sales now account for about 8 per cent of her sales, Ms. Van Reenan plans to more than double that within 18 months by boosting the number of on-line products to 300 from 200, and expanding into new markets, such as gifts.

But she also admits that having a website is not a panacea, as many customers still want to be looked after in person or over the phone.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how flashy your website is," she says. "You have to be able to provide the service or product and give your customers that extra touch."

Results aren't instantaneous, though.

Mr. Barton admits that his year-old website hasn't boosted revenues yet for the family-owned firm that operates throughout southern Ontario.

But he has noticed a difference in how people view his company.

"It is beginning to make the communication of our capabilities much easier. We're on the verge of saying that, 'Yes, it will increase our business.' "

While the site, http://www.allstarscourier.com, has been mainly a promotional tool, Mr. Barton plans to go one step further.

He wants customers to send standard orders on-line over a Web-based dispatching system. "We have to be very careful, though, because some people are reluctant and prefer to speak to you over the phone."

In another year, he adds, "the site will become much more important than it is now. People don't have the time. Business is growing. We need to become more efficient."

Eight steps to a better website
1. In choosing your company's on-line address, technically known as a domain name, keep it short, catchy and memorable.

2. Know your audience. Tailor your company's website to existing and potential customers.

3. Use a professional to design your website, to give it a customized look and set it apart from your competitors.

4. Use key words that define your business on your home page. This will help it to be ranked higher up in search engines such as Google, which ultimately connect websites with potential customers.

5. The site should be easy to navigate. That is, moving from one section of the site to another should be problem-free and virtually instantaneous.

6. Make sure the site is current. Nothing is more irksome to find the site was last updated a year ago.

7. Build in a "contact us" page. Feedback is very important to ensure a smoothly run business.

8. Protect your domain name. Make sure the e-mail address of the administrative contact is up-to-date so that you can renew the domain name before it expires. Otherwise, you could be in an embarrassing position of re-applying for your on-line address.

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