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While big businesses are embracing the Internet with a passion, many small business owners are still wondering, “What's in it for me?” This brings about an important question: How can small businesses start benefiting from the Internet?
The starting point is to cut through all the hype and confusion, and start thinking of the Internet as part of the marketing mix. Just like all other marketing elements of the business, the internet is a tool that can be used to increase profits in any business.
The Internet can be used to generate more leads, increase the number of customers, the number of times they buy, and how much they buy, thereby increasing the business owner’s profit margins.
The Internet can be used as great tool to generate more leads for the business. Whenever one advertises one’s business, one can advertise one’s website. Properly designed, the website of the business becomes an extension of the place of business. Just as a business owner advertises to get people to visit his business, he needs to advertise to get people to visit his website.
However, getting visitors to one’s website doesn't mean that it will ensure more leads.
It is important to capture the details of the visitors to one’s website. The reason is (and here's the point that is often missed) when someone visits the business owner’s Internet site, he can be assured that he has an interest in what he is selling.
This means that just about everybody that visits his web site is a potential customer.
Visitors to one’s website are just the same as visitors to one’s place of business with one important difference. There is no one to talk to on the website (yet!).
Turning the visitor into a lead requires a strategy to capture the prospect's details.
It doesn't matter if the website sells or doesn't sell products on-line. If the business owner lets the visitors ‘surf' right by, without tempting them with an offer in exchange for their contact details, he is losing qualified leads and potential revenues.
Promotional incentives work well to encourage prospects to part with their e-mail address as well as other information. As an example, Qantas, earlier this year, used its web site to offer a chance to win a business class trip to New York in return for email numbers and permission to send travel information.
Information gathered on one’s website including e-mail address, work or home address, phone and fax numbers, can be put directly into your contact database. Once in the business’s database, this information can be used to start converting leads into customers.
The process of converting leads into customers can all be done automatically, and at little, or no cost. One can enable programs to send newsletters, special offers or any other useful information at pre-set intervals.
In every case, the business owner’s contact with customers provides him with the opportunity to provide a link back to his internet site, and with yet another opportunity to sell or promote his products and services.
This is the point from where the business owner will be well on his way to turning visitors into customers.
The website of the business will become an integral part of its marketing mix, and start generating more profits from the business.
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