Merge

In March, we announced Merge's A New Way to Web: Web Excellence. This month we will delve a little deeper into what that means. Websites can provide a great first impression for your business, but they can do much more than that.

1.   Branding and awareness.  While this may seem to be the most obvious, in the web world this goes well beyond PMS colors and fonts. Site content and architecture play a big role in telling your story. Take Find Great People. Their name may seem to say it all, but they do so much more than just recruit great people. They also help companies retain, develop and transition employees. Their website layout had to speak very clearly and quickly to all their areas of expertise.

2.   A 24 hour sales force.  E-commerce is not a necessity for all companies. For those that do move product, the right sales solution can not only increase revenues, but do so in an incredibly efficient manner. Our friends a Table 301 are a great example. They opened up new revenue streams by selling their cookbook and gift cards online, simply by making the option available.

3.   Your customer service line. It's not always about getting someone on the phone. Getting customers to the right answer online can save you a ton of time and money. It doesn't happen by accident. Big Peach Running Company provides great customer service on a number of levels. First, the site content is always fresh and well laid out, making it very easy to find information on a ton of topics. They take it one step further though, and send out a weekly e-newsletter to their 20,000+ raving subscribers. The lesson here: get out in front of your customers and provide them the resources they need, don't wait for them to ask.

4.   Increase your business efficiencies. Web solutions are not always customer facing. Ask NEXT. Hughes Development wanted to build a great space for innovation, but wanted it to be incredibly efficient to manage. The solution: the companies at Next can book a conference room online or from their mobile, as well as place any service requests through the site.  

5.   An incredible lead generator. A highly optimized site should bring you the potential for new business. Heavy Salvage wanted just this. Think of Heavy Salvage as the ebay for wrecked trucks and salvage. The auction functionality worked so well, heavysalvage.com began drawing interest from regional and national insurance carriers.

The bottom line: At the end of the day, your website can be an online brochure or, if done properly, it can provide a significant solution and benefit to your business.