Web site Benefits

A presence on the World Wide Web is of enormous benefit to most businesses and organisations. A well designed web site will allow you to convey information to your target audience in a manner and at a speed not possible in any other medium.

Although the web cannot be a complete replacement for traditional media it is very

effective for advertising, information provision, and customer support. The key is to think of the World Wide Web as an opportunity to enhance the service you currently provide for your customers and a chance to use business automation to speed up information transfer and improve staff efficiency.

Here's just a few of the benefits that an effective web site can bring:

New services
By integrating the web site with your internal systems you can make order status, account balance, job delivery, and other information available instantly to your customers, without tying up staff on the phone. By making this information available so easily you are also giving your company an edge over your competitors. An online order form can also free up your staff time, while allowing customers to place orders out of business hours.

Exciting Presentation
A well designed web site will allow you to convey information to your target audience in a clear, well presented, easy to navigate and visually stimulating manner. Your web site can be presented in a style that will tie in with your existing business stationery and promotional literature, or you might decide to adopt a fresh approach.

Enhanced Information
An effective web site will allow you to provide far more details about your products and services than a traditional advert or brochure. You can provide layers of information for visitors to browse according to their needs and interests and present them in an interactive manner.

A Friendly Environment
A web site allows interested customers to browse information about your products and services at their leisure, without feeling pressured by sales staff. Research shows this can often increase sales.

Efficiency
Many customer enquiries and support can be handled very efficiently electronically. Often, a surprising number of customer queries can be handled by providing online information, such as product details, price lists or answers to a list of 'frequently asked questions' (known as a FAQ). The web won't replace your existing sales and customer support services, but it will very likely ease some of the burden on them.

Up-to-date Information
A web site allows you to keep your product and service information up to date more easily than with traditional paper brochures or literature because the costs of updating a web site are minimal, and the change happens immediately.

Special Extras
The web will allow you to entertain or inform your customers with special site features. Extra facets can be added to the site to reward your customers for their interest in your business and also to draw in extra visitors. An example might be a special feature item with extra information content relating to your business. Or perhaps a special competition? Or perhaps a message board or discussion forum that allows visitors to give feedback and get involved with what you do? Such features help to make your site more than just an advert and will build a good image and develop customer loyalty.

Cost Effectiveness
Developing and maintaining an effective web site need not cost a great deal, especially when compared with the cost of a traditional publication distributed to all comers. It is clear that a web site is a very cost effective investment when you take into account that once developed it will remain a permanent fixture on the World Wide Web and can be upgraded, updated or expanded as required.