A few ideas for making the web work for offline businesses like yours...
 

Hi all,

I haven't been posting here much lately. Been extremly busy with site redesigns, product creation, etc. - Laying the foundations so to speak.

But while surfing another forum a post caught my eye. It was by a person in need of ideas on how to make the web work better for an offline service he is offering. He was worried that the high level of service customization would inhibit the usefulness of the internet as a marketing tool.

So I suggested that he use his website in this way:

1. As an info source to showcase his service and portfolio.

2. Use the customization aspect as a selling point rather than a disadvantage. He could tout how personalized his service could be to his clients.

3. Provide a toll free # for prospects to call for more info on customization, at which time he sells and upsells his services.

4. Then when the service is hired by the client, he gives them the link to his CC Processor so they can effortlessly and instantly book the service over the web.

Most businesses that offer offline services that require a high level of customization for the client could use the web in this way. Also, building on and adapting the above info would add greatly to it's value.

For all the marketing experts who read this message: There are a lot of people out there who don't understand that the internet should be used as a tool to compliment their current marketing and info delivery strategies. People need to adapt the web to what they are currently doing for the best results rather than letting the web adapt them.

I hope this sparks some interesting discussion.

Hey, maybe someone could provide an offline service to businesses as an "Internet Integration Consultant"! They could show businesses how to integrate web marketing into their existing marketing plans!

Not a new idea I'm sure... but it's something any internet savvy marketer could do in his/her spare time and get paid hansomely for ;-)

Well, enough rambling.

Respectfully,

Paul Short
EbizEdge.com


"The 60 Minute Marketer". Your Daily "Bite Size" Internet Marketing Action Plan!

The "Smart" business owners....
 

...in MY Town are using their website as a "customer service" tool to top their competitors.

Last year, I was a "Guest Speaker" at one of our Chamber of Comm luncheons. I put together a comprehensive plan for using websites as
1) an "Education" tool...."educating" consumers on their business AND their products....AND...
2) using their websites as a "customer service" area, where customers could find answers to problems with products or to simply contact "techies" for help.
3) using their websites AND email as a way of staying in contact with EXISTING customers.

I was able to get a number of "Website" orders because ALL other Web Developers were using (and still are) "Get NEW business" as the main reason to have a website.

Also...with my own products, because my products are "Direct Sales" oriented I do NOT rely upon the internet for customers. Internet people are NOT, for the most part, "Sales" people.

I use my websites as a "BackUp" to my Off Line marketing and promotion. If I had to rely upon "Cyber-folk"....I would starve.

Don Alm


Reprint Rights to Proven Successful Info Products

My mistakes when I provided web site development services....
 

Hi Paul,

Interesting post! Thanks for bringing up these topics... :)

Do you mind if I ask what offline service that person offers? It would get the picture more clearly in my mind....

By the way, for a short time last year I was involved in creating web sites for clients (as part of an offline JV). I found that it was a lot of work, because clients always wanted this or that adjusted. Our idea was to offer low-priced (essentially generic) web sites.... But it was a lot of work trying to get it "just right" so the client was satisfied.

I think the flaw now was our low-price approach.... We couldn't afford to make all the adjustments the client wanted with our low-price model. (It took too much time, given what we were charging.)

NOW I know why web site developers charge so much for their services! And I think they earn every penny.... :)

If I were to do it again, I would DEFINITELY target "high end" customers.... That way, I could afford to give them exactly what they wanted.... :)

But life is about learning.... Show me someone who's never made a mistake, and I'll show you someone who's never really tried anything new! The important thing is whether you LEARN from your mistakes!

- Dien Rice