Page 267 - Duct Tape Marketing

251Chapter 16: Tapping the Internet’s Marketing Power

Keeping tabs on your competition

Go online as if you were a customer searching for services or products like
the ones you sell. Find and monitor your competitors’ sites in the same way
that you watch the activities of bricks-and-mortar competitors to evaluate
how they might impact your business. Here are some suggestions:

ߜ Go to directory and search engine sites and enter combinations of words
that people might use to define your offering. The results reveal the com-
petitive options that prospects see when they shop on the Web.

ߜ Look through publications that you know your customers read. Make
note of Web site addresses in articles and ads and visit the sites to see
how competitors are working to reach your customers online.

ߜ Sign up for electronic newsletters offered on competitors’ sites.
ߜ Buy products online and rate your purchasing and delivery experience.

Accessing free business advice

The Web is rich with sites that can help you write business and marketing
plans, address challenges faced by your business, hire employees, get legal
advice, and find research and information to aid in business and marketing
decisions. Start with the small business Web sites listed in the Appendix that
follows Chapter 22. Each one is packed with advice and information, and
each features links to dozens of other sites you’ll find useful.

Putting a Web Site to Work

If you’re trying to reach prospects outside your current market area, if you
want to enhance customer service by offering 24-hour access for those wish-
ing to place or track orders, if you want consumers to find the latest news
about your business, then you’re probably in the market for a Web site.

Follow these steps as you weigh the decision to launch a Web site:

ߜ Define how prospects and customers will use your site. Will they want
general information, answers to frequently asked questions, product
details, the ability to request quotes or customer support, maps to your
location, or other information? Will they want to buy online? Will job
applicants want to apply online? The answers help determine how your
site will work and what features it will need to include.