Is Your Website Pulling Its Weight As A Business Tool?
by Bobette Kyle

A while back, in her Why The Heck Do You Have A Website Anyway?" article, Scottie Claiborne -- owner of Right Click Web Services -- reminded us that a Website is a business tool as well as a marketing tool. A Website can help make many departments within your company more efficient. This, in turn, increases your company's reputation and profitability.

Surveys, external research and internal brainstorming are good methods of uncovering ways to increase your Website's effectiveness as a business tool. You can also learn from observation. Simply browsing through some of the more popular Websites (and Websites you visit) will help you think of ways to make your site a strong business tool.

Historical Data

You are probably able to access your banking accounts online, look up past transactions and even conduct transactions online. The same goes for online retailers from which you've purchased. Websites such as Officemax.com, BestBuy.com, and many others can show you purchase and shipment history. Think about how you could use this same concept -- accessing detailed history online -- with your own Website. Who, both inside and outside your company, could work more efficiently with on-demand history?

Your sales representatives, for example, could work smarter with instant access to key customer status and history reports. Similarly, access to inventory activity could help sales reps more efficiently focus their selling activities and keep customers informed. Expand this idea by thinking about which company databases could be made available through secure, password-protected pages on your Website, where those who need them can directly access information 24/7 from anywhere in the world.

Information Access

We've all seen online store catalogues, Websites with descriptions, specifications, weights, prices, images, etc. of each item offered for sale. You can do the same with any type of information people need to know. If you sell a B2B product for resale to retailers, for example, your retail customers need the most current logos, product specifications and images to put in their advertisements and on signage. If they can -- at any time -- go to a section of your Website to download the most current specs, you've improved customer service and saved your internal support staff time.

The same can apply internally, for communication of logo colors, company policies and any other company-wide communication that needs to be consistently applied by everyone. If there were a place on the Website that always has the most current and accurate information -- and people go there for the information -- that would improve communications efficiency.

Online Meetings

Some trade organizations conduct online seminars -- or Webcasts -- for their members. Participants sign onto the Website at a predetermined time to listen and watch an educational presentation. Attendees can "raise their hands" and ask questions, just as if they are physically on site. You can extend this same concept to any type of company meeting, such as sales training, new product rollouts, benefits meetings, etc. Here, your Website is a business tool that saves travel costs and other logistical expenses.

As you brainstorm ideas and observe other Websites, try to think about the underlying concept. Then, apply that concept to your own business. You will become inspired in unexpected ways. Take action and you'll find your customers and employees happier, making your business more profitable.

About the Author

Bobette Kyle draws upon 18+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, online marketing experience, and a marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. She is publisher of WebsiteMarketingPlan.com and MyOnlineWeddingHelp.com, as well as cofounder of Daysteps LLC.