Can a Website Can Work for Your Business?

I get asked this question a lot. First by small business owners - either because they haven't ever had a website or have done one and aren't thrilled with the results. Or from people that want to get into the Ecommerce business and want to find out how to find a product to sell and then sell it on the web.

So far in my experience, a website usually is a valuable addition for any existent small business. I've mainly focused on Ecommerce websites for small business, but I've also done a smattering of other service or general business oriented sites that have also worked well. Below, I will first talk about Ecommerce sites in general, and then Websites for Non-Ecommerce businesses. Lastly, I will discuss trying to start a Ecommerce business from scratch.

Ecommerce Websites for Small Businesses

I have found that certain types of products work well for a small business website and others don't. First, it helps to have something with a decent average price and a decent profit margin. That way you don't have to sell too many of a particular product to make some money, and with a decent profit margin you can afford to advertise. And with they way the search engines work, you can't count on your site being found for free through a search engine any longer. So it is vital to allow a fair amount of money for advertising that will drive customers to your website. These days, that means spending money on Google AdWords and Bing Ads.

Also, it is hard to compete if you are selling a product that is a commodity - one easily found on the web and is really only differentiated on price. But if you have product(s), or services, that are instead unique or "informational" in nature, I really feel that a small business can out compete a large businesses which sell the same products.

What do I mean by "informational"? I mean products or services that people that are actively interested in, but have question about and are looking to find out more information. These types of products or services are uniquely suited to the Internet, since the Internet is an easy way for people to try to find this kind of information. And this also means your customers are very receptive to your product when they would come across your site - they are actively looking for just the kind of product and information that you can provide. Provide these customers with a great user experience, and you may be able to do very well in selling this kind of product on the web (depending on the amount of targeted traffic you can attract).

As an example, in my main business, I sell memory foam topper pads. This is a product that is now advertised a great deal and gets a lot of interest. But while people have heard about memory foam, often they really find that they don't really understand it all that well. The product claims get their interest, but they are kind of technical and confusing. Add on to this that there are so many types of memory foam now being advertised, and many of my customers are both intrigued and very confused. So they go on the web to try to find some way of better understanding the product and sorting through the various claims. And this quest for information gives my business a real opportunity - to step in and provide the detailed information on memory foam that people are looking for. This is the edge I try to mine, and you can to by picking out these kind of "informational" products to focus on.

But the products don't have to be as unique as memory foam to be "informational", they can be as run of the mill as a fabric cover for a futon. The key is whether these products are also "informational". And while a futon cover may not sound like a very unique or "informational", it actually turns out it is. Customers searching for futon cover on the Internet are not only looking for a website gives them a fair amount of choices at good prices, but one that makes it easy to find the kinds of fabrics they are looking for, has good, detailed descriptions of these fabrics, lets them see the fabrics on a couch so they can visualize it, allows them to order swatch samples of the ones they are interested in, etc. So by designing a site that does all this, we came up with a site at Futon Covers Online that works because it gives the customers the kind of information they are looking for - and in a user oriented way that can out compete the competition.

Stay away from Ecommerce Websites which Deal with "Commodities"

In looking at whether a website makes sense for your business, look at how "commoditized" your product is on the web. If your product is really just a commodity, with customers having little interest other than a price, then it may be tough to make this business really work on the web. I found this out when I designed a site for Radio Flyer wagons. This site, Simply Wagons, has done ok, but Radio Flyer wagons have become just a "commodity" on the web. They are carried by lots of retailers at very low margins. And most customers have very few questions about the product other than the price. This makes it very tough to provide extra value on this product through the kind of deep, informational sites that I find effective. So while I have tried to give customers unique content on the site - our comparison charts and page on trying to find just the right wagon - I found that this just wasn't enough to make the site profitable beyond a certain point. The real problem with this site was that I got into it without really knowing the product, and this was a grave mistake (see my commentary below). Given the time and effort I took in designing the site, it would have been far better to pass on the wagon site, and instead spend the time on a product area that is much more "informational" and far less of a commodity.

The Key to a Successful Ecommerce Business

Which brings me to my last point about building a successful Ecommerce site. I think the most important edge of any small business is the expertise and passion they have for their business. If you can bring this through to your site, then you have something that gives you an advantage over most other competitors out there. I think of it this way - I try to make the web site sort of a virtual me. That is, I want people on the site to feel like they are having a conversation with me, and that they are getting personal attention to their questions and needs. If you can do this on your site, and do the basics well (navigation, shopping cart, etc), then you can have a successful Ecommerce site for your small business. The goal is to have one of those sites that is a "great" site - the kind everyone loves to find, and feels like finding gold. Combine this with a great product, with good margins at a good price, and you have the makings for web success.

Website for Non-Ecommerce Oriented Business

A website can also be a valuable addition to businesses other than just those focusing on Ecommerce. I've done a number of sites for businesses that are instead focused on using the website to for other marketing or sales purposes. The purpose may be to inform and entice customers about their products or services, or just offer information through a non-profit site. Examples of these types of websites that can be very effective are: a website for a restaurant The Crystal Palace (a place I loved since I was a kid, but closed after a 50+ year run and I still miss it), and a personal book (Compassionate Souls). Two non-profit sites I've put up because of my interest are the Back Pain Resource Center, and Pancreatic Cancer Online.

The key to the success of these non-Ecommerce sites is that they really come through with something of value for your customers or users. On each of these sites, I've tried to create a site that really focused on their customer's particular needs in a detailed and responsive way. So, for instance, on the Crystal Palace site it was important to me that the site not only reflected the unique look and feel of the Palace, but also made it very easy to get menu information, find pricing, and make secured reservations.

I've also found that a website can be very effective in helping drive traffic to bricks and mortar retail store. An old client, Ellen's Futons (I worked with the original owner, Marc, and continue to do other projects with him to this day), didn't want to sell their futons directly online - it just didn't seem likely that this approach would work. So we decided that instead would use the site as a way of attracting new business to his store.

We would primarily use the site as an adjunct to his print advertising. The print advertising prominently displayed the website's name in the ad, and customers could then go to the website to get further information without having to physically drive to the store. The idea was for the website to give people some basic information on Ellen's products, printable directions, coupons for special discounts, etc. Hopefully, this would give them enough of a feel of the store through the site to entice them to come in. And it worked really well - 40% or so of his customers coming to the store ended up having already seen the site and printed up the coupons. And my client was very happy because he guessed that a lot of these customers were new ones - and ones that he might not have attracted without the website and the coupon offer on the site.

My point in going into these examples is that a website can be effective for your business, but you need to determine how it will both fit into your overall business scheme. And once you define what you will be trying to achieve with your site from a business perspective, then you can start to really flesh out how to achieve this through giving your customers the best possible experience in this regard.

All to often, I find that businesses will go through the first step - they decide that a website makes sense for their business. But then they won't go through the next crucial step - figuring out how to really provide a website that really addresses your customers needs and wants in a very responsive and usable manner. And that is why a lot of small businesses put up sites and don't have a whole lot of luck. But while it takes a lot longer to design a site from this perspective, a customer focused perspective, it really is worth it. This is again your edge - you have this great wealth of knowledge about your small business, and on the web you can share it with your customers in a very cost effective way. And this sells.

Starting a Web Business from Scratch - Look for a Passion

As for those looking to start a web business from scratch, I can't say that I have a lot of help to offer you. My success has come in designing sites for people or businesses that have an already defined product or service area. But I really haven't done well with trying to create a web business from whole cloth. The one site I really tried to do that with, the Simply Wagons site, just didn't do the kind of business of my other sites. The market was filled with cost cutting competitors, so I closed it down after a couple of years

I came up with this site originally for a Toy Store owner that wanted to try a website, but didn't know which of her product lines to focus. We decided to do a site centered on Radio Flyer wagons after finding out there was a lot of interest in wagons on the web. But my partner really sold only a few wagons in her retail store, and had just a surface knowledge of these products. And this superficial knowledge of the product caused me to miss some important things.

The most important being that this product has become such a commodity on the web that profit margins are really low. I know, I should have caught this, but I really never looked at profitability when I designed the site. The profitability of the product is usually a given - or the business wouldn't be succeeding off the web. I learned my lesson the hard way on this site - it is really important to know your product or service inside out in order to make good decisions. So I now stick to designing sites around businesses I, or my partners, already have a good handle on.

That isn't to say you can't create a successful web business from scratch. I have read where people picked out trends, then found products that fit these and created a site that did well selling into this trend. But I just haven't done this yet. And I think if I am able to do this successfully in the future, it won't be based on finding a trend as much as helping people sell in an area of interest.

That is, have people find an area they are personally interested first, one that they are passionate about and excites them. Then see if there are products that they feel strongly about within this area. The reason I feel this may well work is that people would bring a key element to a successful web business in this situation - their passion and caring about the product. And this is vital to the success of a small business site - customers love finding niche sites that are filled with the passion and interests of the owners.

So my advice is to really think about what you are interested in, and then explore whether any of these interest areas might be ripe for the web. One good way to see what is going on in any interest area is to go to a Convention or Expo on this interest area. I go to ones specializing in mattresses, and I'm always finding things that are really intriguing.

Ok, you've decided that a web business makes sense for your business. The next step is Thinking about your Niche

Next > Thinking about your Niche

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