These e-gardening tips will help your
Web site grow from sprout to giant
By Dana Dratch • Bankrate.com

Want your small business Web site to be a success? Think of it as a garden: tend it every day, weed out old information, plant promotions -- and cultivate your customers.

"Many business owners think that once the site is up, that's all they have to do," says Terri Lonier, author of the small business guide Working Solo and consultant to the e-commerce host Bigstep.com. "Many small business owners are in for a rude awakening. You have to bring people to your door -- just like you do with a brick-and-mortar store."

The vehicle may be different, but chances are business owners already know the rules of the road -- even if they don't realize it. "A lot of the same traditional marketing tactics that you would use in your retail store really apply online," says Craig Harkins, the marketing manager of MindSpring Biz, the business arm of the MindSpring Internet Service Provider.

Publicize your site, offline and on
First things first: tell your customers there is a new store out there -- one that is open for them 24/7. A top spot to advertise the new online site is offline, says Harkins. Plaster the new Web address on every piece of paper, cardboard and plastic that leaves the store -- from shopping bags and flyers to business cards and letterheads.

"Our URL is everywhere we can put it," says Maggie Steiner, retail marketing manager of Heavenly Cheesecakes Inc., an Atlanta-based dessert company with business-to-business sales of $2 million annually. The strategy seems to be working. The company's Web site, which markets desserts direct to consumers, is less than a year old, has done almost no advertising and generated $10,000 in sales in December.

"We were very pleased," she says.

Web entrepreneurs should research which keywords and search engines customers are using to find not only their Web address but also those of similar products. Then, if they choose to buy ads, they can spend their money where it is likely to bring the highest return.

Business owners can also submit their sites electronically to the search engines that their potential customers are using. Before dealing with a search engine, Web merchants need to ask if there is a charge to submit material, how often they can resubmit without a penalty and what the odds are their submission will even be reviewed -- must less listed -- by the engine.

Also, talk to business owners who have similar sites -- who do they list with? How tough was it to get on? What kind of traffic are they getting?

Track customer 'click-offs'
Once customers arrive, it's important to track where they leave. Some Web hosting services will give business owners statistics on where visitors go on the site -- and what page they are on when they click off.

Look at the traffic patterns, says Lonier. Does one page seem to turn off customers? It could be that the page is poorly designed or takes too long to load. Either way, if it's losing customers, fix it or ditch it.

Want to place an ad on the Web and do it cheaply? If business owners don't mind the look of an ad on their own site, they can swap ad space with other business owners whose products or services complement theirs.

They can also create "hotlinks" -- instant, one-click gateways -- to sites with overlapping clientele.

Create content
One proven way businesses draw in more Web-wanderers is to publish articles or how-to-guides that might appeal to their customers.

"You need to have a reason for people to find you, besides just to buy," says Gerry Goldsholle, CEO of DoItYourself.com and FreeAdvice.com, consumer and legal sites for small business owners. "You want to serve the core of current customers and go beyond. And one way to get people to know about you is to provide good content."

North Carolina-based Candlevision.com features tips and advice and attracts 650 hits a day. Owner Paul Hoge is a firm believer in content and crossover advertising to help customers find the site. "They bring spice to your site and bring back revenue," says Hoge. "Don't just look at what you're selling as producing revenue -- look at some other things, too."

Cast out lures
Floridian Barbara Fincher launched a site -- Woodturner.com -- to help her artist husband, Robert, sell his work. Their online store, Soul of the Tree, is now getting 300 to 400 hits a month. Her secret? Fincher found that she could list art pieces for sale on eBay or Amazon.com for a minimal charge.

"The reason I put the pieces out there is not really to sell them," she says. "The reason I put them out there is because of the activity on these Web sites and the links I can get to our site. (Shoppers are) in a buying mood when they go to eBay or Amazon. If I can lure them to our Web site, good for me."

Internet newsletters are also a very effective way to reach out to customers. Shoppers can sign up either on a Web site on in a real-life store. One Atlanta pub uses its electronic newsletter to tell customers about the latest microbrews and special offers.

"You wouldn't think a bar would do anything over the Internet, would you?" asks MindSpring's Harkins, who is on the mailing list. "But it's very effective. It's another way to keep in touch with your best customers."

Lonier, whose monthly newsletter goes out to 25,000 small-business owners, says the content should "give value to the customer ... What would pique their interest?"

Another trick to building a devoted following, she says -- never share or sell the names.

You may be a winner ...
Contests and giveaways are another way to boost traffic. Visitors to CandleVision.com can sign up to win a $30 gift basket. In the process, they also note their favorite varieties of candles and can opt to give their e-mail addresses to receive information on products and specials.

"It has been our main advertising vehicle," says Hoge, whose 9-month-old site produces 25 to 30 orders a day. "It's helped create a lot of traffic, word of mouth, and I'm building a database. If they try the candles, they'll like them. Then we'll be able to take that information and build products for that customer."

It will take time ...
Increased traffic has a price: time. Lonier advises small business owners to budget at least a few hours a week -- minimum -- toward maintaining the Web site, researching customer patterns and answering e-mail.

For the first few months, Hoge hired a professional Webmaster to design and maintain his site. The move paid off because the Webmaster came up with the idea of using the giveaway as a draw and got the site off to a great start. "But he actually got to the point where he was too expensive," says Hoge. Now his employees do the work in-house.

... and money 
Don't know whether to hire a pro or go it alone? Do the math. Small business owners need to figure out how much time they are spending on the site -- and what that time is worth. In the long run, sometimes it's cheaper for them to farm out Web work -- especially if they can connect with a savvy high school or college student who is looking to build a portfolio. On the other hand, the business owner who is stretching every dollar may have to find a few "extra" hours in the week.

Lonier advises small business owners to be tight-fisted with their equipment dollars. To operate the site, she says, business owners need a 56K modem. Beyond that, "don't feel compelled to go out and invest in that equipment until you know what it can do for you." Entrepreneurs who maintain their own sites -- or handle them in-house -- may want to invest in a photo scanner or a digital camera.

Sell what you offer
The most important thing? If you have the product on the site -- have the product in stock.

Goldsholle remembers an excursion to a site that advertised beach plum jam, a real favorite of his mother and many other Long Island natives.

"I ordered some, and a week later they said they didn't have any," Goldsholle says. "It was something left on the site from last year."

That merchant lost a fan. "Keep your products current," Goldsholle says, "or you'll disappoint your customers."

Like any thriving garden, a healthy Web site is constantly growing, changing and evolving. Many small business owners are daunted by the notion of launching a Web site -- afraid they don't understand enough to "get it right." These folks, says Goldsholle, are missing the point of the Web.

"The person who is seeking to create the perfect store will fail," he says. "Part of the Internet process is try it, learn from it and fix it. Delay is your biggest enemy. If you delay, someone else will do it."

Despite promises of global markets and instant access, the Web-garden in a very long-term approach to growing customers.

"The biggest thing is don't roll all your dice and think it's a get-rich-quick scheme," says Hoge. "You've got to have patience, you've got to take time. It's like any other business -- you've got to take the time to build it, one step at a time, and learn how it works."

Dana Dratch is a freelance writer based in Georgia
To comment on this story, please e-mail the Bankrate.com editors

-- Posted: Jan. 17, 2000