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Some notes on Web useLately I've been paying a lot of attention to newspaper advertising in the Batavia, Illinois area. As part of building a community Web site (http://www.windmillcity.com), I'm on the hunt for local organizations and businesses who have an Internet presence. When I look at their ads, I see only a handful of companies who include a URL. There are a couple of hundred locally-owned businesses in Batavia. But I've only been able to find URL's for about 35 of them. Please think of this as an open letter to those companies and others like them: 1. You're not on the Web. How come? Almost half of the homes in the US have computers, and most companies have Internet access. The Web is another avenue for people to reach you, and it cannot be ignored. Do you have a fax machine? Do you have voice mail? Do you have an 800 number? Do you have touch-tone phones? Do you have PC's? These are all new technologies that have become integral parts of your company's communications system. If you don't embrace the Web, either now or really soon, you're going to miss out on vast amounts of potential business. 2. If you're still working on your Web page, you're spending WAY too much time on it. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece. It doesn't have to be a full-fledged ecommerce site from day one. You can have a page up, with the basic information about your company, in about a day. But if you're using your nephew, brother-in-law, or your "computer-expert" buddy, it's going to take a minimum of three years. 3. If you have a Web page, are you synchronizing your traditional advertising with your Internet presence? Don't rely on Internet search engines to help your customers find your Web site. Promote it in your marketing. Do you put your phone number and fax number in your ads? Your URL is just another way for your customers and prospects to communicate with you, and learn about your company. If you're not getting the word out about it, you're not fully utilizing your Web page. So kick a little butt and get your son-in-law to finish your Web page. You don't need a survey form or literature request form right away. You don't have to have "frames." Put up a site with your company logo, name, contact information, basic products and services, and a map to your office. Submit it to some search engines. Put the address on your business cards and advertising. But get going. Being on the Web can be very cheap. And all it takes is one sale from a customer who made the decision to buy based on seeing your site. The Web doesn't have to cost much. But YOU have to get going. Business is waiting. Now, why don't I see your URL on your ads in the local paper?
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