| Action steps to
a Web, site that works
1.
Give your Web site visitors information. Explain a process.
Show a special job. Provide available -colors, patterns, styles,
or finishes. Web surfers are information gatherers give them
the information they are looking for.
2.
Invest in a design. A Web site put together quickly and void
of design is going to present a poor image of your company.
3.
Organize site navigation using language your potential customer
understands. Don't get caught up in concrete industry speak.
4.
Talk about yourself. Give potential customers a flavor of
what it is like to work with you. Tell them about your background.
5.
Update your site regularly. Have a current projects page.
Keep adding to your galleries of work.
6.
Organize galleries by the type of work. Show interior floors
all together, for example. This will help when you call a
potential customer to ask about bidding a project-you can
e-mail your Web page showing your gallery of interior floors,
for instance.
7.
Have a pressroom on your site. Media stories about your company
establish your role in the industry and in your geographic
location.
8.
Show your address and phone number prominently. Not all clients
want to e-mail your company or fill out a form. Make it easy
for potential customers to reach you in the manner that is
most comfortable to them.
In the future, it will be even more
vital to have a Web site that works. Each month over a million
more people sign up for high-speed Internet connections provided
by DSL, wireless services, or cable modems. Your potential
customers, those "information foragers" with connections
that are always on, can maneuver around the Internet easier
and faster than ever before. They can be gone from your Web
site in seconds if they don't immediately see that your site
will help them.
On the other hand, a Web site
that works can engage and communicate with potential customers
and make a major contribution to your company's success in
attracting new customers and growing your business.
-- Jim Peterson is
founder and president of ConcreteNetwork.com (www.concretenetwork.com),
a Web site serving the concrete industry, and a principal
in High Grade Form, a foundation contractor located in Riverside,
Calif.
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