The value of the internet as a sales and promotional tool is often overlooked by small businesses. They mistakenly think that the world wide web is only for businesses with a global reach. The internet, however, is for all kinds of businesses, both large and small.
To demonstrate the point, we’ll make a hypothetical example of a small picket fence manufacturer. We’ll call the business ‘Stan’s Picket Fences.’ Stan has a small factory in a big city. He manufactures custom made picket fences and installs them within a fifty mile range of his premises. He had no desire to expand his range beyond that distance because going out on the road was already a time consuming chore and he only sold to about 25% of his leads.
He and his handful of employees got together for a brainstorming session one day and one of them offered to make a website for him. Stan agreed to give it a try, so the employee went around and took photos of some of the fences they had built, of the factory and of the manufacturing process. The website he made was just a simple one, kind of an online scrapbook album. It was simple, but it was very effective.
Within a couple of months, Stan found that he was getting far more sales from his initial visits to people’s homes because they already knew what he had to offer before he went to their homes. The first time they called, Stan told them they could see his portfolio online and if that was the sort of work they wanted, he would come out and see them. His website was already a huge timesaver for him.
Deeply impressed, Stan asked his employee if he had any other ideas. The employee suggested that Stan get in touch with other local businesses and, if they agreed, exchange links with them.
The first one to agree was a small home decor accents business that was located in their suburb. Stan made a prominent link to their site on his and they reciprocated. This simple link exchange resulted in a significant number of leads. Stan’s website had cost him only the hours that it took for his employee to make the site and a few dollars a month for a hosting service, but it was now increasing his profits by more than ten percent.
As is that wasn’t enough, Stan’s business soared as a result of a link exchange he did with a local property developer who was just starting an online campaign for a new property launch. Everyone who was interested in buying one of the more than a hundred homes in the development saw Stan’s link. All of those who wanted a picket fence around their new home called Stan’s Picket Fences first.
Stan never made any big changes to his website, but it continued to pay off for him. His business doubled in size and profitability. That’s how the internet can help even small businesses!