How to exclude Under 35's From Your Business
It is shocking but true, there are still many businesses in Ireland without an online presence. For whatever reason, they think that a website is not necessary for their business. These businesses are simply ignoring a large portion of their market, the under 35’s.
In April 2007, Accenture published a study about online product research. They found that 67% of respondents preferred to purchase goods in physical stores, however, 69% of the respondents stated that the use the Internet to research product features as part of the shopping process.
They also found that:
· 58% use the Internet to locate items online before going to a store to purchase.
· Only 13% said the Internet has not improved their shopping experience.
· 43% said the online information was the most influential
“Instead of replacing bricks and mortar stores, the Internet is an extension of consumers’ in-store shopping experience providing a resource to research product and price,” said Jeff Smith, global managing director of Accenture’s Retail practice. “Retailers and manufacturers must understand this consumer behaviour trend in order to reach shoppers, educate them, serve them and earn their loyalty.”
The internet has become second nature to the under 35’s. They have easy access to it via their computer at home, their computer at work, and even on their phone. It is an easy reachable resource that will give immediate results, no matter what they are looking for. This market segment believes that if a business does not have a website then they cannot be very reputable. The easiest way to profit from this market is to have a website.
The most obvious benefit to owning a website is marketing your business online. Prospective clients will look for your business website before searching the yellow pages for your phone number. However, there are a lot of other benefits. A website can be used as an opportunity to publish your knowledge of your products or services, it can be used as a communication tool in order to keep in contact with your current clients, or it can be used to inform people of your business or products.
Increase your visibility, communicate with the world and expand your client base
More and more individuals and business people are looking to the Web for products and services.
From the most remote location you can reach people anywhere, announce upcoming events, post images and get feedback at any time of the day and from all over the world. A web site is an ideal place to communicate with customers, suppliers, prospects, sales people and the general public — tell them about your products or services, your business hours, your methods of payment, how to find you, etc.
100% current and time-sensitive information for an international audience!
What if your materials need to be released no earlier than midnight — the quarterly earnings statement, the grand prize winner, the press kit for the much-anticipated film, the merger news? Well, you sent out the materials to the press with the “Do-not-release-before-such-and-such-time” statement and hope for the best. Now the information can be made available at midnight or any time you specify, with all related materials such as photographs, tables, charts, etc. released at exactly the same time. No brochure, radio spot, newspaper or TV/cable ad can sustain or refresh your message as can a web site. To retain your customers you need to keep them informed about the latest news, activities, events and services. Your web must also change to cater to your users’ changing needs. Thus having a web site and being able to update it any time allows you to compete with your largest competitors on an equal footing.
Heightening public interest!
Your widget is great but people would really love it if they could see it in action. Again with no airplay nobody will know that your album sounds great! How about a 3D view of the interior of a room? Exploit the immense power of this high-tech world to make a good impression and attract clients! Add animated logos, high-resolution images, sound files, virtual reality effects and much more to your information. Unlike print, on the web not all visitors will proceed through the same pages serially. Hypertext can provide alternate views of information and alternative routes for users to follow based on their needs and interests. Rather than just forming a vague idea the visual, interactive and dynamic qualities of the web allow your visitor to have an all-encompassing view of your products or services — it really complements an actual visit to your place particularly for your remote clients.
High-quality and instantaneous customer service!
How about making forms available to pre-qualify for loans, or having your staff to do a search for that classic Glenn Campbell’s record your customer is looking for, without tying up your staff on the phone to take down the information? Allow your customer to punch in sizes and check it against a database that tells him what colours of jacket are available in your store? All this can be done, simply and quickly, on the web. The personnel at your reception will tell you how their time is usually spent answering the same questions over and over again. These are the queries that customers and potential clients come up with before they deal with you. Post them on a web page and free up some time for your harried phone operator. You can also get instant feedback from your users and anticipate their changing needs. Moreover, an instant response to the frequently asked questions can be built into the web pages while they are still fresh in your customer’s mind avoiding the cost and response-time of business reply mail.
Written by Vince Doherty, www.dakor.ie. Dakor is a full service web design/development company