WEBSITE INDUSTRY
The website industry is in many ways glutted with website developers that are for the most part focused on middle to large sized businesses. The primary reason for this is simple economics, because a good commercial website usually costs $5,000 to $10,000 and requires the user to have a programmer on staff or to outsource any updates or changes as they come along. "By all means keep your website updated. Nothing is more annoying than a website that hasn't been touched since it was put up several years ago. If you don't have the capability to design and keep your website up, by all means hire a professional to help you." (USA TODAY, 07/16/02).
It is essential for small businesses to continue to be able to compete and grow. They must find a new way to enhance their marketing and customer service. "Businesses that use the Internet and have websites have grown 46% more than those that don't." (American City Business Journal) There are many in business today that understand the changes that have taken place in technology and how this technology can affect business today and in the future. Bill Gates of the Microsoft Corporation supports this concept by stating, "There are going to be two kinds of businesses in the future, those on-line and those out of business."
As the economy becomes tighter and tighter small businesses need to be able to increase their marketing effectiveness without spending an exorbitant amount of money. By using a website they can increase the effectiveness of their current marketing strategies by 30% to 50%.
Some Examples of this are:
A radio advertisement that covers a radius area of 80 to 100 miles has an actual effectiveness that decreases after 20 miles, simply because customers may not be willing to drive farther just to see a product that they may or may not want to purchase. By adding a website the customer can log on and see the actual product and special sales of the day and order on-line or at least know that it is worth the drive. Resulting in greater convenience for the customer and increased sales.
Yellow Page Advertisement only provides limited information Name, Address, Phone Number. By simply adding a website address to the ad, the amount of information available to the customer is only limited by the information provided in their website. They can also purchase through the website because they can see what they are purchasing.
A website also provides an avenue for repeat promotions that can be changed as often as you desire, thus giving you control over how often you do a promotion (monthly, weekly, or whenever) and you don't have to wait or pay for your special flyers or postage to mail them out to your customers. According to USA TODAY, (07/16/03) "Many entrepreneurs who have websites have reported as high as 70% increase in sales to their steady customers and a 25% increase in new customers."
The need for all businesses to have a website has become paramount and will only increase with time. The primary problems in the website industry are the current types of commercial websites available and the high costs of establishing and maintaining a commercial website that are far above what most small businesses can afford.
The website industry needs a product/service that can fill the gap left by the small business market. H N H has the product/service that can meet the needs of this size of small business. This new type website isUser Friendlyfor updates and changes without sacrificing the ability of having a fully commercial website that is e-commerce enabled and are available withUser Friendly Prices.
