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You’ve probably considered building a web site for your garden center. Cost was probably an issue, and you might have had questions about the real value a site would bring your business.
Web sites are for large corporations, right? Internet companies, right? Does an independent garden center really need a web site?
Contrary to what you may think, web sites are powerful tools not only for large companies, large retailers, and internet companies, but are essential tools for small businesses to increase revenue, reach and retain new customers, build a loyal customer base, and provide value-added services and features to online visitors. Small budget or million-dollar budget, businesses of all sizes have a lot to gain from the Internet.
Whether you’re a garden center professional, landscape professional, or a grower, you should build a web site because:
- your customers and prospective customers are already there
- the web lets you showcase the full range of what you offer
- you can use the web to extend your sales reach
your customers are already there
The basic value of a web site for your business is that your current and prospective customers are already using the web in their daily lives—locating information, buying products, finding services—all online.
This is especially important for you as a way of reaching new customers. Today, your prospective customers are using web search engines and yellow pages directories to find businesses that provide what they want. When the businesses they’re looking for are displayed, some have just business contact information, like a phone number, address, and name.
Others displayed by the search also have a link to their web site—which can include a visual map, a directions service, and additional contact information. Even better, their site may also include promotions, online coupons, and a description of products and services that can help drive the online visitor to visit the brick-and-mortar location.
For you, the presence of a web site attached to your business is a value-added service to current and prospective customers and increases the possibility they will find out about the range of what you offer.
To leverage your web site to build and maintain a loyal customer base, include the following as standard parts of your site:
- a map
- contact information
- product or services catalog and portfolio
- promotions
- features
showcase the range of what you offer
For many of your customers, a visit to your business probably goes something like this—the customer decides she needs certain products, then decides to go to your location. She’s been there before, so she moves quickly, moving from product-to-product and to the register—quickly and efficiently to get back to work.
Did they see that you provide landscape design, maintenance, and installation services? Do they know you’re running a special offer on a certain product? Did they put their names on a mailing list so they can receive your newsletter or direct mailings?
Your online garden center provides you an opportunity to introduce your customers and prospective customers to the range of what you offer— the pace is more leisurely, your visitors are likely to explore, and you stand to get wide exposure of all you offer. An online garden center offers you an opportunity like nothing else to showcase the range of your offerings by letting your customers and prospects explore your offerings in a no-pressure, relaxed environment.
Include easy links to each of the basic offerings you provide—
- online catalog of products
- section devoted to your services
extend your sales reach
A well conceived and organized online garden center is a powerful way to extend your sales and brand reach. As we talked about earlier, your online garden center will be your first interaction with many prospective customers and should provide basic contact information, maps, and some incentives for turning a visit to your web site to a visit to your brick-and-mortar location.
Your online garden center gives you the opportunity to provide your visitors with valuable content—content that not only helps educate your visitors, but also can help drive traffic to your priority products, promotions, or services.
For example, a content area devoted to landscape design tips and ideas can become an important gateway to your landscape design, installation, and maintenance services.
Like your sales professionals in your brick-and-mortar location, content and information can help drive sales by educating your customers and prospective customers about the range of what you offer.
- use content to attract repeat visitors
- use content as a gateway to related products or services
- use your site to display your portfolio of your products or the projects you’ve worked on
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