Building Business on the Web: Creating customer action is key to growth By: Saya' Productions A Respond Buyer's Club Member Viewing page 1 of 2   Next >

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"The Internet has been telling people to put their business online and your business will grow," said Alvin Chua, president and CEO at Dallas-based Web design and production company, Saya' Productions. "When they think of constructing a Web site, they think of the design aspect rather than solution or a strategy or as a tool. So they usually come to us with the platform and programming languages they want instead of how the Web site will blend in with their processes and operations or with their current strategy. It's all about changing the mentality regarding the Internet."

The new Web mentality should reflect an attitude toward business and customer service. The conventional online brochure-type Web site no longer best serves the interests of customers. An effective site must promote your business and contain a level of functionality that will drive customers to return to your URL. That means action - an automated interaction with your company.

A Web site should have a strategy and capabilities so customers can make informed decisions, Chua explained. The reason for visiting a Web site, for a lot of people, is to find out information. But it should not simply consist of information about the company. It should lead them to make a decision and contact that company.

The first thing to do is research the target audience. "Most organizations already know that they should target the buyers of their product," Chua said. "But there are also people who may want to register the product or who are looking for some kind of support. So, it's not always one, two or even three segments you should be looking at - it's more."

Once the target audience is identified, creating a plan for your Web site is as simple as crafting a one-page wish list of information detailing what your organization wants to accomplish. Your designer should already be aware of all the technical aspects of how to make the site more effective, so you should be concerned with the business plan, Chua advised.

"It's like if you want a house built, you don't have to specify that you want lights in the middle of the room that will light up when you flick a switch," Chua said. "The electrician should already know that. At the same time, the electrician can suggest that if the room is the kids' room, the switch should be positioned so kids can easily reach it."

Business on the Web is on the cusp of moving into the future. Chua believes that Web sites are going to follow in the footsteps of film, which started as a silent medium but now thrives with audio.

Audio should create branding for your company. Jingles, a narrative voice or sound effects are options to enhance the Web image or recognition of a company.

One of the reasons most people are not using audio is that it can get expensive. For a 20-second audio spot -including a voice-over artist, studio and a recordist - it would cost at least $1,000, Chua said. To combat cost-wary clients, Saya Productions provides audio for its clients at no additional charge. The offer has benefited businesses and non-profit organizations alike.

While audio is an effective modern marketing tool, individual introduction pages have become outdated.

"Most of our sites combine the intro and the main page," Chua explained. "We don't want people to look at the intro before they get to the main page. Also, if you have a slower connection, while the Flash presentation is loading you have access to the main page. So you're not sitting there and waiting for something to pop up on your screen. If you just want something simple like contact information, you shouldn't have to wait for an intro to load."