So you already have a website? In order to get ready to turn your website into a web business, you’ll need to look at some fundamental things that are going to help you decide whether you should keep what you have, change what you have or figure out if you need to start over.

Throwing in the Towel…
When you’ve done all that you can do, or if your project seems like a hopeless mess, it may be well worth it to begin anew and start fresh. Keep in mind you want to make use of some of the things that worked well on your current site. Here are some things to ponder before you decide to start over.

- Fixing the current site will cost more than building a new one
- Modifying the design will take longer than building a new site
- Your current site has been up for more than 2 years, with minimal design revisions and/or feature additions.
- Your current site is antiquated and the technologies you need to maintain it aren’t around anymore.

If you find that you want to start over, click here to contact our BMG Services and we can help you.

Keeping and Tweaking What You Have Now
Web sites are interactive marketing pieces that are always a work in progress. There will be days when you will update your site for hours, and there will be weeks when no updates are necessary. In between, there are a few areas that you absolutely must pay attention to…

Checking Up On the Competition
Make sure you’re checking into the online solutions and amenities provided by your competitors. Your competitors site will show you what’s going on, and also give you an idea of what types of things that are prior for your business industry, and also will give you an idea of what your customers are used to seeing. When was the last time you spyed on your competition?

Review Your Web Statistics
Your web statistics give you a good idea of who’s coming to your site, and what they’re doing. By utilizing this information, and analyzing it, you start to learn what your customers want, and what they don’t want. If you’re not using web statistics now, or you don’t understand the ones you have, try Google’s Analytics. Statistics show where your traffic is coming from, and what pages they’re going to. That can be really exciting. Just keep in ming that if you have 5,000 people coming to your site daily, but only 1% of them purchase something or stay on the site for longer than 3 minutes - you just might have a major problem.

Analyze Your Customer’s Behavior
Unfortunately, web statistics give lots of numbers but they don’t give you much detailed information about what people are doing on your site. Are they reading, listening, printing, or just flipping through information? What are they looking for, and did they find it? Surveys and comment boxes work well, but only if the customer actually uses them. There are a few tricks of the trade like RobotReplay, that can show you way more than you could have ever known.

Put Customer Inquiries and Complaints into Motion
A web business owners’ best friend, customer inquiries and complaints are a great way to address the online needs of your audience and give them specifically what they ask for. By using the information that your customers have provided in questions, concerns, and complaints, you can easily determine what changes need to be made, what features need to be added or removed, how effective your marketing are, and more importantly, how your online presentation and interactivity appeals to your audience.

Step Up Your Customer Support
When customers ask questions, typically, they’re asking you about something that isn’t on your website, or isn’t explained very well in the information you’ve provided. It may also mean that you need to invest in an online customer support area, or Frequently Asked Questions area - especially if the same questions are being asked over and over again.

Market and Promote, or Die!
Marketing is one of the most important activities you could ever do to ensure the success of your web business. By establishing an aggressive marketing plan and following it through, you can attract new customers and even find new channels to network and promote your business, service or self.

If you are not doing these things (or something comparable) on a regular basis, or at least committing a reasonable amount of time to marketing, you are doing a disservice to yourself and to your business efforts. Try committing at least one hour per day to participate in forums, and meeting new people on social networking websites and you’ll see a remarkable difference in your traffic and new prospects. If you already have been following a set marketing plan, consider the how well your marketing efforts have worked for you, and evaluate what things you should continue to do, and what you should do in place of the things that didn’t work out.

Don’t forget to check into TV, Radio and Newspaper opportunities that can skyrocket your business. Those options are more feasible than people think they are, and those who do the research find that each is well within an affordable range of cost. Also consider contacting your local public access television stations. Who knows? You just might get booked!

* The average TV advertisement on cable is $60-$100 per commercial.
* The average Radio advertisement is $60-$100 per 30-second commercial.

Good Luck, and if you need help from WBO, email the BMG Team at bmg@webbusinessownership.com