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| Houston phone 713 776 2100 | home | business web sites | e-commerce | internet |. You've undoubtedly heard "Content is King" - because it is true. And, viewers are becoming more demanding that it be useful, relevant, up to date, and constantly evolving. Undertaking a website is a continuing commitment - if you expect repeat visits. But to be honest, not all websites expect repeat visits, their message is simple we are here, here's what we do, and some make customers jump thru hoops to get the phone number, they are really nothing more business card listings.  However, don't expect such a site to dramatically impact your bottom line. The internet is an arena of competition. Competition for viewer visits, time, and loyalty. The good news is that once you've started with good viewer oriented content, it doesn't need to be too great a burden to keep the momentum up. Here are tips to make the task easier: Rotate information already contained within your site. Highlight specials, embellish points, restate and reformat information. Seek contributions from others. It's a network medium - use it. Find similar websites and ask to be able to reprint articles and features of interest (always ask!). Do you attend "real" world conferences, conventions, trade shows? Most speakers and presenters would be flattered to be represented on a quality site. For that matter, even printed materials - industry newletters, magazines, etc.- provide a source to request contributions. Provide a discussion forum at your website. It can be managed with very little input on your part. Services are evolving that provide content for you. News services that can tailor content by industry, jokes of the day, cartoons, tips, puzzles can all enhance and draw repeat visits to your site. Website Add Ons Hold a contest. It may only be for some silly award - "Golden Goofy Award of the Week" - or a valuable prize drawing. It will solicit participation - always a good thing. Provide an online service - online banner maker, life expectancy calculator, vehicle operating cost estimator, etc. Why a website? You're here, so you have probably arrived at your own conclusions on the necessity for a website for your small or home based business. But, perhaps these reasons will reinforce your decision. what can we do for you click here. CHEAP ADVERTISING Absolutely, an analogy is: If you could have a sizeable poster in O'Hare International Airport for your business and only pay about $1 a day - would you do it? Even realizing that your business may not be in Chicago and that almost everyone seeing it is in transit. Of course, you would. MORE THAN A COMPANY NAME Wouldn't it be great if you could afford, and clients would be willing to accept, a 3-4 page full color brochure for your company instead of just a business card! Your web site is that and more.  MARKETING SPEED AND EFFICIENCY Getting a product/service to market with traditional methods can take an exhaustive amout of time and money. And I do mean exhaustive - remember that the most often cited reason for business failure is undercapitalization. Even with deep pockets, few if any promotional opportunities offer the immense exposure that the Internet does. And certainly you've heard horror stories of an innovative idea that was plagerized (make that stolen!) before the rightful owner ever had a chance to market it and benefit. THE LOCAL INTERNET If you haven't noticed search engines and directories have started emphasizing local and regional listings of businesses in a huge effort to make content more relevant to the individuals. Tthere's probably a website sponsored by a major newspaper in your area that presents events, movie listings, and businesses and services in your region. The major directories (as opposed to search engines) also started geographic targeting several years ago. By the way, if you're not sure of the difference between search engines and directories you'll learn more later on. Yahoo! is a directory and reportedly accounts for 43% of all "searches" performed on the Internet! A PROSPECTING TOOL Do not underestimate the second biggest advantage to having a SoHo web presence. Sure you want to get your business name before people - but don't you also want them to willingly add their name to your list of contacts? Properly presented, interested potential clients will request to be contacted about questions they have, to be kept informed of changes to your website or products, or even subscribe to informative periodic newsletters you may offer. Additionally, from your prospective, much of this process may be automated. Names added automatically, material on specific subjects sent automatically, newsletters sent on an automated schedule. Mail list handlers and autoresponders ease the task of prospecting. PROMOTING YOUR BUSINESS RESPONSIBLY This is closely related to statements above, but presented from a different point of view. The days of "spamming" and bulk email distribution on the Internet are starting to die a natural death (hooray!). Any reputable company that spams these days quickly becomes disreputable. You should only consider emailing clients that have expressed a specific interest in your product or service. This is called "opt-in" emailing. And certainly lists are available for sale for whatever you are promoting of people that have opted to be included. Generally, think twice before acquiring outside lists even if they are opt-in. It is easy and expected that you will maximize the use of your own "in-house" permission granted lists. Internet sales totaled an estimated $7.8 billion in 1998 Average buyer demographic on the internet is male(65%) - female(35%), 33 yrs old, evenly split between married and not, household income of $59,000; 57% have a college degree; 88% speak english; 87% are caucasian. By the end of year 2002, women will outnumber men on the internet 66% of surfers use versions of Microsoft's browser 32% use Netscape's (AOL/Netscape alliance may change this) The resistance to using credit cards online, on a secure server, is no longer a major detriment to e-commerce. 42% on the Internet audience uses 800 x 600 screen resolution; 22% use 1024 x 768; and only 16% still use 640 x 480. Personal checks can now be accepted online with no merchant or processing fees (software or paid service required) Having your own domain name (ie,"www.yourname.com" ) is valued highly by consumers as a sign of legitimacy A trend seems to be developing for directories to start charging to be listed with them (generally this is just for "preferred" listing right now) 94% of internet users use a version of the Windows operating system Surfers generally do not want audio files to be automatically loaded with a site - at best it should be optional Video card color settings break down as 54% using 18 bit, 18% use 32 bit, 15% use 24 bit, 13% still use 8 bit. Center alignment pages (designed to center in browser screen) appear to be slightly preferred by surfers 35% of all surfers are still using 28.8 bps modems Only 21% of web pages appear to use the common "keyword" and "description" meta tags. The maximum time it should take to load any web page is 20 seconds @ 28.8 bps less is far better, especially for an opening page. AOL is far and away the largest single ISP with about 15% of the market. Surfers are far less enthralled with elaborate graphic files and animations than they were just a year ago, especially in a business context. There are now more web pages in the United States than people - we've heard the same of the world but are skeptical. The most often used search engines are: Yahoo 43%, Alta Vista 18%, Excite 16%, InfoSeek 7%, WebCrawler 5%, HotBot 3%. Web pages designed to use "frames" or "flash" are generally not ranked well by search engines. what can we do for you  click
here.Document Sharing From a home office, sharing documents with people outside your business can present challenges. Your recipients may not have the same application, same version, or even the same OS as you are using to create the files. The most popular way to share documents is as an email attachment and the most effective, open file format is PDF. Sending compatible PDF documents is this simple: Cost-effective online learning is helping companies build their competitive edge in the knowledge-based economy. E-learning technology allows information to be packaged in a more accessible, customized, learner-centric format. This can lead to reduced training costs, easier access to educational materials, increased opportunities for collaboration, and greater accountability. Learn more about e-learning. Learn more about e-learning. Supply-Chain Management Businesses are facing pressure on the supply chain due to competition to develop new products and services at lower costs. By implementing a networked and integrated supply-chain-management system, companies can reduce costs, increase revenues, improve service, speed time to market, and use their assets more effectively. Learn more about supply-chain management. Learn more about supply-chain management. Regardless of a company's e-business focus, success depends on having a strong Web foundation. The cornerstones of an effective e-business infrastructure are as much a matter of strategy as of technology. A standards-based and flexible architecture, well-managed content, and advanced user-management systems are among the key components of a successful Web strategy. See Security Overview Workforce optimization means using Internet technologies to maximize your employees' time so they can focus on the core value of their jobs. Online applications reduce or eliminate time-consuming administration while providing the right information at the right time so that employees can react quickly to market conditions. Learn more about workforce optimization. E-commerce applications allow private enterprises and public institutions to conduct transactions online with suppliers, business partners, and customers through Internet-based interactive applications To take full advantage of the Internet’s benefits, companies must transform not just their processes, but also their cultures. Embracing the Internet as a business tool requires more than just choosing the right technology. Companies planning to use the Internet to build more productive and competitive businesses must also be prepared to transform a traditional corporate culture into an Internet culture To succeed in the Internet economy, companies must learn to play by a new set of rules. Within this new economy, the fundamentals still apply: The ability to compete, manage costs, and improve productivity ultimately determines the winners and losers. Yet the terrain of this competitive landscape has changed considerably, requiring companies to cooperate as well as compete, and success depends on a firm’s ability to create value for its partners as well as for itself. To take full advantage of the Internet’s benefits, companies must transform not just their processes, but also their cultures. Embracing the Internet as a business tool requires more than just choosing the right technology. Companies planning to use the Internet to build more productive and competitive businesses must also be prepared to transform a traditional corporate culture into an Internet culture. Strategic alliances allow companies to offer complete solutions while still maintaining their focus on their core competencies. Today's leading companies are no longer trying to be everything to everyone. Instead, they increasingly focus on doing one thing (or a few related things) well, rather than spreading their energies over a vast array of offerings Rapid innovation has become a necessity, and Internet-based tools can help companies keep up. Over the past decade the Internet has become a critical tool for encouraging and managing large-scale innovation. Businesses of every size and type now use the Internet to collaborate on the development of new products and services, to test potential innovations more quickly and effectively, and to expand their search for new ideas beyond traditional organizational boundaries. As businesses continue to find new ways to use the Internet to communicate, collaborate, and manage the flow of ideas, the Internet’s role in the innovation process will continue to grow what can we do for you click here. The forces of change have an impact on every business, but the trick is making them work to your advantage. Innovation is a desirable quality for any company, and it is especially important for technology-driven companies. Yet the benefits of innovation—the ability to create new products and to develop new markets—can also create significant challenges. | main | contact us | business web sites | | e-commerce | internet e-business | e-markets | e-website | intranet |. |