In this month's first newsletter I wanted to touch on some points in
leading the pack in your business area. Whether its selling popcorn
or warehousing tanks, you can be the one on the web that people come
to. And people coming turns into revenue.
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Sleazy, or To the Point?

I had a call this morning from a man in New York, a possible
client. He said he had checked out several websites that specialize
in web design and promotion, including mine. He commented that,
unlike other web design sites, mine was sleazy. Of course, I was
taken aback - but I think he meant it in a good way. He went on to
explain that he liked my site because it had content and not flashy
junk.

Good. That's what the point of my design was.

While I can certainly whip you up a snazzy website with graphics
galore, do you really think that people are coming to your website
to see how fancy you can make theirs? Yes, there probably are
people like that. But I believe that <i>true business-people</i>
want content. They want to supply their possible clients with
information and not fancy shtuff. As a business owner, you should
want every single person that comes to your site to gain a bit of
knowledge. Whether or not they stick around to purchase - well,
that's another deal. What matters, in my mind, is that they learned
something. And a week, month, or year from now they may remember
where they got all that information. They may point people to your
business website because 'you have the answers' that everyone else
avoids.

Put it out there. Don't hoard information because most likely its
available somewhere. Anyone with some decent Google experience can
find out quite a bit of information, so why not be the company that
leads the pack in your area?
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Sponsor
My son is going to be cutting grass this summer. He and I created a
website to help him market his new business. Check out
www.grassattacker.com when you have a few moments.
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Complimenting your website with others

Consider for a minute my son's website for grass mowing. Obviously
this is a very small target group in our town, but think of the
ideas and marketing opportunities that could come from something
like this. By creating a website for 'my client', I've not only
provided a way for him to increase revenue, but in this case I'll be
along with him (cutting grass all summer?!), and I'll have the
opportunity to market my skills in a non-intrusive manner to
obviously web-savvy people.

Do you have a friend or colleague that has a business and website?
A complimentary website could be the answer to your business needs.
If you were in the flower selling business, why not hook up with a
DJ service in your town? Both of you could then share leads on
upcoming weddings. You could point business to them, and them to
you. Complimentary businesses could boost your revenues
dramatically. And complimentary websites that cross-link also
increase your Google placement.

Working with complimentary businesses will help you become a leader
in your area. If other businesses are recommending you, you've
already got an advantage on your competition. In our example, a
young groom and bride that hear about your flower company from their
DJ service is more likely to visit/call you first, assuming they
were happy with the DJ business.

Think about merchants that you conduct regular business with, and if
they compliment yours in some way, approach them about 'sharing the
wealth'. It wouldn't hurt to ask!
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If you are in need of a website, a custom web-based application, or
if you just have some ideas that you'd like to bounce off of
someone, give Lighthouse Technologies a call. The phone number is
314.496.8665 or you can email me at sales@...
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Thanks for reading.

Will Hanke
Lighthouse Technologies
www.techlh.com