Both sides are working closely to come up with a unique and professional design and once this stage is complete the web development stage will begin. The site will provide Jewel of Niagara with increased exposure for their great services and will give them a competitive edge over their peers. With the purchase of a Secure Site Certificate, Jewel of Niagara clients will be able to book services on-line in a safe and secure area.

Stop by www.jewelofniagara.com at the end of April to see their new web site.

Keep checking in with www.qs2.ca and www.hype19.com to see two exciting new web sites!

A friend introduced me to the owner of a local business. The owner was, in his own words, "computer illiterate". We sat down to discuss why his business needed a web site and the first thing he told me was "I've been thinking about it but I don't think we really need a web site at this particular time". Now, this statement wouldn't have been so bad if I was selling vaccuum cleaners but I was there to discuss, what I thought would be, the initial stages of development of a corporate web site. I knew that if I could have ten minutes with him I could convince him just why he needed a web site and if not it would be a good story for DANIMA's next newsletter!

This particular furniture store has been in business for over 80 years, has developed a loyal clientele and has a great reputation among its customers, however, until my introduction I had never heard of the business. This opened the doors to our discussion on why a web site was needed.

Developing a loyal clientele is a key to success in any business, however, for a business to grow, one has to look at opportunities to bring in new customers. My wife and I are planning to purchase new furniture for our home. Currently I work long hours as most busy people do, and I do not enjoy spending weekends travelling from store to store. I save lots of time and money by "pre-shopping". When I pre-shop my first stop is Google or any similar search engine on the net. I type in a phrase such as, "furniture stores in Niagara", and the search results produce a list of store directories and individual company web sites. From here I visit the web sites to see find their location and to browse their products, services, prices, etc. This "pre-shopping" saves me a lot of valuable time. Once the "pre-shopping" is over I then visit the stores that I know have the products I am looking for. Because this particular furniture store is not on-line, it may not end up on my list of stores to visit thus losing out on a potential customer.

Like myself, millions of other Internet users whose lives are filled with work and family, are using the Net as a way to save themselves valuable time and money. But if your company does not have a web site you may be missing out on an entire target market group - the "pre-shoppers". In fact, because so many people are on-line at work and at home, many individuals find it easier to look up contact information on the web as opposed to getting out of their seat and picking up the phone book. I know I do! If I need a phone number, I will visit the company web site first.

Today we are living in a Global economy. Businesses can now open themselves up to a larger target market group thus increasing their sales. In our business we depend on the global market with respect to several of our products, including domain registration and hosting. Why would we limit ourselves to the Niagara Region when there is a marketing tool that can sell our products globally?

I could have spent more time with the owner talking about all of the great things a web site can offer a business - from on-line databases to e-commerce - but I didn't. Instead, I focused on increasing their exposure and that was what sold them! You need to have a presence on the web. The huge segment of the population that does their planning and "pre-shopping" on-line needs to be able to find your business. Maybe even more importantly than being listed in the phone book, your business needs to be found in search results and on-line directories.

Whether it's selling your product on-line or just building a presence on the web so people can find you, every business needs a web site. This is the way of our new Net-Society. We are busy. We are wired. We want information and we want it now. If you're not going to provide the information to this growing part of the population, then you are losing out on potential customers. The owner of the furniture store was right, he has a loyal clientele that has made his business successful for over 80 years. But he soon realized that future clients will be seeking his product out through a different means of communication - on-line - and he wants to make sure he is accessible to these clients.

So, your company doesn't need a web site? Let's talk....