I’m a huge fan of the internet (though only a recent convert to blogging) I particularly love the immediacy of it. If I want to check out a new, or even old, book Amazon is sure to have it along with a review and some feedback. If I want to check out my bank balance, transfer some money or pay a bill I can do it through my Bank’s website. If I want to listen to that 80’s song that I like I can go to iTunes and download it in a few minutes. If I want to find out what the best new camera on the market is I can go to CNET and read the professional reviews and user feedback. If I want to buy a new game for my Xbox 360 I can canvass the views and opinions of users and professional reviewers on any number of sites. I could go on and on.
The truth is that before I make any substantial purchase I have already conducted my own research and formulated a reasonably concrete view of which product I want to buy and why. Often by the time I walk into the store I know more about the product or service I am about to purchase then the staff member working there.
It is fair to say that the internet plays a critical role in my purchasing behavior and I am not the only one. Depending on which study you listen to between 66% and 74% of people conduct research on the internet before making a purchase.
The question is what are you doing to connect with your members and prospective members online?
If what I am seeing out there in cyberspace is representative of the industry unfortunately the answer is not much. That applies equally to the small independents through to the biggest multi-facility national and international chains.
Here is why it is so important to get your web presence right:
(1) A website is no longer an option it is a necessity. Today a business without a website is considered less professional and less trustworthy then a competitor that does have, even a basic, website. Your members and prospective member expect you to have a professional, well structured, well maintained website.(2) As the saying goes you only get one chance to make a first impression. Increasingly your website is your prospective member’s first interaction with your business (a leading national chain recently indicated that 50% of their leads were generated through their website – personally I’d expect that to increase into the future perhaps to as much as 80-90%).
(3) The right website will pre-qualify your prospects. A prospective customer who has visited your website, accessed all the information that they require to make a purchase decision, been able to determine the expertise and culture of your business and determined if it is the right fit for them will be more likely to join up when they eventually do visit your facility.
(4) If you provide everything that a prospective new member needs to make a purchasing decision you can significantly reduce front desk enquiries. Reducing front desk enquiries frees up frontline staff to attend to the needs of the members and prospective members in the facility.
(5) The right website, and associated technologies such as newsletters etc, allow you to connect with and engage existing members and extends your relationship with them beyond the four walls of your facility.
There is no excuse for not having a professional looking, functional, content rich, regularly updated website. A fully hosted site with homestead.com that you build yourself using their website wizard (http://www.homestead.com/) costs as little as $4.99 per month (the more functionality you add the greater the cost).
Don’t expect your homestead.com site to set the world on fire but it is a simple, low cost, low risk way for you to get your business on the web. They will even give you a 30 day trial for free.
In a future post I’ll explain in more detail what you need to include on your website to maximize the return on your marketing investment.
