A cheaper solution: why not make your existing Web site better?

Concrete Producer, The, Sept, 2004 by Tom Bagsarian

When we surveyed the concrete producing industry last year as part of our annual TCP 100 project, 85% of the largest 100 producers told us they have Web sites or use email for marketing and sales. (See TCP, Oct. 2003, p. 36.)

That's an impressive figure, especially considering Internet use surely would be higher today. After all, just a single year in our tech world is comparable to at least a decade in the rest of the world. Just go shopping for a phone, personal digital assistant, or a computer a few months after buying your last one. Manufacturers improve their models regularly with greater user friendliness and more options. And thanks to competition, prices often are lower.

Connecting to all of these new devices and software enhancements is as difficult as creating that perfect mix design. How many producers have a process where they perform an annual update on their Web sites?

Like updating mix designs, experts like Gary Spies suggest annual Web site reviews. "A lot of Web sites out there are sites an owner's son created using Yahoo or another simple tool," he says. "They do it as a project and say, 'Hey Dad, I made you a Web site.' Dad doesn't know what's good and bad and just says, 'Okay, it looks good.'"

Simply put, Web sites need periodic improvements. Spies believes he has a low-cost solution. After owning his own web development company for seven years, Spies started another one in 1998. He is founder, president, and CEO of YourWebPro, a technology provider in Arlington Heights, Ill.

Still, Spies is impressed so many producers have Web sites, whether they're good or bad. "It's surprising," he says. "It's encouraging producers have recognized their importance. A couple of years ago, when I tried telling a hard-hat manager the Internet is an important adjunct to his business, I felt like I was talking Greek."

Marketers back then didn't believe in the investment or that a Web site would validate them as a real company. When managers discovered Web site development might cost $2000 or more, they didn't think the investment was as important as paying for Yellow Pages ads or putting a nice sign in front of the building.

But much has changed. Managers now have an economical way to update their new marketing tool.

The cost factor

Spies started his firm with one goal in mind: Development costs should no longer inhibit Web development. He has met that goal with an innovative approach to pricing. YourWebPro doesn't charge for the initial set out or customizing a site. The charge is only $40/month for a basic eight-page site and up to $60/month for up to 100 pages, which includes 10 pages in each of 10 sections.

How does YourWebPro do it? One word: volume. "We're like the phone company or a utility company," Spies explains. "We really don't have anything to sell. We just have a very good utility. We're selling a service."

Technical experience is not necessary, he stresses. "YourWebPro will walk them through the whole thing, including customizing a Web site suited for their business, including finding and adding pictures if the they don't have them, and even helping find and write the correct narrative or body text."

YourWebPro also can optimize customers' Web sites for search engines. These sites will be more likely to show up on searches by Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. "People are getting smart about going to the search engines," says Spies.

Five years from now, Spies sees little use for the Yellow Pages. "Everybody is going to find an Internet connection in the home will be just like having the telephone," he says. "Having a 15-pound Yellow Pages on the corner of your desk is already outdated."

Visit www.yourwebpro.com for more information, or circle 1 on the reader service card.