Serving up the Web - service organizations' Web sites - Internet

Home Office Computing, May, 1996 by Angela Gunn

PICK UP JUST ABOUT ANY PUBLICATION THAT TOUTS THE World Wide Web and you'll come across a spartan fact: They highlight sites that sell products. Whether cars; computers, or handicrafts, examples of the Web's utility focus on goods.

As businesses hurry to establish their Internet beachheads, it may not seem at first that there's a sensible fit for firms that provide customer support and services. Smart service companies, however, from FedEx on down to entrepreneurs, are finding that the Internet does have a place in their plans.

* A former practicing veterinary doctor, Dr. Jim Humphries developed an on-camera presence as Dr. Jim while appearing on CBS This Morning, CNN Morning News, and Lifetime Television. Now he's online with Dr. Jim's Virtual Veterinary Clinic (http://rampages.onramp.net/~drjim). The site includes a link to his video production company, St. Francis Productions, that shoots pet care product videos and infomercials. He's already landed a new client who found him through his site.

* InsWeb, a consortium of insurance agents and companies, is building up its Web site (http://www.insweb.com). It combines consumer and industry information with links to various kinds of insurance-related sites, including individual agencies. The site handled its first sale (an auto-insurance policy) in mid-December.

* A number of banks and other financial institutions are offering tools that act as front-line financial advisers. Sites such as the Good Faith Estimator (http://fofs.com/map/mapserve.acgi$map_picture.map) and the Homebuyers' Fair Loan Qualification Calculator (http://www.homefair.com/homefair/cmr/cmr.html) let prospective homeowners calculate their financial prowess as they plan to take out a mortgage or buy a home. (And once they've done that, they can search among the dozens of real estate sites scattered throughout the Web.)

For service businesses, the most basic Web page is the rough equivalent of an ad in the yellow pages; those interested in your services will look you up. Of course, you can put much more information on your Web page than in a yel19w pages ad of similar cost--and you can change it as often as you change your prices, hours of business, or special promotions.

The Web offers potential for expanding businesses in other ways as well. The founders of InsWeb hope that in addition to helping consumers shop more sensibly in a variety of markets, the site can make it possible for companies to offer new insurance packages that are better tailored to the needs of individual consumers. Insurance could be purchased on a single item--a notebook computer, for instance--and eventually lower costs.

Tips for Climbing Aboard If you are contemplating a Net presence for your service-based business, have a clear idea about what you might offer that would attract people to the information you provide. Although Humphries's main business is video production, Dr. Jim's Virtual Veterinary Clinic includes information on keeping your cat or dog healthy. That attracts visitors who, if interested in promoting pet products, for instance, can click on the link to St. Francis Productions.

An auto mechanic might have photos or information on classic cars; a caterer could put up one or two special recipes along with enthusiastic comments about the dish from happy patrons.

If you can budget time or money to put regular work into your pages, consider providing some sort of attraction that will bring additional viewers to your site. Although the "cool site" concept has been done nearly to death, it still might work if you're a contractor able to come up with construction-related sites each week. A better example, however, is InsWeb's large news and information section for insurance professionals. The news helps increase its visibility within the profession and give the site added professional weight in the eyes of casual Web readers.

Make it easy for prospective clients to reach you. On your main Web page, state where your business is based and what parts of the country you serve. Give your business phone number and include your e-mail address on every page.

If you are a member of a professional organization, find out whether it has a Web page with links to members' sites. Also, search indices such as Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com) or Lycos (http://www.lycos.com) for Web pages from other members of your profession or for sites that specialize in geographical listings for businesses in specific industries. Restaurants, for instance, can be listed in a number of directories such as Dining Out on the Web (http://www.ird.net/diningout.html). If such a directory isn't available for your profession, you may want to link to and from pages of businesses that don't geographically compete with yours.

Don't neglect the aspects of your site that will catch the eye of prospective clients close to home. If you can link to or provide a Web page for a local charity or other organization, you've done a civic service and upped your visibility, Consider it the same as sponsoring a Little League team or contributing a prize for a raffle. Talk to other firms in your area about linking to and from their pages, and look for regional business guides (such as the Bay Area Restaurant Guide at http://www.sfbay.com/food) on-line. And be sure to incorporate your URL in your advertising and on your business card. You might even take a tip from the cyber-cafes, which usually display their URLs prominently on business signage near their entrances.