|
A former Dragons’ Den panellist, who has enjoyed major success on the net, has told businesses they need to ‘bowl over’ potential clients with their websites.
Rachel Elnaugh, the founder of Red Letter Days – which grew to a £100 million turnover company in 2001, was speaking at an event organised by the National B2B Centre – the e-business centre of excellence for the West Midlands based at the University of Warwick – and Business Link West Midlands. It aimed to help small businesses use the internet to promote their services and how to drive more traffic to their websites.
The event also signalled the launch of the Business IT Guide – a free website (www.businessitguide.com) providing basic information on how to make the most of the internet.
Ms Elnaugh said the worldwide web offered major new opportunities for small businesses. She said: “The web is incredibly powerful and it’s really opened up business. Anyone can sell online now simply by setting up an online shop; the entry costs are so low. But it’s an extremely crowded marketplace and businesses still need to work hard to attract attention.”
Ms Elnaugh – now a business mentor and speaker – also stressed the importance of offering free content on websites. She said: “A great way to engage people on your website and build your database is by offering them something that costs you little but that they will value, for free. You can then market other value-added offers to them later, once they have connected with your brand.”
She added: “Attention spans on the web are extremely short and you have less than five seconds to engage visitors to your website before they click away.
“It’s important to make sure every page acts as a home page and ensure you include a compelling 'sizzle statement' which conveys in seconds both what you offer and how your customer will benefit from dealing with you.”
Pictured from left are: Martin King-Turner (NB2BC), Rachel Elnaugh, Lyn Burkett (Business Link) & James Pennington (NB2BC).
Visit http://wm.businessitguide.com
|
