midcoast.com.au An Internet presence is a good investment for any business. It can be used: to sell services and products; explore and develop new markets; get feedback from customers; do surveys; create a client base; and so on.You may not be ready to buy and sell on the Internet yet but, for the beginner, there are many reasons why your business should be there. Here are just a few tips: Establish an image Your Corporate profile and how your business is perceived by your customers and your opposition is all-important. What better way to tell your customers that you are an up-to-date, high-profile business that moves with the times? Be a part of the on-line community and show you are interested in serving them. Gain a competitive advantage Stand out from your opposition by providing real-time information on your web page. Capture and retain additional market share by delivering superior levels of customer service and responsiveness. Provide up-to-date information Heighten public interest in your business. Create a new relationship with your customers through an on-line Newsletter which can be produced with no printing costs and no postage costs. Information you now distribute on paper can be posted on your site to provide customers with all sorts of useful information at any hour of the day or night. Around-the-clock presence Business is worldwide but your office hours aren't! The problem of different time zones can be overcome by customising information to match needs and collect important information. Think of your web site as your 24-hour-a-day, seven day-a-week, always-open-for-business shop front. Customers will be able to correspond with you, answer surveys and place orders via Email at any time of the day or night without the need for you to be at the other end of the telephone or in your office. Build up a "Frequently Asked Questions" page Whoever answers the telephone in your business will tell you their time is spent answering the same questions over and over again. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about your business can be posted on your site and accessed by people who want to know more about your business or products. Display technical data sheets about your products Make changing information available quickly. Information about your products can be made readily available to your customers. Use photographs to display your products. A picture is worth a thousand words. For instance, photographs can be scanned and used to show your logo, premises and products to your customers. Reach specialised markets Do you sell a particular product and need to attract that special market? The Internet is the place to do it. Through the use of search engines, you will be able to locate any interest group - and they will be able to find you! Use Electronic Mail (E-Mail) Communicate with your customers, prospects, etc. Using E-Mail you can transmit messages and advertisements to literally thousands of individuals or companies at the push of a button. How We Can help You Ecopost, through midcoast.com.au, is recognised as one of the most experienced Internet service providers in Australia. We specialise in providing a premium-quality service to all our users and our services are based around a network engineered for reliability and performance that we are continually upgrading. We aim to ensure that you have the reliable services you need, when you need them. We can help you with a number of programmes designed specifically for small, medium and large businesses. Ask us about: • Domain Name Hosting • Commercial WWW Sites • Mail Server and Gateway • Consultancy Services • Midcoast Intranets • Security and Fire Walls • Free Hotline Support • Web Site Development • Network Installations • Software Development Feel free to direct questions to webmaster David Bagust at Mid North Coast Internet - Telephone (02) 6584 0900, Fax (02) 6584 3546 helpdesk@midcoast.com.au Back to top