Does a drycleaner need a website?
Websites are one of the most overlooked vehicles of advertising for local,
owner-operated businesses.
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I'm not suggesting that all drycleaners need to actually transact business
online. I'm only saying that everyone who has ever had a listing in the Yellow
Pages needs to also be available on the internet today. It's where your
customers expect to find you. It’s where today’s consumers look first!
If you're thinking you might not be able to afford putting up a website, think
again. For a simple website, a budget of $1,500 to $2,500 for construction and
$75 to $100 for monthly maintenance and updates should cover it. Robust sites
with streaming video, opt-in subscriber functions and other, more complicated
features can run between $2,500 and $3,500 for construction and $400 to $2,500
for monthly maintenance and updates.
Properly constructed, a website allows your prospects to gather the information
they need from the privacy of their own homes or offices. What are the
questions your counterpeople answer every day? And how, exactly, would your
best counterperson phrase those answers on his or her best day? This is the
information that needs to be available 24/7 on your site.
In addition, your site should be linked to the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute
or the National Cleaners Association and every other organization that can
supply valuable consumer information to your customers. This lends credibility
to your business and maximizes the benefits of belonging to these associations.
Think of your site as a relationship builder, a bridge between your advertising
and your front door. This is the easiest way to convince potential customers to
get in their car, drive to your store, park that car and walk in your door. Or,
at least, call for pick up and delivery service, if it’s offered.
The internet is heaven on earth for the modern consumer. That's because most
people prefer to gather information anonymously. They prefer not to call and
identify themselves in order to get the information they need. Even more
unlikely is that they'll choose to walk into your store and talk to a
counterperson.
Most people aren't necessarily shy, they simply like to gather all the facts
before they put themselves in a position where they'll likely be asked to
answer questions.
Forty-nine percent of your customers strongly prefer to know that you offer the
services they need before they walk in your door. And even the other 51 percent
of your target market will appreciate an informative site that functions as an
expert during all those hours you're not open for business.
You must realize by now that most of your customers are on line. Several times a
month, I speak to large groups of people and I always ask, "How many of you
have used a search engine within the past seven days to research a product or
service that you were considering purchasing?"
I raise my own hand as soon as the question is finished. The hands raised in
response have never been less than 85 to 90 percent of the crowd.
Additionally, you’ll want a website builder who understands search engine optimization.
A website is relatively useless if it’s not among the first three choices that appear when a prospective customer is
looking for a good drycleaner in their area.
Search engine optimization is the process of improving the volume and quality of
traffic to a website via “organic" or "algorithmic" search results for targeted keywords.
Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, the more
searchers will visit that site. It is now possible to use search engine
optimization to target local searches.
Eye tracking studies have shown that searchers scan a search results page from
top to bottom and left to right, looking for a relevant result. Placement at or
near the top of the rankings therefore increases the number of searchers who
will visit a site.
As a marketing strategy for increasing a site's relevance, a knowledgeable
site-builder considers how search algorithms work and what people search for.
Their efforts may involve a site's coding, presentation, and structure, as well
as fixing problems that could prevent search engine indexing programs from
fully spidering a site.
Other, more noticeable efforts may include adding unique content to a site,
ensuring that content is easily indexed by search engine robots, and making the
site more appealing to users.
The Golomb Group is currently offering drycleaners the opportunity to have
customized websites developed for $1,499. If you currently have a website that
needs to be redesigned and updated, the cost is only $999. These will be some
of the best advertising dollars you will ever spend.
