Coming-of-age on the web

For many local companies, stronger web presence means stronger sales

"Kicking and screaming" is how Dan Moroney, president of Sutton-based Package Industries, describes his approach to becoming a more web-based business. But when it comes to the edge it gives his company, he freely admits overhauling the website was one of the best moves the firm ever made.

Package Industries, a steel building manufacturer, is an example of one local company that realized the benefits of a strong web presence, both as a marketing tool and as a means of capturing new business. However, simply having a website is by no means an assured gateway to business beyond their wildest dreams.

Local experts say that if you have to hand out business cards to draw people to your website, the website isn’t doing its job. A website is increasingly becoming a prospect’s first impression of a company, and if the website is outdated, or even worse, non-existent, that prospect will move on – and fast.

Package Steel’s competitors were building more sophisticated websites and at a pace the company wasn’t keeping up with. They sought out the help of Marlboro-based Emaginex, a web marketing firm that helped bring the company up to speed and in line with its competition.

"It’s just a matter of keeping up with the Joneses," says Moroney.

Keeping the windows clean

IDC, a market intelligence firm headquartered in Framingham, forecasts that firms will not be focused on Internet sales, but will be looking to leverage Internet sales as a way to connect to customers that might otherwise be missed. Area companies agree, noting that while sales generation is always welcome, the web better serves them as a vehicle by which to capture new business through first-time visitors.

However, area web consultants say the largest obstacle to small and medium-sized businesses going deeper in the web marketing game is taking the first step towards creating a more dynamic presence on the web.

Paul LaFlamme, president of Sturbridge-based Centrend, an IT services firm, says some companies resists investing in services like web design that may yield a return on investment, but farther down the line. The lack of an immediate return should not prevent a company from doing the minimum updates to keep its website useful and presentable. "You need to equate a website to a storefront," says LaFlamme. "Wouldn’t you clean the windows once in a while if you owned a store?"

Package Steel went beyond simply maintaining the site and created a user-friendly interface designed to capture new customers. Emaginex gave the site a clean, uniform design that in its next iteration will extend to include the contractors who buy from Package, who are not necessarily well-versed in web design.

Al Bergeron, Creative Director with Emaginex, says that by including the contractors’ websites in the design process, Package can project an image of professionalism that allows first-time visitors to the site to see a uniformity between what Package produces and how its customers assemble the final product. It also reduces the risk of a contractor designing a webpage that does not meet the desired look Package wants new customers to see. The initial site overhaul cost $40,000, with the forthcoming revision clocking in at around $20,000.

"New customers will see the value of working with Package through the website," says Miriam Sanderson, Treasurer of Package. "They’ve pre-qualified us [as a potential vendor], and they haven’t even walked through the door."

An added feature of the forthcoming Package website is an Intranet portal designed for builders. Contractors coming to the Package website will be able to generate a quote by entering in certain qualifications for a given build project. The site will also feature helpful tools like downloadable spec sheets, just one more way to win the business of a new customer. It’s a two-fold approach, says Tim Mazzer, president of Emaginex. Not only does it aid in lead generation, but it also serves as a customer service tool that satisfies the needs of the contractor, even if it’s on their first visit to the site.

"A contractor works all day, needs to get a quote - it’s a great service tool," says Package president Moroney. "That’s where I feel we’re getting a boost."

Handshakes and greased pencils

For a company that started in a backyard barn, Red Barn Coffee Roasters in Hopkinton didn’t necessarily consider itself a web-based business. The company’s priority has been establishing a retail business. At its peak it had eight cafes throughout Metrowest, including two locations in Boston. However, after losing three of its stores to developers, Red Barn shifted its priorities to include a wholesale business. Mark Verrochi, president of Red Barn, says using the web as a selling tool was not the school of thought he came from.

"I’m a web-phobic," says Verrochi. "Handshakes, greased pencils, snail mail, telephone calls all work well for me."

Despite these fears, the web proved to be the best way to develop the wholesale side of the business. After buying out a partner who wanted to expand in the Boston area, a move Verrochi deemed risky, Red Barn was without the young blood his company used to get the site off the ground in 1999. The next logical step for Verrochi: hire outside help.

The company enlisted Southboro Website Design, a two-person operation off of Route 9, and across the street from one of Red Barn’s Southboro locations. While Mark and his wife were satisfied with the look of the website, they wanted to add e-commerce functionality to its capabilities. Ed Furey, owner of Southboro Website Design, worked with the Verrochis to create a site that wouldn’t overburden the small coffee roaster. With plans for future growth to include a larger capacity, 45-kilogram roaster, Red Barn wanted to establish a web storefront with minimal hype, allowing them to gain new wholesale customers in a controlled manner, and when ready, enhance its marketing efforts to drive customers to the site.

Local web experts are quick to point out, however, that most small businesses won’t end up like the example in a popular commercial, where a company’s launch of a website led to more orders than the small outfit could handle. "It’s not going to be overnight success," says Furey. "You have to equate it to the stories you hear about Las Vegas - you always hear about the big winner."

Furey’s point is that with the millions of websites on the web, most small businesses don’t have to worry about being overburdened when their site is first launched. Furey says as a designer, he listens carefully to what a customer needs, and then designs the site around those qualifications. "We sell what’s appropriate to a client," says Furey.

For Red Barn, the site has already paid for itself. Though the business generated by its e-commerce functionality hasn’t been huge, staged growth is what the company wants. The next step is to bring in a graphic designer, as the site currently uses pictures taken by Verrochi’s son on a digital camera for artwork. For now, though, first priority is on upgrading the equipment to roast the coffee.

"At our level, we’re not spending tens of thousands of dollars [on the site]," says Verrochi.

Paying with time or money

When it comes to small business spending, many companies have a difficult time deciding whether or not they want to budget for website development. However, companies will either have to spend money through hiring outside help, or lose the cash in downtime required to train employees on how to build websites, says Mike Holbrook, senior management counselor with Clark University’s Small Business Development Center.

"Companies can have a fairly elaborate website by spending 50 to 100 hours of their time to develop a sophisticated understanding of what they need to do, or pay someone else $10,000 to $15,000 to do it for them," says Holbrook. "You either put in a huge amount of time, or you hire someone else to."

The SBDC works with small firms to develop business plans, marketing plans, financials, cash flows and other aspects of running a company. Included in that is helping clients realize how they want their website to work. In some cases, it can strictly be a marketing tool; in others, to generate e-commerce. Holbrook echoes other experts, and says that education is the key. "Small business owners are experts in products and services," says Holbrook, "but they’re not experts in IT."

One company that worked with Holbrook and sought additional outside help was ECI Biotech in Worcester. Mitch Sanders, executive vice president, says that the company’s first foray into developing a web presence involved $500 and a WPI student. After that, the company hired Commonwealth Creative, a web design firm headquartered in Framingham, to design a $5,000 website. The most recent iteration of the site added even more functionality - and price. "Our most recent website, which has a lot of bells and whistles, cost about $10,000," says Sanders.

However, that investment has had a big payoff in terms of business relationships. The nature of ECI’s core business lends itself to ongoing correspondence with partners exchanging confidential and proprietary information. The company developed a highly-secure extranet portal that allowed ECI to send high-volume data packets to clients not necessarily next door - in fact, several of their partners are overseas or on the West Coast. In addition to serving as means to send information, the extranet site design includes personal touches like their partner’s logo and proprietary info when they enter their secure login info to access their page through ECI’s site. While this feature is not necessarily attributable to a dollar-figure amount in terms of ROI, it shows how ECI is working hard to make their partners feel as confident as possible that the company they’re dealing with has their best interest in mind. "If it’s any indication, I’ve brought in over $12 million in development funding grants and equity, and a lot of it has to do with our ability to be a good client to our partners," says Sanders. "It’s an absolute necessity."

Now, Sanders is taking his own skills and time to build a website for the newly-formed Boynton Angels, an angel investment group he helped form in Worcester. While he’s building this site from scratch, Sanders says it will incorporate the same thinking behind ECI’s functionality and appearance, and apply the same lessons learned.

"To work with a billion-dollar client, you’ve got to look like a billion-dollar client," says Sanders. "But you have to spend a lot less money doing it."