Online presence for small business

Eliza_2

I work in a small independent shop and the owner has at last decided to drag himself into the 21st century. Together with a friend he has set up a website for his hobby of local history and has now realised the value of an online presence and wants to use the internet etc for marketing the shop. Up until recently he has never seen the point and relied on leaflets etc to let people know about him. He has asked me to look at ways of doing this.

I'd like to be well prepared for a forthcoming meeting with him and the manager (they don't like each other at all so politics is likely to hinder progress!) and would be grateful to know what has worked for other businesses. We already have a very outdated (set up in around 2002) and static website which is a nightmare to update (uses ftp, everything's in code, no content management system), we have a facebook page set up by another member of staff in a fit of enthusiasm but out of date - she became disillusioned when nobody was interested, we also have a twitter account which is also rarely used. Also Tripadvisor but which needs enlivening, reviews are infrequent probably because nobody knows we are on it.

We don't need to sell online and I would love to do lots of things, especially finding ways of interacting with our customers. However no-one knows but I am likely to resign in the next few months so I would like to set up something that anyone can work with - succession planning! There is also likely to be very little money available to do anything though I am going to push for a more sensible website. Am tempted to learn Wordpress myself.

I would be grateful for your thoughts.

Thanks

Liz

Savvy_Sue

I'd say Wordpress is the way to go: you probably want something very simple but easily editable and might need some help setting that up but once set up even I can manage it ...

But you do need someone to think about security.

colino

Extending your line, "We don't need to sell online" is this because an online presence will not add more profit? If so, the do nothing option does apply here.
There are thousands of businesses that have tinkered with the internet, some spending disproportionate amounts of time and money and getting either a non-cash generating shop window or an inert site that actually turns off web-savvy buyers.
Like any other business investment, the profitable sales outlet of the net has to looked at strategically before the wallet is opened up.

paddyrg

https://wordpress.com/ - start here, see how it goes

Eliza_2

Thank you for the responses. Yes I have downloaded Wordpress however I don't want anything to be dependent on me. I would like the site, and anything else, to be set up by someone else, so that shop staff can operate and update it. My role will be to help to guide and help the owner and manager plan what they do or don't need, not to actually do the operational stuff.

To answer colino, yes the online presence should help increase footfall and raise awareness of the shop, however not to sell through the internet. We have a small Amazon shop which is fine for a small selection of goods, but there's no intention of actually selling via a shopping cart and all of that on our own site - most items are one-offs so difficult to stock the numbers to sell online.

This is why I asked what others have found gives them a return on investment (of time/money) and what doesn't work. For example, a lot of customers say 'gosh we didn't know you were here' so if we had an interesting website at least giving basic info (and a map!) we could then link with tourist and other websites and become better known to visitors to the area at least. Previously used leaflets in shops/ campsites etc end up just in a muddle and are rarely displayed well.

My feeling is that facebook is likely to prove most useful when it comes to building loyalty and interacting with customers. Interested to know what others have found.

paddyrg

Did you actually follow my link? It's fully hosted WordPress ;-). It'll stay up to date with latest patches, you can tinker online for free to get started, and when you're ready to buy/transfer a domain, you can quite cost-effectively ;-). You can set it up, leave it with an administrator password that gets locked in the safe, and create regular accounts for most people.

It's not as flexible as having your own custom install, but it sounds like you're planning for the future where getting away from maintenance is essential

Eliza_2

Apologies for the delay. Yes paddyrg, I have had a look by following your link. It's the same idea as weebly which I already use, and am more familiar with though of course, you can learn anything.

However the idea is that someone else should do it, not me, using whatever they're most familiar with. I just want to help the company put together some sort of strategic plan for what they want to do with their website and social media, and why, and how - a bit of project planning really. Then they can follow through.

Thanks again.

GoToGal

Why don't you get a consultant in? If they're willing to pay for advice, a consultant can help them develop a strategy. I used a consultant for my online presence which cost under £1000 for branding, strategy and customised wordpress site.

gazfocus

Hi Eliza, I have sent you a private message as I'd love to take a look at what you're after. Thanks