Common mistakes made on distributor Web sites

by Bob Boyles

Distributor Web sites tend to fall into one of three categories. Take an objective look at your Web site and decide where your site fits. Then, using some of the tips that follow, learn how to avoid common mistakes that distributors make when they venture onto the World Wide Web.

Group one: Boring brochures
Sadly, the vast majority of distributor Web sites fall into the first group. These are boring brochure pages that do little to engage the customer or provide customers with useful information. These sites are long on lists of product lines the distributor represents and heavy on stories about how Grandpa founded the company when he returned from fighting the Germans in World War II. These companies were desperate for content when designing their Web sites and thought customers were interested in this subject matter.

Group two: Close but no cigar
This group consists of professionally designed pages that look good and offer some content relevant to the target market. Hiring a professional to do your Web page makes a world of difference since Web page design is 50 percent content and 50 percent visual medium. 

Let’s face it. Most of us are not graphic artists. Working smarter involves knowing when to do something yourself and when to contract it out. What really separates these companies is that they offer some relevant information on their Web sites. Whether it’s product drawings or product specifications, these Web sites offer something the customer can use and gives customers a reason to want to come back. Customer-relevant content varies by industry but you must offer something relevant like downloads and product finders.

A quick word about links: The availability of search engines like Google and Teoma is ending the need for links from one site to another. If I need to find the URL for an industry association, I don’t go to a Web page and scroll the links. Instead, I go to Google and do a search. Yes, Google’s search engine ranks pages based on a combination of meta content and linkage but we’ll leave that to the Web pros to fight out. For now, don’t assume that adding a links section to your site adds highly useful content.

Group three: Customer friendly
This group consists of a few nicely designed pages that offer some interaction between the wholesaler and its target customer base. These companies are beginning to understand that in order for a Web site to fully evolve, some interaction must take place between the customer and the Web site.

There are a wide variety of transactions offered on distributor Web sites. Some offer full-blown order entry programs; others start out by offering the ability to request product returns.

Interaction with your business software can be an important asset. The ability for customers to log in and check stock is a start down the road to full e-commerce customer interaction. Your ultimate goal is to give customers the ability to do everything on your Web site that they can do over the phone.

Here are some specific tips to help your company move from group one to group three.

Get a domain name
Many distributors and manufacturers still use America Online (AOL) and Hotmail accounts as their primary e-mail addresses. Using an AOL account sends the message, “We’re old school.”

Some companies still think they cannot have branded e-mail accounts unless they invest in their own mail servers, etc. This is an easy problem to solve. Go to www.Register.com and grab a simple URL. Using Web-based e-mail servers, you can have an unlimited number of e-mail addresses at “yourcompany.com” and avoid the whole Web server and e-mail server headache.

Try to keep your URL simple. Avoid hyphens, underscores, abbreviations and dots in the name.

Make it easy for people to find you
Rule No. 1 of Web site design is to prominently display information about how to contact your company. Customers still use the Web as a giant phone book, so display your phone number and address on each page.

Some companies have evolved beyond this and are pushing their customers to use the Web instead of placing phone calls to their customer service or sales departments. 

Need an example? Try to find a phone number on the AVIS.com Web site; it’s buried under the rates tab. By transitioning customers to the Web, these companies can lower their cost of sales by reducing phone sales reps.  

An article by Alan Goldstein in the Dallas Morning News, Southwest Keeps Site Simple, said Southwest Airlines estimates that it costs $1 to handle a transaction over the Web and $7 to handle a phone reservation. For every reservation made on its Web site, Southwest saves $6.

Until your Web site can do everything an inside sales rep can do, display your phone number and don’t make visitors hunt for it.

Ask for help
We all want to think we are tech savvy. The reality is that there is a wide gulf between amateur and professional designers. Farming out Web site design to your brother-in-law will yield a Web site full of potholes. Common mistakes include using frames, orphan pages, lack of navigation support and long download times.

Many companies have their MIS manager handle Web site creation and most MIS managers welcome the opportunity. As a former MIS manager, I can tell you that I always jumped at the opportunity to learn new things.

However, it may not have been the best use of my time. This task is one where the combination of programming knowledge and graphic design skill can make a huge difference. It’s rare to find that combination on staff.

Don't assume "If you build, they will come"
Having a Web site alone will not generate traffic. It’s simply another tool in your marketing campaign. First, incorporate your Web address into all of your marketing material. Include it on your business card and sales brochures and other literature. The design must coordinate with your other marketing material. 

Carrying the same logo, color theme and design from your business cards to the sign out front, your sales brochures and Web page will go a long way toward building your company brand.

The simplest way to build Web traffic is to have content that customers want to see. With brochure sites, it’s one and done; content-rich sites are a lot “stickier” and draw repeat visits.

The second simplest way to build Web site traffic is to have your employees talk it up with your customers. If you’ve done your homework, the content on your Web site can be a common referral area when salespeople talk to customers.

Track activity
Most distribution companies are unaware of the growing number of tools to track Web site activity and get feedback. If your Web site is part of your marketing efforts and more than a brochure, you’ll need to understand how customers interact with the site and what they find valuable.

Need an example? Go to www.smarterdistribution.com and look at the articles. A simple counter at the bottom of each article tracks the number of the hits to the page. This free tool reveals some interesting clues. For example, it tells me that distributors are more interested in articles about dead stock than physical inventory by a 5-to-1 margin and that you are more interested in articles about technology than you are about training by a 2-to-1 margin. Want to guess what kind of articles I’ll be writing in the future?

The Web is changing the way companies interact with customers. Perhaps it’s not changing things as fast as we once thought it would, but changes are happening.

Distributors that take an active role in exploring their Web options will continue to maintain their technology lead over the competition. You added a Web site to reach customers in a new and convenient way. Follow some of these tips and your Web site can be an effective addition to your marketing arsenal.

Bob Boyles is principal of Smarter Distribution, a strategic consulting business focusing on technology in Coppell, Texas. He has served as an installation consultant for several distribution software companies. Reach him at , via e-mail at or on the Web at www.smarterdistribution.com. 

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