One of the great pleasures of my job as a web developer is helping out the small businesses of Indiana. I’m a born-and-bred Hoosier and grew up in southern Indiana. My father was an Indiana business owner – he owned a restaurant near Martinsville for years (The Waverly Inn – “the place for catfish”). To be a part of that small business community is in my blood, you could say.
One of the reasons I enjoy working with Indiana small businesses on their websites is the satisfaction of helping someone succeed. Many businesses out there are missing the boat on getting a new website that integrates with all of the newest technologies – they are missing important opportunities to connect with their customers.
Consider our newest client – the Blue Crew Sports Grill. We will be re-designing their website in the coming months. Imagine the potential to reach out to customers through Twitter and Facebook during the Colt’s amazing playoff run! For restaurants like Blue Crew, we can set up their site so that a simple update to their website will also update their most loyal customers through online social networks. Harnessing new technologies that provide instant communication does one simple thing – it gets the word out. And most importantly, it gets the word out to receptive targets – people who have chosen to “subscribe” to what you have to say.
My father founded a business on customer loyalty. Great service bears great referrals. Websites can help make that referral process easier.
The other great part of doing websites for Indiana small businesses is simple Hoosier hospitality. I have made some good friends in my line of work. One of my favorite clients to visit is Alex at the Delicious Bakery-Cafe. Alex is the co-owner of the Delicious Bakery-Cafe, which is coffee shop/bakery/cafe in downtown Westfield. Not only is the food and bakery items and amazing, but it is the friendliest service in town. We finished up a very simple, cost efficient site for Alex just this month. He is already reaching out to customers using Facebook and Twitter, and having him is a client is the perfect excuse to pop into his shop for a coffee and some pleasant conversation.
Alex, who is from Mexico, told me that once you do business with the Hispanic community, “it is like being family”.
That, to me, sounds like a worthy way to conduct business.
