Set Now Solutions specializes in online marketing and web-based productivity solutions.

We've all been there. You visit a store, a mall, or perhaps a restaurant and for some reason, you don't feel comfortable. Items are not where you expect them to be and you wait too long for help. What do you do? Most likely you leave and never return. The same thing occurs on the internet. Each day, customers visit web sites, and for one reason or another, they don't feel comfortable; so, they leave and never return.

How do stop that from happening to your website? The following will help you on your way...

Where do you want to be? Venturing into electronic business requires as much thought about business strategy as it does about Internet technology. Before you do anything, you need to create your e-business plan. Much like you create a blue print for constructing a house, you will need a blue print for your website. Web site's are sketched out in what is called a "site map." This looks much like an organizational chart, which shows the hierarchy of the information it contains. Generally, the home page will be at the top and then sub-level categories will fall under that and then those categories will have sub-levels and so on.

Review the Competition. Visit other web sites in your industry. What is your first impression? Are they serving their customers well? What do you like or not like about those web sites? Document your research. In creating your strategy, it's OK to review the competition and create your own plan based on what works and what doesn't work for your competition. Take what works and make it even better.

Customer Focus Groups. The more you know about your customers, the better you can serve them. This holds true for your current business strategy, so, why not use this concept for your website too. It is imperative that you survey your customers about what they need from your company's website. After all, the web site is for them. Consider asking some of your business colleagues to be part of a focus group. Ask them to review your competitors web sites and have them report what they like and don't like about those web sites. Adjust your web site's "site map" accordingly.

Marketing Campaign. Consistent branding is a valuable marketing tool. Your website should closely resemble your print, radio and TV campaigns. If you had an artist create your original campaign, provide the color and font information to the web graphic artist. For consistency, a web developer will create a style sheet for all of your web documents that specify the appropriate fonts and color choices. This is essential for large sites and for sites where many people will be maintaining it.

If you have not yet created your print campaign, make sure your web developer knows of your intention to use your web design in print. It may be cost-effective to create art for both web and print at the same time.

Integration with existing systems and staff. It is crucial that your e-business strategy integrates with your current computer software, staff and order fulfillment needs. For example, if you sell a product or service, you will need to create a flow chart that depicts the web transaction process, from the website order through to the customer receipt of the order. Customer service will need to be expanded to take calls about website orders or website questions and problems. Who will handle this task? Create consistent procedures that your website users will become familiar with.

Web Site Design. As mentioned earlier, if a customer feels uncomfortable, they will leave and you may have lost a sale. To ensure that your visitors will have a trouble-free experience, a good web developer will anticipate and accommodate the different Internet browsers, web connections, and devices your clients use to reach your site.

Tracking Web Site Users. Your company has goals for your website and departments within your company may also have individual goals that need to be acknowledged. Define all of these goals and document them. Your web developer will then build your website so you can determine whether those goals are being met. For example, if the marketing department is running a radio or print campaign to drive traffic to the website, there must be a system in place to track the effectiveness of that marketing campaign strategy. This tracking is also imperative to discovering your website's return on investment (ROI) for each department and for your company as a whole.

Website Maintenance. You will need to define how much you or your staff has time to devote to your website.

These important decisions will greatly increase the likelihood that the process will be efficient and meet your expectations. If you have done your research and made key e-business decisions and goals, you are best prepared to speak with a website developer. The more useful information you provide to your developer, the better your chances of having a successful website that your customers will visit again and again.