1) Advertising

We all know the cost of advertising in a phone book and in newspapers. Advertising, advertising, advertising, expensive, expensive, expensive. Once you are on the Web and can be found, the customer is the least expensive market for you to reach. Customer feedback is also quick, easy, and less expensive.

2) To Establish A Presence

Approximately 108 million people in North America were using the Internet every day in 2000. The number of Internet users have increased 128% in the last 8 years. No matter what your business is, you can't ignore the millions of people on the Internet. To be a part of that community and show that you are interested in serving them, you need to be on the Internet. You know your competitors will be.

3) To Network

A lot of what passes for business is simply nothing more than making connections with other people. Every smart business person knows, it's not what you know, it's who you know. Passing out your business card is part of every good meeting and every business person can tell more than one story how a chance meeting turned into the big deal. What if you could pass out your business card to thousands, maybe millions of potential clients and partners, saying this is what I do and if you are ever in need of my services, this is how you can reach me. You can, 24 hours a day, with RepairNet.

4) To Make Information Available

What is basic business information? Think of a phone book ad. What are your hours? What do you do? How can someone contact you? Where are you located? Now think of a phone book ad where you have instant communication. What is today's special? Next week's oil change special? What are your labor rates? If you could keep your customer informed of every reason why they should do business with you, don't you think you could do more business?

5) To Serve Your Customers

Making business information available is one of the most important ways to serve your customers. But if you look at serving the customer, you'll find even more ways to use RepairNet. How about making forms available for customers to fill out that reminds them of their next service (included with RepairNet), or create a form that would gather information about how they liked your service? All this can be done, and more.

6) To Establish A Presence

You won't get Newsweek magazine to write up your local store opening, but you might get a local paper to include your Web Page address in an advertisement. With Web page information, anybody who hears about you is a potential visitor to your Web site, and a potential customer.

7) To Release Specials

What if your specials need to be released when business is slow or heading into a recession? Now the information can be made available at any time you specify, with all related materials such as details and pricing, etc. Imagine the anticipation from customers to check your site often to see what is new.

8) To Make Pictures Available

What if your service is great, but people would really love it if they could see how their car works and why they need to maintain it? A picture is worth a thousand words, but you don't have the space for a thousand words. RepairNet includes a car care section for your customer complete with pictures. This info will serve your existing and potential customers. No brochure will do that.

9) To Answer Frequently Asked Questions

Whoever answers the phones in your company can tell you their time is usually spent answering the same questions over and over again. These are the questions customers, and potential customers want to know the answer to before they deal with you. RepairNet has included a list of FAQ's on your own website that will answer a lot of the common questions customers have. This will help free up some time for customers who are in your store.

10) To Create A 24 Hour Service

We're not all on the same schedule. Business is worldwide but your office hours aren't. Web pages serve the client, customer, and partner 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No overtime, either. It can customize information to match needs and collect important information that will put you ahead of the competition, even before they get into the office.

11) To Change Info Quickly

Sometimes, information changes before it gets off the press. Now you have a pile of expensive, worthless paper. Electronic publishing changes with your needs. No paper, no ink, no printer's bill. No printed piece can match that flexibility.

12) To Allow Feedback From Customers

You pass out the brochure, the catalog, the booklet. But it doesn't work. No sales, no calls, no leads. What went wrong? Wrong color, wrong price, wrong market? Keep testing, the marketing books say, and you'll eventually find out what went wrong. That's great for the big boys with deep pockets, but who is paying the bills? You are, and you don't have the time or the money to wait for the answer. With a Web page, you can ask for feedback and get it instantly with no extra cost. An e-mail and text message response is built into your Web page and can get the answer while it's fresh in your customers mind.

13) To Reach The Media

Every kind of business needs the exposure the media can bring, but what if your business is reaching the media as a newswire, a publicist, or a public policy group? The media is the most wired profession today. Because their main product is information, they get it quickly, cheaply, and easily on-line. On-line press kits are becoming more and more common, since they work with the digital environment of pressrooms.

14) To Service Your Local Market

We've talked about the power to serve the world with a Web page. How about your neighborhood? There are probably enough local customers who are on the Internet to make it worth your while to consider RepairNet. No matter where you are, if the competitor has a Web site, you should be there too.