The idea of launching a web site can be an exciting event for an entrepreneur and speaks to many things about you and your business. Your site is an announcement to the world that you have business savvy and you value the importance of marketing. Unfortunately many companies put up their web sites and forget the importance of keeping them inviting and updated for their virtual visitors. Early last week, a woman whom I will call Hattie, stopped by my office for a visit. She was the owner of a successful landscaping company. Hattie told me she was feeling a little down because her company had lost the bid for a large commercial contract that she had her heart set on.

Hattie said she was shocked to learn that a company half as good as hers was selected to get the contract. She went on to say that she had done everything humanly possible to land the account. She hired the best proposal writer and had taken a 6-week course in oral presentation. But all had failed.

I suggested she call the company and find out why she had not been awarded the contract so that she might be better prepared for the next opportunity. Somewhat distressed Hattie agreed that she would call them.

Several days had passed when my landscaping friend appeared again, this time her distress had turned to outrage.

Hattie said that she had taken my advice and called the procurement office director. The secretary, a very nice woman and a social friend of Hattie's told her the director wasn't in. when Hattie explained that she was calling to find out what she had done wrong the secretary confidentially told her that she had overheard the director saying that Hattie's written and oral presentation was great but her short fall was a poorly kept and out dated web site. The secretary added that another landscaping company won because of their site.

Hattie said she couldn't believe her ears and thought the whole thing to be ridiculous. She reminded me that her niece, before going off to college had designed her site, making Hattie the first among her colleagues to even have one. The niece has now finished college and gone out into the world of work and Hattie's web site has not been touched.

Welcome to the real world Hattie! I invited her to take a visit with me to the site of the contract winner so that she might see what the competition was like. On the site we found pictures of the grounds of satisfied customers, seasonal tips for lawn, plant and flower care, a resource page with links to other sites related to landscaping, a feed back form for questions or comments, and a page of archived newsletters that the company wrote bimonthly.

If you miss the importance of keeping your web site current and interesting you could be missing out on new business and chasing old business away. Your web site is one of your business' most important marketing tools. Like Hattie's lost client, many people check the Internet for information about a vendor before calling for more information. And also avoid calling a vendor because the web site was poorly kept or non-existent. Keeping your site updated and interesting can give you a competitive edge in seeking new business.

Whether your business has a prestigious "Park Avenue" address or is located in a corner of your basement a well maintained, informative, and attractive web site can make you a leading player and give you the opportunity to compete with the best of them.

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