To view a real Customer certified report, visit survey results of our customers from our other Internet business at this URL:

http://www.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/report.xpml?mid=19250

With this information your new customers, current customers and you know how your customers feel about your company, services and products. You can make necessary corrections to your operations, by monitoring your weekly results and reviewing real customer feedback.

In summary: It is hard to tell who to do business with on Internet these days. You can put your customers at ease by letting them know you care about their satisfaction. There isn't a better way to reduce customer apprehension and assure customers of your legitimacy, than to have "Customer Certified Ratings" posted on your web site. Do not work in dark, let your customers light your way by allowing them to tell everyone why they should do business with you.

3. Use your web site to augment your print catalog. We just gave one example, but here are more. Mailers, sales letters, and catalogs are expensive to print and even more costly to mail. Expand on limited space you can devote to an item in print by including many more details on your web site.

You may even be able to reduce how often you mail print materials. Replace some of your mailings with email reminders, an email newsletter, and references to your always updated web site.

4. Use a web site when you can't get distribution. For years, Kevin couldn't get his own business going because of distribution problems. No matter what he tried, cost of getting his products and services to customers was too expensive for a new, start-up business.

The Web represents a huge revolution in distribution. All kinds of services and information can be delivered to customers anywhere in world via Internet. The cost is almost free.

Look for products and services you can distribute from your web site. You many have existing products (like advice to customers) that are better delivered from your web site. There are probably a host of new things you can sell once your web site is set up.

5. Use a web site when your business is too small to market any other way. Almost everyone has gotten an idea for a business, but never followed through with it because cost of start-up was too high.

With a web site, you don't necessarily need a storefront, employees, or anything more than a home phone (and a computer, of course!).

With that comes one last reason why you need to think wisely and use a web site in your business. If you don't, your competitors will. The Web excels at giving every business person an equal chance to earn a profit -- don't throw yours away.