Description: Do you know that most corporate web sites make NO money for companies that own them? This article explains steps involved in seeking out these 'Dead Sites'. It shows reader how to find and 'Monetize' these sites for profit.

Copyright 2002 (c) Dave Hertner, All rights Reserved. Permission is granted to electronically reprint following article, in your publication, e-book or web site, as long as there are no changes made to copyright info and resource box is included with article.

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"Monetizing a Company's Web Site"

by Dave Hertner © Copyright 2002 All Rights Reserved

Do you know that most corporate web sites make NO money for companies that own them? They simply set up this elaborate whiz-bang site that is intended to provide information to public about products or services they offer.

What a bunch of phooey!!

A web site should not exist if its sole purpose is anything other than to make money for entity that owns it.

I don't know whether or not you noticed or not but for me there were costs involved in creation and maintenance of my web site.

I work for a large company that receives about 35,000 visits to its website per year. They have a web master who gets paid about $50,000 per year and he does a beautiful job in maintaining a beautiful web site. This translates into a cost of $1.43 per visit. How long would you and I last in business if we had to pay $1.43 to each person who visited our site?

One day I went to president of company and asked him how much web site was earning firm. He just sort of blinked. "The web site isn't a revenue generator" he said. I asked him if he knew what an 'Unrealized Asset' was. I got a blank stare and 'a you are starting to waste my time' look.

This is a VERY common occurrence!! You would think that in this day in age people running these large companies would be utilizing every mechanism within company to generate additional revenue. This is just not case.

Marketers have discovered that online surveys generate a mother load of valuable information about site usability, visitor opinions and attitudes, new product ideas and improvements, and much more.

Online surveys and polls are easy-to-implement,low-cost marketing research tools. They're a snap to include on your site -- either through a Web server's CGI script or by a remote hosted solution.

There are even free services like SurveyMonkey.com and Zoomerang.com that will add basic survey functionality for your Web site.

--------------------- Don't Bet Farm on Do-It-Yourself Data ---------------------

Keep in mind though, that do-it-yourself surveys do not always mean you'll get quality information. You'll get "lay of land." That is, a pretty good "gut feeling" for opinions and attitudes.

But unless you're a marketing research guru who knows what it takes to produce statistically valid results, don't gamble big money on data you'll get.

If you need solid data to make crucial business decisions, consult a marketing research expert who can help you to determine methodology, establish control variables, create survey questions with proper branching, and analyze data.

--------------------- Surveys Still Rock, Despite their Shortcomings ---------------------

Even if you choose to do it yourself, online surveys have many benefits that outweigh their shortcomings. You just can't beat this quick-and-dirty approach to get benchmark data before you launch a new Web site feature.

They're also a quick way to gather product and service preferences, and get a feel for trends in consumer attitude.

I guess it's human nature, but people seem to enjoy being asked for their opinion -- if you do it sincerely. This can strengthen online consumer relationships and build return traffic to site.

Sometimes even simple non-scientific surveys uncover fascinating results that media would love to hear about. So if it's really good stuff, you can use data as basis for generating publicity for your Web site.

--------------------- 6 Ways to Use Online Surveys Profitably ---------------------

1. Web-site Opinion Polls

These quick little one-question polls are non-threatening and so easy to complete. Who can resist? See one at Discovery Health http://health.discovery.com/. After answering, users can see how their opinion compares with everyone else. You can use single-question polls for health-related questions, or any topics you like.

For a turnkey solution, use a hosted service like Sparklit, Ezpolls, or Alxnet Polls: http://webpoll.sparklit.com/ http://ezpolls.mycomputer.com/ http://www.alxnet.com/services/poll/

If you have know-how to install CGI scripts, there are many good ones on Web. Find one you like and customize it to your heart's content. View offerings at The CGI Resource Index at http://www.cgi-resources.com/ .

2. Patient Satisfaction Surveys

If your medical practice or hospital mails out patient satisfaction surveys, creating an online version of survey is an excellent idea. You can give patients option of completing paper version you've sent them, or go to a special Web page on your site and complete an online version.

The benefits of this are several: responses are immediately recorded by Web server; tabulation can be automated resulting in time savings; business-reply return postage is saved; and a reporting application can show you a snapshot of your patient satisfaction ratings any time you desire.