Reprinted From "Framing Business News, a supplement to Art Business News" 11/1/2001 Learn New Ways to Work the Web The Internet has not, as some predicted done away with traditional commerce. Instead, it has evolved into a versatile communication tool that puts a business at its customers' fingertips.

By Tricia Bisoux

FBN Contributing Editor

Think your customers don't use the Web? If so, you might want to think again. Although people may not do all of their shopping on the Web, they don't hesitate to use it. They log on to research car and home purchases, find health information, check the stock market or read the latest news. It stands to reason that the art-conscious among them also would seek out information on art media and framing techniques.

True, the Internet revolution that many predicted never exactly happened: Most people do not buy their pet supplies, groceries, clothes, cars or fine art online. But that doesn't mean that the Internet has not changed the public's expectations. The number of people who expect businesses to have an online presence is growing. There has been no revolution, but the Internet's evolution is still going strong.

"In the beginning the Web was more of a playground. But now it has matured to what it should have been in the first place," said Web Developer Jeffrey Cohen, who owns ImageWorks LLC, a Web design firm in Vernon, Conn. "The purpose of a Web site now is to educate consumers and to allow them to do soft transactions online: checking a balance, getting information and, most importantly, communicating with a business.

The Web is not the end-all-be-all for business, but it promises to be an invaluable part of a business' marketing strategy. Retailers with successful sites are those who take advantage of the trends; they ask what their customers want to do on the Web today - and then they create sites that help them do it.

The Internet Evolution

The Aug. 2000 report from the U.S. Census Bureau titled "Home Computers and Internet Use in the United States" tells the story. It found that 42 percent of U.S. household - or 44 million - have Internet access, which is up from 26 percent in 1998. A full 87 per cent of households with annual incomes of $75,000 or more— prime buyers of art and framing— have Internet access. The top four reasons people log on to the Internet are to check e-mail (88 per cent), gather information (64 per cent), read news (53 percent) and to shop and pay bills (40 percent).

Rather than a buying tool, the Internet has become a tool for research and communication. It is, the report asserts, "changing the way society manages information." The entire report is available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p23-207.pdf

For retailers looking to the future, the report indicates that the number of Internet users will steadily increase - while only 31 percent of adults age 55 to 64 now have Internet access, 90 percent of all school children, no matter what their income levels, have access to a computer at school or home. For this generation, a business without a Web site will be as outdated as an LP or Beta video tape seems today.

Think Locally, Web Locally

While retailers can use their sites to reach clients nationally and even internationally, they usually do so only after building a strong Web presence locally.

"When we first went online in 1995, I thought the Internet was an inexpensive way to reach every one in the world - I thought that we'd be overloaded with business. But that was definitely not the case," said Thad Markham. Markham owns Artifacts Gallery (http://www.artifactsgallery.com) in Cambria, Calif., with his wife, Debbie.

"We used to mess around with search engines and banner advertisements. But that didn't pay off for us. To get the most from our Web site, we had to turn to more grassroots methods," he continued. The gallery now promotes its site more directly, mentioning it to customers in the store and including it on all printed marketing pieces.

"As we told people about the Web site, they told us what they wanted, and we responded," he said. "It's now, I'd say, 25 percent to 30 percent of our marketing power."

Local considerations are no less important for frame shops and galleries overseas. Although Web sites are indispensable for keeping in touch with collectors worldwide, these galleries often first start with a local marketing push. Once that push gets going, it often builds to reach an inter national clientele.

Birute Patasiene, the director of Galerija Lietuvos Aidas http://www.lagalerija.lt) in Vilnius, Lithuania, prints the gallery's Web address on all marketing materials, including ads, postcards and catalogues. In addition, gallery artists are encouraged to direct their customers, many of whom are from other countries, to the site.

"Our site is a handy source of information," wrote Patasiene, via e-mail. "We don't investigate how many visitors from abroad have learned about us, but through the Internet, we communicate with people in Australia, New Zealand, to say nothing of Europe."

"We have the impression that collectors are using the Internet to get information about events in the art world in general," wrote Ischa Tallieu of Galerie Fortlaan 17 (http://www..fortlaanlz.com) in Ghent, Belgium. "More and more of our collectors are visiting our Web site to get up-to-date information about our artists and exhibits. Subscriptions to our 'News and Press' information is growing constantly."

Peter Hartig of Copenhagen Art Gallery in Denmark (http://www.copenhagen-art.dk) deals with many corporate clients, for whom communicating via Internet connection is not only preferred - it's expected. Gallery staff and clients communicate by e-mail and can discuss artwork over the phone, while both view the images online.

"It's a great (and better) alternative to printed catalogues," Hartig wrote. "Changes, new works and improvements are ready and online very quickly."

What the Web Is

At its heart, a Web site is truly a high-tech, information-packed, image-enhancing, "very elaborate" business card, said Markham of Artifacts Gallery. Like a business card, it helps customers remember you; it primarily strengthens relationships with current customers, and often, it can attract new ones.

But instead of getting only the basic "who, what and where" of a business card, Markham added, "customers can go to your site and get a ton of information."

With such an "electronic business card" in mind, Wizard International of Mukilteo, Wash., recently partnered with http://www.ArtAffairs.com of Toronto to offer retailers Web design and hosting services, said Ed Pratt, Wizard's sales and marketing manager. Retailers who use the services can choose between eight template Web sites, with styles ranging from classical to impressionistic to modern.

"For small retailers, this is an easy, inexpensive way to deliver messages to their client base— everything from decorating suggestions to holiday discounts to examples of items to frame," explained Pratt. "It's an opportunity for them to have an electronic advertisement they can deliver for pennies per customer."

Although a Web site should be used in concert with other marketing methods, such as print advertising, it has definite advantages over print media, said Kathy Desnick, marketing director for Minneapolis Metropolitan Picture Framing (http://www.metrorame.com). The company provides framing materials to galleries and artists. It is, she emphasized, an always-on source of information, which never needs postage and rarely needs printing.

"If you have 10,000 printed pieces and want to change them, what do you do with the old ones? With the Web, it only takes seconds to change the information. If someone doesn't have Web access, we just print out the information and send itto them," said Desnick. "It's wonderful for mar keting. Whatever a person is looking for, they can find it, from any location."

What the Web Isn't

False expectations often lead many retailers to believe that Web sites don't work. But with so many peo ple on the Web—and that number growing daily—it is more like ly that their Web sites don't work, perhaps because of limited con tent, lack of promotion or simply a lack of patience. Before retail ers build a Web site, they first must shake a few misconceptions:

The Web is not an end in itself. Desnick and Markham stressed that the Web does not work in a vacuum. To make it work, they must drive their customers to their sites through good, old-fashioned advertising.

"We put it on our business cards and letterhead," said Markham. "We let all of our customers who come into the store know that they can call us or access our Web site for information?'

In addition, a well-designed Web site can be used to provide "value-added" services to clients, giving them more reason to work with your business.

Metropolitan Picture Framing, for example, uses its site to promote the exhibitions of its gallery and artist clients. "We send e-mails to all of our customers in that state to inform of them of an upcoming exhibit, and advertise all the exhibits on the site," said Desnick. "It's not only added PR for our customers; it also invites people to see our framing products in context."

"People often view the Web as isolated," she added. "But it's not an isolated thing. It's part of a marketing plan - you have business cards, newspapers, magazines and the Web."

The Web is not static. Where many Web sites go wrong is in their content, said Cohen of ImageWorks. Not only must a site be updated regularly, but it also must provide information that customers believe is useful, such as tips, event schedules, product information, artist bios and links to other art-related sites.

"Often what a business owner chooses to show is not what customers want to see," Cohen explained. "Customers want information; they want to become educated; and where it makes sense, they will buy products online from businesses they know."

A Web site is not an "all-at-once" proposition. It takes time to build a following. "We are still not getting the response we would like to get from our site, but it is getting better all the time," said Sharon Saville, who owns Mission Trace Framing & Gallery in Lakewood, Colo., with Karen Irving. Their site (http://www.missiontrace.com) has been online for two years, and offers not only samples of framed artwork, but also a coupon and framing estimates.

"We seem to get more response from the younger generation," she continued. "We also get customers from downtown Denver area; they are willing to drive more than 20 miles to our store just for the coupon value."

For Desnick and Markham, who have been online for three and six years respectively, their sites have evolved with the internet itself. Only through trial and error did they learn what worked and what didn't.

"It doesn't necessarily bring in huge returns right away," said Markham. "There are downsides: It is a business in itself to maintain it - to keep up with changing products and prices. It has taken years of changing to make it what we wanted."

But, the upside to Web marketing makes a site indispensable, Markham asserted. "I can't imagine why anyone would be in business without a Web site. It's relatively inexpensive, and give customers constant access to you."

Said Desnick, "It lets people see who you are, what you do and whether you do it right. It lets them see how you fit in the marketplace."

By Jim Tierney
Journal inquirer