Web 2.0

Plagued by a one-way flow of information and relatively static content, the traditional Web site no longer pulls the weight it once did.

Consumers nowadays link to sites that present a manifestation of Web-based tools, applications and services that facilitate interactivity, collaboration, communication and sharing between people and communities.

Traditionally, businesses have used the Internet as a way to communicate to an audience. Now, the Internet, appropriately named Web 2.0, is all about transforming conventional Web sites into more interactive and functional destinations. This interactivity is made possible through applications such as blogs, podcasts, wikis and other tools.

Businesses of all sizes and in different industries have taken notice and have already jumped on board the Web 2.0 hype — even jan/san distributors.

The Tools
The most commonly used tool in the Web 2.0 world is the blog. In essence, a blog, short for Weblog, is a Web page or site that’s part online journal and part open forum. A blog allows people to comment back and forth, exchanging ideas and information.

In the business world, a blog is a commonly misunderstood and underutilized Web site, says Derrick Sorles, Web 2.0 strategist and blog coach at Chicago-based businessbloggingtips.com. Many businesses underestimate the value of a blog — it can create an opportunity for a business to build a community around current customers and prospects, he says.

“Your Web site is expected to be basically a hard sell — why people should do business with you or buy your products,” says Sorles. “A blog is a completely different approach. It’s where you’re really trying to be a resource or an expert in your industry for your current clients and prospects. And in essence, you want to be the hub that they want to come to for information. And when they go there for information, it would make sense that they would want to do business with you.”

In the jan/san industry, where distributors send bi-weekly or monthly newsletters and e-newsletters to customers, the content from those newsletters can be repurposed into a blog. One of the biggest obstacles companies face when working with a blog is they’re afraid they’re not going to be able to develop enough content. But Sorles says if a company is already developing a newsletter they’re already halfway there.

“There’s several benefits to it,” he says. “One, it’s going to be available now to the world and it will definitely have Internet and search engine pull for your business. And two, it winds up over time being archived and housed in one place.”

What’s most unique about blogs is that a business can allow customers and prospects to post comments to the blog, stating their stance on current issues. In essence, in those responses are testimonials and case studies from a business’ customers that help drive home a business’ product or services. And, if a company is interacting with its customers online, it is going to have a better idea of what its customers’ interests are, what they’re focusing on and what they’re talking about, says C. David Gammel, president of High Context Consulting LLC, Salisbury, Md.

“It really gives you some other avenues to hear from your customers as well as for them to hear from you,” says Gammel. “It allows you to get beyond public relations, get beyond sort of marketing speech and have more authentic communication going on.”

An even more compelling tool that is making waves in the Web 2.0 world is the podcast. Fused from the words iPod and broadcast, a podcast provides an experience though mediums such as audio and video broadcasts. Podcasts are included in a syndication feed, making it possible for subscribers to download them to their computers and MP3 players.

“You can actually have some pretty creative content with videos or with music and make it more exciting for the people and they don’t have to be stuck at their computer,” says Jim Kelton, president of Santa Ana, Calif.-based Altius Information Technologies Inc. “It’s an ability for you to reach your audience when they’re not stuck in their office. If they’re interested in what you have to say, you can get them when they’re on the move.”

Nichols, a Muskegon, Mich.-based jan/san distributor is one of the few in the industry who has converted its company Web site to the 2.0 platform. The company redesigned its Web site in September of this year to complement its audio podcasts, which focus on educating end users on a variety of cleaning topics. So far, Nichols has found producing podcasts to be simple and very cost-effective, says Marcie Palmer, the company’s marketing coordinator. Most importantly, the company has found the return on these educational tools to be a great value added service for its customers.

“We have found what’s been most beneficial with the podcasts is that customers can download them and listen to them as many times as they wish,” says Palmer. “So from a training perspective, if we had a podcast on spot and stain removal for instance, maybe they have listened to it but they’ve got some new people that have just come on board. They then can share that with whoever they want.”

Another Web 2.0 tool, a wiki, is a Web site that allows a group of people to collaboratively create or edit a site without possessing any significant technical skills. A wiki can be best described as an online encyclopedia — a tool that enables a community to rapidly create a site with lots of informative content.

Social networking and end user participation is another component of the Web 2.0 transformation. In the early Internet days, sites were created entirely by the customer. Today, in the Web 2.0 world, social networking Web sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and LinkedIn have achieved remarkable success while relying on their audience to produce user-generated content. Although these sites for the most part are used for networking, recruiters may also use them to find potential applicants.

ROI
Implementing a Web 2.0 site is an effective way to engage a business’ audience and customers. But when making the shift to Web 2.0, businesses should be less concerned about the return on investment in its initial stages and more about engagement, says Gammel. Sites that allow participation, collaboration and interactivity help form a sense of belonging and give customers a reason to frequently revisit. Customers also become more engaged and invested in a company’s brand.

It may sound like a promising business investment, but would upgrading to Web 2.0 be practical for distributors in the jan/san industry — an industry that for the most part has just accepted Web 1.0?

Simply put, Web consultants say yes.

The return on investment for businesses that have made the switch in other industries — although in its early stages — has been rewarding, says Kelton. For every dollar spent on Web 2.0 technologies, Kelton says some companies are receiving a $10 return. Mostly, these companies have found hosting blogs and podcasts on their company Web sites to be most beneficial.

In an industry where frontline workers are asked to do a lot in a little time, end user companies are increasing their search for ways to do their jobs better, quicker and faster. Palmer says distributors can use the Internet as an extra tool to connect and educate end user customers.

“We feel we can help them be more efficient, become more effective at their jobs and help them be successful through providing them the tools through the Internet,” says Palmer.

Since implementing educational-themed podcasts on its recently redesigned Web site, Nichols has noticed an increase in customer loyalty, Palmer says. The company has also seen Web site traffic increase. In fact, Nichols has averaged at least 150 views for each podcast thus far, a number that is expected to continue to rise.

“End users find it as a great educational tool,” she says. “We bring them up to date on any new information that we would like to get out to them, whether it’s through a specific procedure or a specific topic. They are using it in a way we hoped they would. They can access it at any time and share it with others.”

For now, Nichols is in the minority when it comes to Web 2.0, but Palmer says she hopes that other distributors would recognize the importance in making the shift to Web 2.0 and the value it can bring to end user customers.

“Hopefully they’ll jump on the bandwagon,” says Palmer. “As time goes on, we’re entering into the times where the generations expect everything to be easily accessible and as those generations grow up, it’s just going to become the norm. I would hope that distributors would want to be on the forefront versus the backend.”

But when it comes to Web technology in the jan/san industry, there are the movers and then there are those who prefer to wait and see what happens. Jill Kegler, president and COO of Kellermeyer Co., Bowling Green, Ohio, says a lot of distributors fall under the latter category because they are overwhelmed with the thought of implementing new technology.

But for the most part, tech-savvy distributors realize that making the shift to a Web 2.0 platform can be a real boon for business. Marianne Abiaad, executive vice president for Santa Fe Springs, Calif.-based Royal Corp., says distributors who are not adapting to technology will soon see their educated customers seek solutions elsewhere.

“We need to be utilizing technology to the fullest,” Abiaad stresses. “The Web is now more important than ever in the role it plays as an additional on-demand tool in supplying our customers with value-added service.”

For distributors, adoption of Web 2.0 technologies is bound to happen sooner or later.

“The shift is really inevitable,” says Sorles. “The opportunity right now is like a first mover advantage. It’s almost like a horse race — if I’m a nose ahead of you, I win.”

Expensive?
Business owners shouldn’t have any worries about Web 2.0 dipping deep into their pocketbooks.

“It’s not really expensive other than someone has to manage the marketing plan and the execution of the plan,” says Kelton.

That means a business will have to pay and designate someone to help adhere to the plan.

“Like any marketing, even if the backend deliverable is free, it still takes people’s time, so the resources needed are time and money.” Kelton says. “Somebody still has to manage it and you can’t just let it run by itself. Throwing up a blog won’t get you business, but if you put it together as part of a marketing plan, than I think they’re going to have a better return.”

Often, the biggest expense that people don’t anticipate when implementing blogs and podcasts to their Web sites is the time it takes to produce them.

“It’s often more a function of time than money,” says Gammel. “For the media stuff like video and audio, businesses often have to invest in some software and equipment and they could be looking at a few thousand dollars. And if you need outside help for editing that’s an additional expense. But even if you have someone on staff who can do all of that stuff, or simply writes a blog — a big part of it is freeing up the time for them to do that and making sure it’s a priority.”

Getting Started
The first line of attack on becoming a frontrunner in the adoption of Web 2.0, Web consultants say, is to set aside enough time to dabble.

“A business should give a couple people latitude to experiment with this stuff and give them a little bit of budget to play with and see what they can come up with,” says Gammel. “Because it’s all still very new and very early, it’s important to come at it from a perspective of we’re going to try a bunch of little things and see what really works for us and then we’ll invest further in those.”

Getting started with Web 2.0 technologies also is a whole lot easier and cheaper than the traditional Web 1.0 model. There are a lot of open source tools that are free on the Internet that businesses can take advantage of to get started, as well as applications that can be added to an existing Web site, Sorles says.

But when deciding on making the upgrade to Web 2.0, a business is best suited to play to its strengths.

“They’ll want to look at what they’re going to be able to do feasibly on their own,” says Gammel. “You have to really look at where your strengths are for the early effort and then you can leverage those and see what works best for you.”

In order to leverage Web 2.0, however, businesses must build a social media capacity within their own organization in order to fully benefit from it, Gammel says.

“This kind of level of interactivity, being able to interact directly through sites is the future of where things are going,” he says. “Even though it may not be a core element of your business, it is going to be a core of your online presence one way or another.”

CleanLink: Additional Info CleanTips: E-Commerce's Role In Distribution Smart Podcasts For The Commercial Cleaning Industry Today's end users are Web savvy and they want to be able to purchase their cleaning products online. Listen to Marianne Abiaad, executive vice president of Royal Corp., Santa Fe Springs, Calif., explain the role e-commerce plays in jan/san distribution.