The Garden House on Orcas is an example of a small (one cottage) hospitality business that began using digital tools in 1992 in order to advertise, fulfill, and manage its operation with attention to efficiency and customer service. The intentions and values of the business, along with the physical property, serve as the foundation upon which digital tools can be used to build a system best suited to your interests, time and budget. As with many of the cottages and cabins on Orcas, several features are generally promoted: uniqueness, location, price, amenities, availability. In addition to these features, the Garden House adds greater depth, energy efficiency (i.e., green principles), and "connect with a local" components. A key beginning point for advertising to deliver these features is a web page; in today's world, this is as important as having running water. The Garden House web page was originally written in html as, in 1992, the internet was just emerging and no user-friendly web page design tools were available. Tools required (besides knowledge and a story to tell): a computer, a digital camera, a broadband Internet connection. For today's business owners, who likely have modest knowledge of computers, generally zero knowledge of html and no interest in becoming a geek, a web design tool is essential. Google offers a free web design tool (Sites) but it is not for the beginner and has limited capability. Apple offers an easy to get started with web design tool (iWeb) which operates only on a Macintosh; it is part of the iLife tool set which is about $80. Macwebsitebuilder offers a powerful, user-friendly, not intimidating browser-based design tool which can be accessed by any computer (PC or Mac) and is about $192/year. Other web creation tools are available, all with attached dollar and learning costs. A domain name "myCottageonOrcasIsland.com" can be purchased from GoDaddy for about $9/year. The point here is that to get started with this kind of business, the owner needs a web site and can either pay someone to create and manage it for him or her, or develop one in house. JoeBay U will do either for a student, although encourages the student to learn to do it herself. In the Garden House case, a web domain ("doebay.net") was purchased (about $9/year from godaddy.com) and is being hosted by Rock Island in Friday Harbor (about $50/month which includes DSL). The Garden House web site contains pictures, so a digital camera is really essential to capture the "uniqueness", "amenities", "greater depth" and "energy efficiency" components. The design of the Garden House site contemplates typical questions that the potential customer might ask (what does the cabin have? where is it? how big is it? what can you do there? what does it cost? is it available? how do I contact the owner?, etc.) and provides answers. Other cabin owners choose not to answer some of these questions, so that the potential customer will be required to contact the owner directly in order to get more information and, presumably, allow the owner a direct opportunity to close the sale. It is of course up to each owner to decide what the philosophy of their business model is and, consequently, the desire to have, or avoid, touch points with the potential guest.

A web page, however, is only part of the package of digital tools that can make running a small business easier. There is the entire "fulfillment" component, which begins when a potential customer becomes an actual one. The Garden House has to manage, easily and securely, several aspects of fulfillment: collect funds, send notices (such as contracts and directions) to the customer, modify the availability system so that no double booking occurs, prepare the cleaning staff (which may be the owner), and make adjustments to the web page and/or notices (e.g., contract) when "something happens" that was unanticipated and has created a bad hair day, in order to minimize or prevent that "something" in the future. To facilitate potential-customer-decision-making, the availability calendar is posted on the web site and always kept up to date. The tool used to manage this feature is Google Calendar (free). To facilitate the flow of guests in to and through the Garden House, a Filemaker Pro database (see photo snippet) was created. This database ensures that all relevant information is housed in one easily understood and managed location. Filemaker Pro database software (about $300) provides the foundation for building a guest fulfillment system which calculates all charges including taxes, creates emails that represent contracts and directions, and provides reminders to ensure that all aspects of fulfilling a reservation are completed properly. In addition, it provides for the flow of funds, which today is done by most customers via a credit card. Therefore another digital tool is needed: a credit card processor and merchant account. To track funds over time, making it much easier to pay state and federal taxes, another digital tool, "Quickbooks" (about $300), is extremely helpful. Customers today are interested in the ongoing activities of a business. Consequently, the Garden House has a blog, based on another (free) digital tool: "Blogger".

I take for granted that a small business will have a computer and a printer. A digital tool not to be ignored is the humble word processor, which can be used to create flyers, brochures, cards, giveaways, and information for guests and/or potential guests. A free version of a word processor, lacking a number of features but scoring high on price, is Google Docs. Likewise, I take it for granted that the business will have an email address and software for accessing email. Another free service from google is email, as in the example: "mycottageonorcasisland@gmail.com" The care and nurturing of customers is what keeps a business in business. There is a lot of competition in the cottage and cabin "business" on Orcas. The vast majority of visitors use the internet to shop for what they want, where, when and why. Without digital tools, the Garden House would not be in business. The goal of these tools is to remain competitive while also being efficient. With only a web site, perhaps created and managed by someone else, the other activities required to ensure the operation actually functions would take hours without digital tool support. This would be the equivalent of washing and drying all your laundry by hand instead of with a few powerful and relatively inexpensive machines. It is all up to you, your interest, your philosophy, your time. If your business only had a web site (created and managed by others), and you had no computer yourself, you could operate with U.S. mail, a phone, perhaps a copy machine?, and paper and pencil. This may suit your situation. With everything, there is a tradeoff. Digital tools will save a lot of time and to some extent money (no stamps, no envelopes, no paper, no long distance calls), yet you need to feel competent and comfortable with them.  In addition to the tools mentioned here, and the philosophy of the owner embedded in the constructions made by these tools, even more digital tools options are available. Google offers, free, Analytics, which allows a web site to track who visits it, how long they stay, where they came from. Google offers, for a fee, Adwords, which allows a business to place an ad along side the google search list. Google offers as well Adsense, which allows a web site owner to get paid by Google for ads, placed by google, on the owner's web site. I could sound like an apologist for Google here; the point is that many information tools are available (like Google Maps, in which as a web site owner, you can place an interactive map on your website that Google generates for you, also free). Click on the Google Logo here for a list of Google Services JoeBay U can help you discover, learn about, create, and enhance the proper set of digital tools which you determine are best suited to help you achieve your goals.

(360) 376-4549       

blog: joebayu.blogspot.com

Share