The U.S. Department of Commerce reported e-commerce retail sales in the United States totaled over $108 Billion in 2006. This is a $20 Billion increase from 2005. More than $31 Billion of online retail sales have already occurred in 2007. GROW Nebraska™ wants to be instrumental in helping Nebraska business owners tap into this market, and is announcing its third Web Site Critique service is offered this summer.
The goal of the Web site critique is to provide business owners with valuable feedback regarding their business’s existing Web site. The jury panel consists of several Web industry experts with backgrounds in e-business strategy, graphic design, and usability testing. Jurors will rate and comment on Web sites in five areas: audience/purpose, graphics, navigation, content, and functionality. The evaluations are conducted in the jurors’ own professional environments, which allows them more time to carefully critique each site.
Shortly after the 2006 critique, Sherry Zeller, co-owner of Chuck’s Woodbarn in Bartley, NE said, “We have already met with the company that did our Web site for us. He is following up on some of the suggestions to improve our site. We are very new at Web sites…I feel another person’s professional opinion was wonderful.”
The critique is available to GROW members for $25. Non-GROW Nebraska™ members may participate in this service for $225, well below the price a for-profit firm would charge for a similar service. GROW Nebraska™’s 2007 membership fee is $150; the $175 for joining GROW Nebraska™ and participating in the web site critique is a significant value for businesses looking to expand their market access.
Other benefits to members of GROW Nebraska™ include Internet representation on GROW Nebraska™’s web site, access to exclusive retail opportunities at locations like
The Great River Road Archway,
State Fair General Store,
Holiday Stores, and the
GROW Nebraska™ Store at the Hilltop Mall in Kearney, NE,
free publicity/news release service,
reduced rate cooperative advertising, and reduced registration rates to entrepreneurial workshops.
Learn About our 2007 Jurors >> 