Before the Internet, most all advertising followed the pattern of a one-way street. Advertising was an extension of marketing, and information flowed in one direction: from the advertiser's mouth/hand to the customer's ears/eyes.

On the Net, advertising and marketing lines blur, and sometimes the two are the same. Furthermore, the Internet isn't called the information super-highway for nothing. If you don't open your website for 2-way communication, your competitors will pull into the fast lane, pass you, and take your customers with them.

Here are some easy ways to capture and service customers with your website. If your website doesn't have these basic features, it's time for marketing to make adjustments.

• Gives information about the products/services, the company, new products/services, improvements.
• Provides visitors with easy-to-find company stats: (toll free) phone and fax numbers, e-mail address, mailing and delivery address, and any others that apply to your firm.
• Makes it easy for customer to move from one screen to another and back to the Home page.
• Simple, uncluttered, succinct. Uses both text and graphics to make interesting and to appeal to people with different learning styles.
• Empowers customers. Allows customers to help themselves with a click. Examples are on-line banking, on-line shopping and ordering, and various how-to's, as they apply.
• Separate e-mail click to contact your company easily.

Don't be afraid to "step out of the box" and try something new, as long as it meets your company's marketing objectives. Everybody's looking for the next new thing. And remember, a key concept for success today is that knowledge breeds growth. Customers now want information and involvement. Keeping the customer happy means keeping the customer.

David & Lorrie Goldsmith are founders of the Syracuse based MetaMatrix Consulting Group Inc. Their firm specializes in consulting and speaking services. They can be reached at 315-476-0510 888-777-8857 or emailed at dgoldsmith@davidgoldsmith.com