As a specialist in pet care, Cooney would hand out his phone number so that customers could call for advice. After being flooded with phone calls, however, he began thinking about a website to provide the relevant information.
Following several attempts to move online, beginning with a few free webpages being offered by a local cinema service, Cooney decided to enrol in a web design course. At the same time, he signed up a company to develop a website. But with the insights he was gaining from the web design course, Cooney quickly realised the web developers didn't have the experience or the approach he was looking for, and pulled out of the deal.
The current website at Petworld.ie, which is the third version, includes a number of forums as well as a lost and found section for pets, which Cooney said has successfully reunited pet owners with their lost friends. "When you get an email from a customer asking for us to remove the 'lost' information from our site, because they've found their dog, you do get satisfaction from that," Cooney says. "The tool is free to use and people can include a picture -- it's easy to update from their own PC."
By the end of the summer, the website is set to include a fully transaction-enabled online store offering the specialist items which are sold by Gary's Pet World, including cologne and toothbrushes for pets. Cooney is also putting the finishing touches on transaction-enabling the company's custom pet tags service, which lets visitors choose the text and the style of the tag they want. The company has just selected WorldPay as its payments provider and is securing its online merchant number, and clients should be able to fully complete their pet tags transaction online by the end of July.
For the future, Cooney also plans to develop a medical section which ties into the store. A customer who has a problem with a fish, for example, could discover a particular treatment is needed. On the webpage, the treatment name would have a hyperlink to the product in the online store. When the online shop is completed, Cooney plans to link it to both an electronic point of sale (EPOS) solution and stock control in the warehouse. "There is nothing worse than going online to buy something and then it isn't available," he explains.
Despite the ambitious plans, Cooney says there have been hurdles all the way. Running a day-to-day business while working on developing the site has been "very slow going," he says.
Cooney believes a key benefit of the website is the potential to boost sales. At this stage, it contributes very little to the bottom line, but a web measurement company has found the average visitor stay to be just over four minutes, which is above the average. Visiting international trade shows, Cooney can also hand out business cards which enable delegates to check out the business online.
Having jumped through so many hoops to get the website up and running, Cooney has plenty of advice for companies in a similar position. "Decide exactly what you want," he says, "and have the information you want to put online ready to hand to a web developer." Also be sure to find a web developer who is both technically minded and creative, he advises.
Cooney says it's important to regularly update website information and decide who will be responsible for the task. Currently the company uses a content management tool from Ennis-based Enablesoft, which makes it easy for Cooney and his team to update the site with new information at any time. "Be realistic about the costs involved in updating. We had to pay for that facility to update our site, but it has been worth it -- it's easy to add extra information that we forgot in the original design, and it lets us ensure the content is fresh on the site," he says. "For any site, it's essential for it to be kept updated."