Outposts On The Internet Local Companies Set Up Home Pages To Attract Attention, Boost Sales

Attracting 100,000 visitors per day, the Internet “home page” of computer game creator Cyan Inc. in Spokane is a marketing dream.

But rarely do Inland Northwest companies get that kind of on-line action on the Internet, according to several who have launched their own home pages in recent months.

More than two dozen Inland Northwest companies, ranging from Egghead Software to Hecla Mining Co., have sites on the Internet, an uncensored electronic network of businesses, government, universities and individuals. Several other companies have sites under construction.

For local firms linking their sites to the World Wide Web, attracting 2,000 visitors is a pretty good week. If a third of those visitors order a product or seek additional information, the home page is considered worthwhile.

But few companies are lauding the Internet as a breakthrough for commerce. The 100,000 daily visitors quoted by Cyan apparently doesn’t happen unless you invented Myst, the world’s most popular CD-ROM computer game.

“We don’t expect to make money on the site,” said Sue Merk, spokeswoman for Group Health Northwest, which entertains about 325 Internet visitors per week.

The Group Health site is primarily for people seeking free health care information, Merk said. The company posts the latest medical studies, provides a link for asking questions to a physician and helps members find a new doctor or order identification cards.

With a modem and connection to a computer server that exchanges data between users, you can use popular personal computer software on the Internet to visit electronic addresses anywhere in the world. On-line since March, Kaiser Aluminum Corp. said it’s gotten inquiries from Russia, Singapore and the Netherlands.

Electronic communication has become so easy that information and comments for this story were gathered almost entirely by electronic mail.

Many companies have launched home pages as a defensive measure to fend off competitors. Others use the pages to sell computer printers, coffee mugs, used cars and other products. Job listings, earnings reports and Email addresses for the company president are common on-line features.

“We created our page primarily in response to other companies doing the same thing,” said Randall Jones, network administrator at Output Technology Corp. and a self-proclaimed “Web Slave.”

Jones said the Spokane-based company targets its home page at anybody who owns an OTC product or is looking for a high-end printer. About 2,000 visitors access the site each week, though it’s unknown how many order printers.

“I’ve always maintained that I should get commission from sales off the Web,” Jones said. “So far, I’ve had limited support for this idea.”

The cost of putting up a home page varies greatly depending on the features and how many people it takes to manage the site.

Kaiser spent less than $15,000 in hardware, software and labor to launch its home page and received 11,000 visitors in April, its first full month of operation.

However, Hecla delivered its home page on a $2,000 budget, said spokeswoman Vicki Veltkamp. She answers questions from investors and stockbrokers, the most active visitors since the site went on-line in March.

Egghead operates one of the most advanced Internet sites in the Inland Northwest. As the nation’s largest reseller of software, the Valley company uses its home page as an extension of its catalog, quoting prices and providing demonstration software that users can download to try before they buy.

Demand for on-line information can be intense at times, said Chris Brandkamp, Cyan’s vice president of operations. Enthusiastic Myst game players attack Cyan’s home page, seeking clues for solving the mysteries of Myst or ordering T-shirts and posters. Many want to know when Cyan will release its next game. (Sometime in 1997.)

Brandkamp estimated that 15 percent of all visitors eventually buy something, including the $29 Myst duffel bag.

“Oh, but the quality!” Brandkamp said. “Hey, you get what you pay for.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Internet addresses The following is a sampling of Internet addresses for Inland Northwest companies: Boeing - http://www.boeing.com Cabletron - http://cabletron.com Cyan - http://www.cyan.com Egghead Software - http://www.egghead.com Gromedia - http://www.gromedia.com Group Health - http://www.ghnw.org Hecla Mining - http://www.hecla-mining.com Hewlett-Packard - http://www.hp.com Itron - http://www.itron.com Itronix - http://www.itronix.com Kaiser Aluminum - http://www.kaiseral.com KXLY http://kxly.skywalk.com/kxly.htm Output Technology - http://www.output.com Spokesman-Review - http://www.virtuallynw.com Telect - http://www.telect.com U.S. Bank - http://www.usbank.com US West http://www.uswest.com Washington Water Power - http://www.wwpco.com Wismer Martin - http://www.wismer.com