Tightrope: A good website is a great asset

— -- Every now and then I feel compelled to remind you of how important maintaining a website can be to your business. If you have a site that's not giving a return on your investment then perhaps it's time to rework it. If you have been procrastinating about having a website, now is the time to get one.

Recently, during my regular checkup at the chiropractor, our conversation turned toward his favorite hobbies — bread baking and traveling. He told me several years ago while traveling through Michigan, he happened upon a corner deli that made wonderful 8-grain, 3-seed bread.

Since that discovery he had tried to duplicate the recipe but to no avail. So he frequently traveled to Ann Arbor to stock up on what he called "the best and healthiest bread in the world."

I asked him if he had tried looking up the company on the Internet. He admitted he had not. I enjoy good food and particularly good, homemade bread. And with that in mind as I was leaving, I jotted down the name of the Michigan company he had talked about.

The next day I checked the Internet and in no time the home page of the company rolled onto my screen. Just as my chiropractor had said they described themselves as a single-location "corner deli" that offers everything from homemade bread and exotic vinegars to pastries.

Their online store gave me the option of ordering online or calling their toll-free number. I decided to call. A very pleasant and informative woman took my order and gave me details on how to freeze bread until needed and restore it to freshness. She took time to tell me about the other breads available and how best to serve them. Her attentiveness led me to order 3 loaves of 8-grain 3-seed, 5 loaves of other breads and a sour cream coffee cake. Within 48 hours Federal Express delivered the bread.

The company, Zingermans, is among the scores of small businesses in America that have distinguished themselves by making quality goods available to consumers across the globe through their website, while still serving their local community, in this case, Ann Arbor.