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7 Reasons Your Business Should Be On the Web |
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Written by James Friesen
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Thursday, 17 January 2008 |
Business owners are always looking to make the most out of their marketing dollars and so reasonably ask the question “Is setting up a website for my business worth the cost”? The answer to that question ultimately lies with each business owner, but I’ve outlined seven advantages of creating a web presence for your business.
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1. It improves connection and communication with your customers.
Your business is only open a certain number of hours a week. Let’s say you own a coffee shop and a potential customer is sitting at home wondering if your shop is open after 6pm. Outside of a phone call during business hours, there is no convenient way for people to get information when they need it, unless you have a website. Your website represents you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can provide all sorts of useful information such as business hours, special events, community involvement, and anything else you want people to know about your business.
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2. It establishes you as a reputable professional.
A quality website shows that you are serious about your business and that you “do things right”. More and more people are turning to the internet to do their research. Almost 70% of Canadians are “online”. If they hear about your company and search online for you but come up empty, all it can do is plant a seed of doubt. On the other hand, if they find you and discover a well-laid out, informative website, you have greatly enhanced your reputation in their eyes. Be careful though, a poorly executed website will communicate to the visitor a lack of professionalism, which may be worse than not being found at all.
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3. You can cut down on marketing costs.
Many business owners don’t realize that producing full-color promotions is much cheaper on the internet than through printed media, and as your distribution goes up, your costs remain relatively flat, due to the easily reproducible nature of digital media. That’s why many businesses have turned to using email as a marketing tool and then directing customers to their website for further information. Caution though, just like ANY marketing, care must be taken to send emails in an acceptable, ethical way, or you risk annoying your customer.
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4. It opens the door to out of town business.
With the widespread use of search engines to research different products and services, many small businesses have the opportunity to expand their offering beyond their current area of influence. One small business, All-Star Telescope of Didsbury, AB has seen 80% of their sales driven through their website and have had orders come from places such as France, Nigeria, even the Middle East, areas that would never be reached through more traditional marketing.
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5. It helps people new to town discover you and your services.
You may have a product that is tailored to local residents (such as a hair salon, or auto repair shop). Many areas of Canada and the U.S. are experiencing population growth. Those new people arriving in your city or town will be looking for your services. Yes, they can look you up in the town directory, but if you have a website to link to, you have a perfect opportunity to sell your company and your product and establish your company as a front runner to provide them services.
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6. It is an electronic business card.
Everybody who owns a business has a business card, but it’s hard to put enough information on your card to tell what your company is really about. Or have you ever been out of cards and somebody asks about your business? Having a website allows you to refer others to a source of information that can more adequately explain what your company does. And if you are out of cards you can say “Go to mycompany.com and you can read all about it”.
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7. Join the movement.
Whether you’ve embraced it personally or not, the fact is that this world is increasingly moving onto the web. If you think that it may be time to get your company on the web now, it will definitely be true three years from now. Getting a website for your company now will prepare you for the future. Once you have had a website for a while then you will see which aspects of it work for you and which don’t and you’ll be that much further ahead than if you wait until later.
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