Your Website Is Not About Your Business & why you must have one

Your website works for you

Cost-effective way to advertise

With the economy slowing, the first instinct of a business owner is to cut costs. But, as markets shrink, it’s even more important for your company to reach out and attract new customers while retaining current ones. Your website is one of the best ways to spend your advertising dollar because it strengthens all your other advertising. Do you suppose it’s easier to convince customers to visit your website OR convince them to get in their car, drive across town, park their car and walk into your store? Of course it’s easier to go to a website.

 

Does your business need exposure 24/7, 365 days a year?

I don’t know of any business that won’t benefit from constant exposure. Between work schedules, family and everything else vying for people’s attention, you need to make it easy for them to learn about your business. People want information when it’s convenient for them and they want it FAST! The purpose of a website is to make it easy for potential customers to learn about your business, no matter the time of day, and motivate them to take action.

 

Websites can be changed

A website can actually save you money. How? Do you have boxes of unused brochures or other print material sitting in your back room because things changed and you can’t use them any more? The days of wasting money on print material is over. On the web, it’s simple to change prices, add new products and keep the content fresh for the viewer. You can embed your brochures and sales pieces right on your site. Monthly newsletters and coupons are also great way to keep your customers coming back to your site.

your customers expect a website

Make things easy for customers

The Internet is heaven on earth for the 49% of the population who are introverted. It’s unlikely they will pick up a phone and are even more unlikely to walk into your store to talk to a salesperson. They prefer to gather information on their own because they want to know what they’re coming to buy before stepping foot inside your store. Even the other 51% who are extroverted appreciate an informative site because it can save them time while giving them the information they need when you’re not open for business.

 

What can a website do for me?

Save you time. How much time do you (or your employees) spend repeatedly providing the same basic information about your company to potential customers via phone or in person. Devote a section of your website to answering these “frequently asked questions” and save time (and time equals money). We can absolutely guarantee your website will never be too busy to talk to your customers or be impolite when answering the same question for the 50th time.

 

My business is all referrals and word of mouth, I don’t need a website.

Referrals are great - you are definitely doing something right. Where do you think many of those referrals go first to learn even more about you? Of course they look for your website. People are far too busy these days to drive to a new business without first learning more about it.

 

A business continually needs to reach out to new clients so it can grow. It’s the natural ebb and flow of business; you lose some customers and you gain some customers. Unless you have a supply of new customers, your business can’t grow.