1. A website can help you project a professional image.
A well-designed, well-written website is one of the easiest ways to instill confidence in prospective clients and reinforce the purchasing decisions of your current customers. A website can give your customers the impression that they are dealing with an organization they can trust and generate respect for your products and services. This in turn can build customer loyalty and retention and aid customer acquisition.
2. A website works around the clock.
You probably don't have a 24-hour answering service to provide basic information about your business, but just imagine if you did: Customers would always know where to find you, how to contact you, and all about your products and services. In a sense, having a website is like having a salesman on staff who never sleeps or calls in sick.
3. The Yellow Pages are obsolete.
Sorry, but the times they are a changing, and people simply don’t use the yellow pages the way they used to. Plus, many businesses today view an overpriced listing in a telephone directory as a dead form of advertising. But consider this: research shows that nearly three out of four adult Americans have a computer. Yet, very few of them keep a copy of the Yellow Pages handy. Nowadays, people are using Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines to find local business and product information. Customer acquisition and retention are art forms best practiced on the Web. It's time to get with the times.
4. A website gives you more time to run your business.
By automating certain aspects of your business, you can free up time and resources for other areas of your operation. For instance, you can give your customers and clients the option to make purchases online, schedule appointments, make reservations, and more. Today's consumers expect this level of service and convenience from the businesses they choose to do work with. If you're not offering it, you're missing out, and your potential customers will simply take their business elsewhere. Again, it's all about customer acquisition, customer retention and building customer loyalty
5. Your customers want to make smart choices.
Today's consumers are smarter than ever. Depending on the product or service they are looking for, they will often spend hours to compare features and prices prior to making a purchase. So you don't want to miss out on the opportunity to give them the information they need to make an educated purchase decision.
6. A website can help you target and reach your best customers.
Because of the nature of the World Wide Web and the explosion of social marketing - Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Digg, etc. - it is now easier than ever to target the people most likely to use your products and services. Through the use of adwords, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Management, RSS (Realtime Site Syndication) and Content Management Systems, email marketing and other web-based marketing tactics can be far more effective and cost efficient than other forms of marketing.
7. A website never closes.
Unlike a brick and mortar store or an office that is only open from 9 to 5, the World Wide Web never closes. That gives your existing clients and new prospects 24-hour access to your business. We are living in the Digital Age, and today's consumers are becoming busier and busier all the time. So by providing information and services online, you are able to attract the people who are simply too busy to take care of business during the regular work day. And you can use those contacts to build a retail database to grow your business faster and easier.
8. A website can make you a smarter businessperson.
With a strong web presence you can solicit customer feedback in a friendly, non-confrontational manner, and receive instant feedback about your products and services. You can also conduct customer surveys and queries to learn more about the needs and wants of your customers. This type of information can be crucial to the growth and success of your business. By offering products and services that are of interest and value to your market, you increase customer acquisition and retention, and build customer loyalty.
9. A website can level the playing field.
On the Web, you can be as large and pervasive as your biggest competitor. And while you may not be as big as Wal-Mart, you can utilize the very same web-based marketing tools they use every day. On the Web, it's not about having a big budget - it's about having a big idea.
10. A website can be your best, most visible, and cost-effective marketing tool.
In the beginning, the Web was a bit challenging expensive to work with. But all that has changed. Today, while every other advertising medium has gone up in price over the years, the cost of working on the Web has actually come down.
For a small investment for design and content, and a few dollars a month for a hosting service, you can start to realize all the advantages of web-based marketing: Create exciting web-based promotional campaigns, build a dynamic retail database, establish on-going customer outreach to increase customer loyalty, dramatically improve your customer conversion rate - and more.
When properly developed, a website can give you more return on your investment than almost any other form of advertising and promotion available. Plus, you can easily customize your website and make changes at your convenience - try doing that with your yellow pages ad or tv commercial.
Now are you convinced?
If a website makes sense for your business - and it should, drop me a line. I can get your business up and running in a matter of weeks.
