Businesses, not the megaliths, but the small neighborhood retail outlets and one-man consultancies, no longer shy away from Websites. So, Does Your Business Need A Website?
But Does It?
Businesses and Websites now go hand in hand. But why is this? Some of the reasons are discussed below:
Encouragement: A business website is a dynamic Ad, a Flag in the winds of Commerce. Making a businessman’s contact information easily available, goes a long way in drumming up fresh business. In fact, the contact information can appear in the header or footer (or both) on every page. To protect the business email from spam, website builders, now-a-days, create contact forms which help to establish a close and direct contact between buyer and seller. This encouragement often works where a static Ad does not.
Display: A businessman’s best reviews and testimonials are his true assets. But there’s often very little opportunity to display his assets to his potential customers. Displaying these prominently on a website is a great way to win social acceptance, not only for the products, but also for the businessman himself. Not just the best customer reviews, but also articles in newspapers or popular local blogs can be featured on the business website. This in turn creates an “Archive” for that business, so that even if third-party review sites are closed anytime in the future, the best reviews are still accessible.
Showcase: Products and services offered can be strongly showcased for immediate attention of potential customers. High quality photography, audio and even video can be combined on the website to attract large numbers of Visitors not to bounce, but to study the offers with close interest. “Walk in” views make the customer feel what it is like to be inside the premises itself, be it a Beauty Clinic, chic Boutique, or a fine dining Restaurant. Important information about products and services can be presented attractively and tastefully, to attract the right customer. Fingers can be pointed to specialties on offer. Often, where exclusive items are on offer, it is very important to attract the Right Customer, otherwise the total effort might be in vain. This is where Showcasing on a business website is so necessary for businesses, especially for small businesses with a small repertoire, and every item is important to the business.
New Customers: Businesses are not static financial entities, and need to run fast not to fall behind these days. While the current size of the business may fully satisfy the needs of modest and peace-loving neighborhood businessmen, it is in reality a dangerous attitude to have in business. Customer turnover is a natural phenomenon in any business, and shrinkage of customer base is a real possibility in these days of sharp competition. Google these days is the monolithic single window solution for such problems. This is one of the best ways to making a small to medium business visible to potential customers. The ranking system patented by Google ensures visibility, and a well optimized website can rank well for a variety of search terms. This will attract a steady stream of visitors to the particular website. Free SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Tools can make it easy to optimize the website, and some are friendly to beginners.
Looks professional: Customers feel reassured when their sellers have websites. Businessmen discover that having a website makes them look more professional and accomplished, and hence more reliable. This faith is then extended to their products and services, with excellent results for the business itself. The email as well as the business becomes ultimately branded, and that can only be good!
Google Maps: Integrating the Website with Google Maps helps interested visitors to find the physical location of the business. For businesses with premises or showrooms, nothing can be better than to have a map embedded directly onto the web page to attract potential customers.
Place in Industry: Particularly in the smaller or more traditional businesses, websites are not yet considered necessary. Anyone in that community will immediately stand out if they invest in a Website, and become automatically branded.
Ease of Creation: Almost anyone, with a modicum of training, can now establish their own website. Block Editors are in vogue, which help even the Beginner to drag and drop their way to a passably good website. And there’s always WordPress.
Long Term Success: The Internet is becoming even more vast every day. Over 59% of the Global Population , or 4.54 Billion people now use the Internet in some way or the other. Websites ensure visibility, and visibility is the key to long term success in Business.
Cheap At The Price: Websites are now extremely affordable, and pricing depends only on the features desired, not brand value.
Decision Time
Does Your Business Need A Website? The answer is Yes.…