question to ask yourself – What is the ultimate goal of a business from the marketing perspective? The answer most certainly is to increase sales. Otherwise why would you spend money on your marketing efforts?
One of the objectives of any business’s marketing activity, either small or large, is to be seen and known by as many as possible. A business cannot reach its full potential of sales unless it has effectively conveyed its message to a large number of people within its targeted segment of population – Period!
World Wide Web is a tool which has made the task of easily spreading the news about a business’s offerings on an on-going basis, extremely easy and highly cost effective. With literally billions of people having easy access to Internet globally, you most certainly do need a website in order to be seen by them.
At this point, if you are thinking that your product/s or service/s are of a type that cannot be sold online so there is no point in having a website, then I am afraid that are you are mistaken. The primary reason of having a website is not to sell, it’s to have a presence on the Internet so more and more people are aware that you are there and you offer a particular product and/or service, and believe me, having a presence on the Internet is way cheaper than you might think!
Being able to sell through your website is a by-product of having a web presence, and that too could prove to be a very lucrative one! There are a very few products and services in today’s marketplace that cannot be sold on-line. The number of people who buy and sell on-line is growing by the nanosecond and the list of products and services that are being traded on-line is infinite and so are the possibilities. Hence, the idea of selling your particular products or services through your website should at least be considered. However, the point is that having your website, with or without the ability to sell, is a must so that a huge number of your potential customers and potential business partners, even potential employees may know that you are there and can easily become aware of your offerings.
In addition to the above arguments, consider the following non-exhaustive list of advantages of having a web presence.
Extremely low cost and effective marketing. Email communication across the globe with your potential customers, business partners and inventors, resulting in lower telephone charges. Effective customer relationship management by providing a variety of ways to your customers to contact you, which suites you as well as them, resulting in personalized customer support, which will increase the trust level and build your credibility. Your business never closes. Your customers can reach you 365/24/7. You can always introduce new and innovative ideas of a product or a service through your website without putting too much at stake in terms of time and money. If your idea clicks, all is well, and if it doesn’t you have nothing much to lose. Reach local, regional, specialized, as well as global markets to advertise and sell your offerings at a very low operational cost. Easily acquire feedback from your customers to make improvements in your offerings. Communicate in multiple languages to reach marketplaces that you are otherwise unable to reach. Use your website as a tool to enhance your public relations. Use your site to find and attract the right employees for your job openings. There are no known disadvantages of having your website.
There is one crucial factor to consider when you decide to go on-line. Ask yourself how important it is for you and your business to maintain and enhance your professional image. I bet the answer would be, its highly important. Hence the design of your website should represent the true image of your professionalism within your field of expertise. The old adage – first impression is the last impression – holds completely true in the case of a website. Upon visiting your website for the very first time, your visitor will definitely form an opinion about you and will decide there and then whether s/he would like to visit back or not. So you should be particularly careful about the layout, colour scheme, ease of navigation and the overall design of your website.
Now a days there are plenty of website development tools available in the market that make it very easy for anyone, with or without website design expertise to build a reasonably good looking website. However, if you don’t have the expertise, don’t risk your first impression and leave the job to the experts. A professionally built website from an experienced freelance web designer is cheaper than you might think.
Here’s another important factor to consider if you run a small business. Does the idea of competing head-to-head with large organizations that are operating within the domain of your expertise, brings shivers down your spine? Not to worry, because having a carefully designed website will enable you to fully compete with the giants in the marketplace, or even do more business than them without you having to worry about your size. A well designed website could even portray you as a large organization in the eyes of your potential customers.
Having said that, in present day and age, not having a web presence could mean loosing business in comparison to your competitors that do. Chances are that your competitors already have an established web presence, are already known to your potential customers and are getting a steady stream of revenue through their website, which you are sure to miss if you don’t have a website.
