These days it seems as if everyone is online. From young kids to the elderly I’m seeing more and more people texting, tweeting, and browsing the web. What used to be the domain of the technically savvy is becoming the daily life of the general population. It makes you wonder if your small business should join the technical revolution. The answer is: YES!
In the not too distant past websites for small businesses were touted good marketing tools, and a good way to connect with your customers but certainly not required for most types of businesses. Small business websites often bring to mind e-commerce, and if you own a local landscaping company, you certainly can’t ship your ‘product’ so why, you may be asking, do you need a website? Here are the top 5 reasons ANY kind of small business needs to have a website.
1) Online Sales: Yes, I realize you may not actually be selling a product, or at least not one you can easily ship, however the sales opportunities go far beyond E-Commerce. Your customers can schedule appointments, place special orders to be picked up at your store, or request quotes through your website.
2) Credibility: Remember, these days everyone is online – if you aren’t some people (especially the younger generation) become suspicious. In addition to simply having a ‘web presence’ you can add credibility by giving your company’s history and values on an ‘about us’ page. You can include photos of your work and customer testimonials on your website.
3) Communication: No one likes doing business with a company that will be unavailable in case of a problem. Your website contact form gives them the peace of mind of knowing they can send you a message 24 hours a day. This gives people a feeling of instant gratification even if the message is not answered until the next day. It also assures that your phone number, physical address, and any other relevant information is always accessible – not just on a business card they might lose.
4) Unlimited Advertisement: In reality a website isn’t actually unlimited – most hosting packages have a limit of bandwidth and disk space. However, in practice it would take a phenomenal amount of text and photos to use the entire limit of even the most basic hosting package. Imagine how much it would cost for a printed advertisement that actually said everything you wanted and included all the pictures you would like?
5) Instant Access: When your small business is only a phone call away from the customer they still have to wait for regular business hours to contact you. If they need something Saturday morning and you don’t open until Monday – they have all weekend to find an alternative, and possibly to stumble across a competitor. If your small business is only a click away it doesn’t matter what day or what time of day your target customer is ready to do business – you will be ready to give your best full sales pitch right then and there.
What are you waiting for? Isn’t your small business ready to join the technological revolution? Call us to get started www.wedgeim.com
