Surprisingly small businesses don't see the value of a website, even in small towns and villages. Word of mouth and advertisements in the local news paper seem to be all they care for. Which isn't inherently wrong, but in today's age that could be to your businesses detriment.
We are now firmly in the technology age, and that doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. People are now using smartphones and tablets with more frequency than ever imagined in the conceptual days of the personal computer. In those days they thought there would be one for every STREET, not 3 for every person(Tablet, Phone, Laptop/Desktop).
Ofcom a communications regulator in 2014, the average adult will spend 8 hours and 41 minutes a day on media devices, now this does include TV, and Radio etc. The premise is still there, people are HOOKED on tech, it's the new age addiction. With everyone desiring to be interconnected not investing in the internet is a foolish idea.
Now back to small businesses, in my home town I went through my local ad paper and found that a very small portion of the small businesses there actually had a website, this genuinely shocked me. For a while I questioned as to why they hadn't invested in what seemed to me as such a fundamental part of human life now, but after a while it dawned on me, people in small towns don't necessarily have access to people that can create website, or have an idea where to go or how to start.
However to all you small businesses out there that have found this post and if worrying about the next dollar/pound/yen you might receive, even if it costs you a new mortgage, get a website. It will increase your quality of life, and here's why:
A reference point
A website gives your customer a reference point, somewhere to go to see who they are asking to do something for them, a trademark if you will. Something so it eases their mind, because I guarantee you, your customer will google your company and find nothing and get suspicious as to why you have no internet presence in this day and age, questions like “Are they trustworthy?” “How do I know they will do a good job?” will pop into their minds frequently, and so they'll search a key word or two into google and find someone that they can reference to.
Showcasing your skills
A website allows you to showcase your particular skills in your profession, from galleries of your before and after shots, to videos on what you've been doing. Showcasing your skills means that your client will find you particularly more alluring, because they can see what you can do, and if they think it's worth the money they'll take it.
Connectivity
Connectivity is having a connection to your customer, a website is a bit like a store in the good old days, people would go in and browse your wares and either purchase something or leave. A website functions in that very same way, people will come to your website, browse you for a little bit and either choose you or look somewhere else.
Accessibility
With a website you are ACCESSIBLE! The best kind of thing to be. People can find you easily and handily and you can potentially turn over a greater profit because you can reach more people in loads of different media's. Some people like photos, some people like videos, everyone's taste is different but with a website you can display all of these media's in a very, very accessible way.
By now you're probably thinking, well still it can be really expensive to set this up and do it properly, I say it's worth every single penny you can spare. In the 1930s the great depression happened, as I'm sure you're aware. It wreaked havoc in America causing businesses to restrict their budget on advertisements and public awareness to save costs through such struggling times. There was one company however that completely against the rational mindset of trying to tide through it, spent more money than they had previously spent on advertisements. That company was Kellogs, ring any bells? They saw a golden opportunity and took it, when all the other competitors were down and out, they took the gamble and it paid off... BIG TIME
Now the question is, do you want to be a small business? Or a Kellogs? Well to be honest either way you'll be fine, as long as you have a website.
No comments:
Post a Comment