Yes, Your Company MUST Have a Website

No return, I ask? Small business owners sometimes have trouble seeing the long-term effects of marketing, and in the case of the website, they feel that if they don’t sell something on it (which provides instantaneous profit) or have some useful tool on it (like a scheduling feature) then there is no value. Just because you can’t see something, it doesn’t mean it’s nonexistent
The primary goal of a website should always be to present yourself or your company to the general public on the internet, providing pertinent information to those who are seeking it. Any other features are secondary and aren’t as essential for small business owners with brick and mortar establishments.

Consider this: if your normal working hours are 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, that leaves 128 hours a week that you are not able to promote your business or even answer questions on the telephone. A website is there 24/7 and serves as an ever-present advertisement for your company’s products and services.

Another advantage of websites is the ease in which you can change and update information. Do you know how hard it is to update a yellow pages listing? Change a print advertisement you’ve already paid for? Change a directory listing with an organization you belong to? Your telephone number and address may change, but a good URL should last forever.

So what should you have on your website? Any bare-bones business website should have at least the following information:

• Company’s contact information including street address, phone number, fax number and e-mail address. A map and directions to your location is always a nice touch and saves you from fielding phone calls asking for directions. Keep this information up to date! Nothing is more annoying than to call a phone number that’s disconnected or have an e-mail bounce back because the address is wrong. And be sure to actually check your e-mail!
• A listing of your products and services. If you’re a plumber, include a complete list of the services you provide. It helps customers determine whether or not you’re the man they need. If you sell electrical supplies, list not only the categories of supplies you sell, but the brand and the street name of the product. Potential customers will often search by name for a product, and if you just list “Widget” instead of its street name of “Brand X Super Special Widget” they’ll have a harder time finding that you sell it.
• A bio of the owner and staff. List your education and experience, qualifications, certifications and any other pertinent information you can provide to reassure the potential client that you’re a serious professional. I would even go so far to include a picture of you and your staff. It may sound cliché, but giving a face to the name helps a lot and really personalizes the business. People always feel more comfortable dealing with people they know, or perceive they know.
• Establish credibility. Include testimonials from past customers (with their permission!) on your website. Testimonials are invaluable marketing that establish your trustworthiness. If you’re listed on Angie’s List or are a member of the Better Business Bureau, say so. Reassuring the customer of your professionalism is more valuable than gold!

Now that we have the basics covered, what about the secondary inclusions I mentioned above? There are several ways you can make your website serve your customers better, which will pay off in the long run.

• Upload your catalogue online. If your company sells a product line in a catalogue, you know how expensive printing can be. Instead of printing 250 catalogues at an exorbitant cost, why not print 5 to have on hand at your next trade show, and give out business cards or brochures with the URL of your catalogue online? Businesses dislike having dozens of catalogues sitting around, and at trade shows they really hate carrying them around. They’re just going to get trashed eventually, anyway. And if a product changes, you can easily update the catalogue file and it’s available immediately online without having to reprint. Consider the savings of just uploading the catalogue online, and the website pays for itself!
• Sell your products online. I approach this topic with some trepidation. Online stores can be very successful if executed and marketed appropriately, but there is an enormous amount of time and money that goes in to making them profitable. Just hosting an online store can be quite expensive, and the more products you have the more money you pay. Not to mention you have to have quality pictures, descriptions, etc. and be sure to keep an updated inventory. Before you take this large step, do some market research. Search around to see how many other similar stores are out there, or if there is even a market to sell your products online. If you give yourself the green light, make sure you’re committed to the task or you might be wasting your money. If you don’t think you’re ready for a store on your website just yet, maybe start out with an eBay store and go from there.
• Online scheduling. This is a great advantage for businesses that are completely appointment based. It saves you a lot of time answering phone calls and it gives clients the freedom to schedule whenever they choose. I wouldn’t add this feature from the beginning, rather phase it in after your web presence is known to your customers, otherwise you’ll just be wasting your money if no one knows about it. This feature can be expensive, but consider if it’s going to be worth it to you in time saved.
• A monthly newsletter or blog. Newsletters and blogs allow you to keep in touch with clients on a regular basis without having to do those annoying phone calls. Plus, you can establish yourself as an expert in your field if you write articles on your industry. Including sales or promotions, helpful hints, etc. is a good way to add value to this service and endear your clients to your company.

We all know that the sky is the limit when it comes to the capabilities of websites these days. How many bells and whistles you have really depends on what kind of company you have and exactly what you want from your website. Regardless of the size or content, make sure it is well written, cleanly organized and designed tastefully. Too much text will bore the reader, flashy graphics and colors will just distract them from the content, and information that is hard to find will serve you no rewards. If you don’t feel comfortable doing the designing, then by all means, hire a professional!

It should no longer be a question of if you have a website, but why don’t you have a website? A website gives creditability to a small business and shows that you’re serious and professional. So what if your competitors don’t have a website? It just means you’re ahead of the curve!

Like it or not, the internet is where you need to be if you have a business, or you might just get lost in the shuffle. Ask your friends if they still keep a yellow pages in the house? When was the last time you called 411? Now consider how your customers look for services and products! The times they are a changin’!

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