Many small businesses think they need a web site and they do, but they need more than just a website. Ten years ago a website that had attractive graphics and the basic information about your business with contact information was enough. Today that is not the case. Think of your web site as your building, just having a nice building isn’t enough to do business. You need a product or service and someone to interact with your customers, whether that’s you or an employee.
The same is true of your web site, it houses your product, lets people know where you are in the real world and on the Internet and provides a way for you to interact with your customers online. One of the most important things your website needs is a way to gather information from visitors. For a traditional website that would be an email and for a Mobile sit that would be a phone number.
Why is this important? It’s important because marketing has changed. Its more social, and you need to build a relationship with your customers. Some say it takes 7-10 contacts with a prospective customer before you’ll make a sale. Add to that our digital world and all our new communication gadgets and you’ll see that marketing has changed from 20 years ago. Back then, a good ad in the Yellow Pages or the PennySaver would do. Yes, the Yellow Pages and Pennysaver are still around, but they don’t get the same results. Online Myspace was the happening thing five years ago, today its a niche site focused on musician and other artists. Today facebook is the big dog, but who knows where it will be five years from now. This is why it is difficult for the small business owner to do their own marketing these days.
While you need a website, be sure to find out which kind would be best for your business before spending time and energy. Also make your you are gathering information from your visitors so you can stay in contact with them. Yes, you can do some of this yourself, but is that the best use of your time? Your expertise is your business, your best results will come by outsourcing your marketing to a marketer. If you can’t do this at the very least have one coach you and lead you in the right direction. This way you won’t waste your money on a fancy website that is the equivalent of a business card or flyer that gets looked at and than forgotten about.
