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Why Every Small Business Should Have A Website
Posted by Fletch, 20 Jan 10

The idea for this post came to me when I was talking to a friend the other day. He'd been paid for some work by cheque and went to a high street cheque cashier, and they wouldn't do it for him as the as the writer of the cheque didn't have a website. So that brings me to point 1 of this post - credibility. There's a growing perception out there that if you're not on the web, you're not really a proper business.

This point was raised again by a salesperson who works with one of our customers. He pretty much demanded his employer get a website because he was sick of handing out business cards, and being asked by his potential customers if he had a website they could look at. Again - a credibility issue.

It's also interesting to note that when I read the local newspaper, 73 out of the 84 local trades advertisements in the back section didn't have web addresses. So would a local housewife who's looking for a reputable service be likely just to pick up the phone, or would she rather do a little research on the web first before deciding to make contact and potentially be subjected to follow up sales calls? I think the latter is most likely true, so websites can again add credibility to traditional advertising.

So having a website may not just about making more sales or growing a business - but is now becoming ingrained in consumer psyche as a telling factor as to a whether a business is proper or not. This is similar to how my dentist perceived newspaper advertising 20 years ago. I asked him why he spent on advertising in his local paper when he was already fully booked, and he said it was because he wanted to appear more professional than his competitor 50 yards down the road.

Of course, there's another dimension to having a website that's evolved since the dawn of the Web 2.0 era (where websites became both read/write rather than just read). Forms and email links can capture data.

This is really important given people's time resources. Say I want a quote for new windows. If I can fill out a quick web form rather than pick up the phone and try and explain myself, I'm going to save time. There's also something that feels quite anonymous in filling out a form (even though in reality it isn't), and the response time from the supplier tells me a lot about what type of company they are and what sort of service I can expect.

And of course, once information is data it can be managed in an internal computer system saving the business dealing with it incredible amounts of time (and therefore money), and with the advent of mobile and computer access to this data by staff, customer service levels can be increased to near real-time capabilities.

So even if a small business is already really busy and successful, there are many other factors as to why it should have a website. And of course, Webmakers has brought the cost of all these benefits down to £100 a year.


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