The Importance of a Business Website
Without a doubt, the Internet has become the primary source of information for people seeking goods and services- far surpassing printed advertising. The reason is quite simple: Placing an ad in the Yellow Pages, a local newspaper, or a trade magazine, can cost thousands of dollars a year. Moreover, the ads are limited to narrow geographical areas and thus have a limited reach. Also, should you cease to like your ad or happen to spot a printed mistake, you are stuck with the ad for 12 expensive months. Hence the need for a business website.
By contrast, putting your business shingle on the web can be relatively inexpensive, you have the choice of reaching millions of people globally, or targeting multiple market areas relevant to your business. Also, you have much greater flexibility since you can create and change online ads that point to your business. The Internet allows you to update your business information, even your website’s look, pretty much live- in real time. Given these reasons, it becomes obvious that its very important for your organization to have a solid Internet marketing strategy.
However, if your site looks old, is hard to update, seems disorganized, or is a poorly designed eyesore, it could create a sufficiently bad impression to drive potential clients away… and towards your competitors. Oftentimes, business owners will try to set up websites on their own, or worse, delegate the task to inexperienced friends or relatives- with usually poor results.
Here are some key benefits that a well designed website can bring to your business:
Make your business available 24/7
Even off-hours, when you are not operating, potential clients are searching and gathering information on your type of services or products. A website makes it possible for these clients to find you and submit inquiries almost immediately.
Project your corporate image
Today’s business environment heavily relies on the Internet to communicate and to display corporate information. From this point of view, a properly designed homepage has become just as important as your corporate stationary to project a professional image.
Provide valuable information
A website is one of the best ways to exhibit your company. It allows you to provide clients with significant amounts of information to help them make decisions about your company. They can gather valuable facts such as your product line, services, mission statement, staff profiles, company news, and employment opportunities.
Communicate with clients
Besides establishing your presence on a global scale with unprecedented reach, a website can be a persuasive and efficient channel to communicate and interact with your clients or business partners. For example, you can provide forms for inquiries or feedback, forums to exchange ideas or provide support, and news items to keep your clients abreast of company events or product changes.
To truly take advantage of the potential that the Internet has to offer, you need to enlist the help of a professional web designer that can translate your business objectives into an effective Internet marketing strategy. Visualis Web Design is here to help you do just that.
If you need to get your business up to speed on the web, or rebuild that old clunker of a site, contact us for a free consultation.