Your top priority
Posted 2 months ago at 1:32 pm. 0 comments
Why People Put Off Creating or Improving Their Website
From contacts with a large cross-section of business owners and marketing executives, it is instructive to hear the reasons why a company does not have a website, or may have a website that is somewhat out-of-date and contains errors. Here are some of the comments:
- It’s not a priority at the moment.
- We don’t have a budget for that.
- Our customers don’t use the Internet.
- The website is only there for reference, it isn’t meant to sell anything.
Such comments show a lack of understanding of the power of the Internet. As time rolls forward, there is continuing change and the power of the Internet is increasing all the time. For these reasons, it is essential that a company use the power of the Internet to its own advantage. Any one of the following list of Top Ten Reasons provides powerful ammunition for rapid action in creating a website and making sure that it is effective. Considering all ten together, they provide an overwhelming case for immediate action.
THE TOP TEN REASONS FOR ACTION NOW - AND WHY THEY’RE THE TOP TEN.
REASON #10 - WITHOUT A STRONG WEBSITE, YOU LEAVE THE FIELD TO THE COMPETITION.
Many people use the computer to find potential suppliers. The Internet does a great job of levelling the playing field. So a new competitor with limited funds can be very visible on the Web. If your company isn’t there, then the competitor may be the only visible supplier. Provided what the website offers meets the customer’s need, then the competitor gets the business.
It’s also important not to allow the competitor to be the first one with a website. It takes some time for a website to establish itself on the Internet with the search engines. If your competitor steals a lead on you, then you may find it difficult to catch up.
REASON #9 - IT TAKES TIME TO CREATE INTERNET VISIBILITY FOR YOUR WEBSITE.
When you do have a website, you want the Search Engines to put it high in Search Engine Ranking Reports for the important keywords for your business. This does not happen overnight. Usually it will take 2 months or more to begin to get good rankings. So the earlier you start, the better you will succeed. [Alternatively you can use PPC (Pay per Click programs) to try to get visibility but this becomes very expensive if conducted for any length of time.]
REASON #8 - A WEBSITE IS THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE SELLING FORCE BY FAR.
You will rarely use only one selling approach, however it is instructive to calculate the effectiveness of each of the possible approaches. This must consider the benefits in profit generated versus the costs invested in the approach. This ratio is often called the Return on Investment (ROI). The number of potential customers contacted via your website and the relatively modest costs involved put the ROI of a website far ahead of other sales approaches, such as paid advertising or visits by sales representatives.
REASON #7 - THE MOST ATTRACTIVE POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS ARE LOOKING FOR YOU THERE.
More importantly, there may be new potential customers that you are not even aware of. Particularly if they are well equipped and have good funding, they are probably using the best business tools to run their business. These are the preferred prospects that should be of keen interest to you. Such people are very likely to look for new suppliers on the Internet. If you are not well represented there, they may drop you off their short list of potential suppliers.
REASON #6 - YOUR WEBSITE VISITOR MAY PREFER TO GET INFORMATION ON YOUR COMPANY WITHOUT YOU KNOWING.
A most interesting phenomenon is that the Internet has put the potential purchaser in the driving seat. If a potential customer invites a salesman in, then this shows some interest in potential products or services. This first invitation may lead to repeated calls or visits.
Checking out a website is anonymous: the supplier will probably not know the potential customer has visited. The potential purchaser can remain anonymous and maintain a negotiating advantage as long as they wish. Many purchasers prefer this extra flexibility that supplier websites give them. [NOTE - Technically the supplier could know the domains of those who have visited the site from the log files of the website. The actual person who visited would not be known. However it is very tough to use this information, since website visitors may well resent their visit being “spied on”.]
REASON #5 - HOW CAN YOUR FRIENDS TELL OTHERS WHERE TO FIND YOU?
Suppose one of your best customers wants to do you a favour and tell one of his friends about your company. If you have a website, then your customer in a simple email message can give clickable access to knowledge on what you offer. Without this, it’s a question of finding literature “somewhere in that file”. Then the package must be posted or faxed. It’s all a lot of trouble and it takes a lot of time.
REASON #4 - YOUR MOST IMPORTANT CUSTOMER WILL LOOK FOR YOU THERE TOO.
Increasingly someone may look for your telephone number or your email address on the Internet. They use a Search engine such as Google to find it. Just type in the company name in the Google search field (which you can even keep on your screen as part of a Google Toolbar). Click on the “I Feel Lucky” button and it should take you right to the company website. Click on the Contact tab and there’s the telephone number or the email address. At least, it is if you have a website and it’s been developed in the right way. Of course, your most important customer must not find anything in the website that raises questions about your reliability.
REASON #3 - THE WEBSITE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR COMPANY BROCHURE.
A company brochure is a very useful and comforting document to have. It is something tangible that can be given to a visitor or a passer-by at a trade shore. However if you factor in the cost of developing and printing such a brochure, and the cost of getting it into potential customers’ hands, the ROI of such a sales tool is very much poorer than the ROI for your website. Not least is the continuing Usability of such a sales tool. It may be looked at once or twice and then thrown away or filed. Brochures may so easily get out-of-date. The website is always there, and it can easily be kept up-to-date every time it is checked out.
REASON #2 - THE WEBSITE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR BUSINESS CARD.
Surely the business card is the most important and relatively low-cost tool to support business dealings. That used to be true. However it’s a very low-tech way of trying to ensure that your contact will remember you and have your coordinates readily to hand. Of course a moment’s reflection reminds us that it rarely works like that now. The coordinates are quickly entered into a Palm Pilot or an Outlook address book. The most used item on the business card is often the website address, which the recipient checks out at the earliest opportunity.
REASON #1 - THE WEBSITE IS THE MOST POWERFUL WAY TO PRESENT THE VERY BEST IMAGE OF YOUR COMPANY.
The most important reason of all for a website is that this can give the best possible and most complete image of your company to that potential customer. Few will visit your headquarters. Those who telephone your company may pick-up mixed signals as your telephone reception system handles their call. Your advertising or your press releases may be missed. However in your website you can arrange that the visitor gets exactly the impression of the company that is most appropriate. It’s a relatively low-cost way to be making those important first impressions.
Conversely, anyone interested in your company will be checking out the website as part of a credibility check. If the website does not exist or gives a poor impression of the company through typos or pages “Under Construction”, then you may not be able to recover the situation.
Barry Welford
strategicmarketingmontreal.ca