Why should my business have a website?
The question should be "what can't a website do for my business". Well, there may be a few things that it can't do, but overall a website virtually transforms your business into a 24-7,-365, worldwide operation - regardless of your company's actual size. Of course you may not be selling any type of product that is physically tangible, or any retail goods that need to be cataloged, ordered, and shipped; but an online presence is simply essential today if your message is to be heard by the world. It may be easier to answer the question of "how beneficial can a website be for my business today and in the future?" by presenting and addressing a few issues facing business- particularly retail and wholesale.
Consider the most cost-free method of advertisng: ' word of mouth '. A satisfied customer can more easily refer a friend to your website than they could give them a hard-copy catalog. The person who has just been referred to your website can simply visit the pages as opposed to carving out time to go to your actual store location. As you can see, your store's site is instantly accessible from anywhere with an Internet connection - and at the total convenience of the visitor.
What's more is the fact that they can browse your products or review your services at their own pace, with out any "stimulous" from a sales rep. This often goes a mighty long way. (Don't worry, there are other ways to guide or influence spending with an E-commerce site). If you're a smaller company or independently operated business, you know very well the frustrations of competing with corporate retailers and wholesalers. Often times it is much more convenient and easier for a shipper to purchase what they want or need from these large retail and wholesale giants simply due to the fact that they are usually conveniently geographicaly located.
A website elimintates these issues in part since the Internet has virtually no geographic limitations. Not only are there geographic limitations to overcome in the offline world, but also consider the fact that your company or business may not be able to operate around the clock like some others. Even more problematic is the fact that your business may only be open while most of your target customers are at work themselves! Having a website makes you instantly available from anywhere with an Internet connection - all day and all night. Your customers could even place orders or read about your services from their computers at work. What better way for someone to loaf on the job than to spend time and money with your business - on your website?
Websites reduce overhead & operation costs for business.
Overhead is often reduced substantially with a web-based ordering system. If configured for such, a website can even eliminate the need to manually process orders. A customer can simply browse and add items to their online cart, which is essentially a database keeping up with what the customer has selected. Once a purchase is made, the information is validated and processed and sent through the proper channel of notification and onto eventual human interaction (afterall, the human element can't and probably shouldn't be totally absent). If you're one of the extreme micro-economic types and like to grainularly theorize accounting tactics, you can even consider each transaction processed via the Internet as one that didn't require much human resource such as cashiers, sales reps, security guards, or even office or retail space rent..or even utilities! Think about the reduction of theft, or what retailers refer to as 'shrinkage'.
Contact 3.Media for an assessment of your business or online need for a more concise and consultation on how a website can be beneficial.
What are some major concerns when deciding whether or not to establish a company-website or E-commerce website?, 3.Media addresses them on the Web-F.A.Q. Page.
Be sure to also check out our 6-Points page, where we explore six solid reasons for taking your business to the web.
|
Wouldn't you like to connect your business to the entire world? It just makes perfect sense to have your products and services available to anyone, anywhere, and at anytime. Call us today to get started on crafting your online presence. Make a statement to your customers - and your competition!
