Ten Business Reasons to Build a Website

Only the largest corporations have advertising budgets that span the globe. But, on the world-wide web, your site can reach the ever-growing market of internet-connected customers. Even if your business is limited to a geographic area, there are still more prospects there than you can reach in any other way.

If your competitors are online and you're not, what does that say about your business? More and more, everyone you meet will expect you to have a website. If they don't find yours, they will find your competition's.

Providing something free (samples, newsletters, or marketing gifts) will attract prospects to your site. Once there, they learn more about you and take the next step to becoming your customer.

Before people are ready to do business with you, they want information like:

• Can you solve my problem?
• Why should I choose you?
• Can I afford you?

Checking your website is an easy, low-risk way for them to qualify themselves before they contact you.

Your product or service might be complex. You can provide explanations that establish yourself as someone they can trust. If your business is at all visual, you can show pictures of your work. If not, case studies and testimonials are effective ways to demonstrate your value.

Would you like to inspire the hesitant shopper? Offering discounts or other incentives is a proven way to help people decide to buy. By providing them on your website, you save the cost of printing and distribution.

Linking is one of the strengths of the web. Whether you are selling online or off, you can always suggest other products or services that your customer may not have previously considered.

Help your customers help themselves. Some basic things they need to know include:

• your location (with a map, if helpful)
• hours of operation
• details of your products/services
• phone number/e-mail address

Answering questions with your website frees up your time to run your business. It also saves you money, since you will print and mail fewer brochures and other marketing pieces.

You can receive invaluable information on what your customers want by simply asking for their input or analyzing search terms used at your site.

Businesses pay lots of money to do market research on new products and services. With a website, you can ask questions like:

• Would you buy this type of product?
• How do you cost-justify similar products?
• Do you know anyone else who might be interested?