In reality, it's one of the most important and most frequently asked questions of the digital business age.
I was giving a speech on the effects of the net on small business at an association luncheon in Montgomery, Alabama. Back in 1998, which was years ago in internet years, the near future of e-commerce was anyone's guess, but even the most negative futurists agreed that all the signs indicated that a sizable portion of future business revenues would be derived from online transactions or from offline transactions that were the result of online marketing efforts.
So should your company have a website, even if your company is small and sells goods or services that you don't think could be sold on the internet? My answer in 1998 is the same as my answer today: Yes, even if you have a company, you need to have a website. Period. No question. Without a doubt.
Also, don't be so quick to dismiss your product as one that can not be sold on the internet. Nowadays, there's very little that can't be sold on the net. Over 20 million shoppers are now online, purchasing everything from books to computers to cars to real estate to jet airplanes to natural gas to you name it. If you can imagine it, someone will figure out how to sell it online.
Allow me to clarify one point: I am not saying you should put all your efforts into selling your wares on the world wide web, though if your product lends itself to easy online sales, you should certainly be considering it.
Nevertheless, it's not enough that you have a website. You have to have a professional-looking site if you would like to get taken seriously. Since many consumers now search for information online prior to making a purchase in a brick-and-mortar store, your website might be the very first chance you've got at making a fantastic impression on a possible buyer. If your site looks like it had been designed by a barrel of colorblind monkeys, your chance at making a good first impression will be lost.
One of the great things about the internet is that it's leveled the playing field when it comes to competing with the big boys. As previously mentioned, you've got one shot at making a fantastic first impression. With a well-designed website, your little operation can project the image and professionalism of a much larger business. The inverse is also true. I have seen many big company websites which were so poorly designed and hard to navigate that they completely lacked professionalism and credibility.
You also mention that yours is a small operation, but when it comes to benefiting from a website, size doesn't matter. I don't care if you are a one-man show or a 10,000-employee company monster; if you don't have a website, you're losing business to other businesses that do.
Here's the exception to my rule: It is actually better to have no website at all than to have one which makes your organization look bad. Your website speaks volumes about your enterprise. It says,"Hey, look, we take our business so seriously that we've created this superb site for our clients!" Or it screams,"Hey, look, I allow my 10-year-old nephew design my website.
Your website is an important part of your enterprise. Make GGSolutions that you treat it .
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