Header image
 
616.340.7625
 

Why do I need a website?
Facts and figures to make a good decision.



 

Finding your "Food Source"

Let’s do a little practical history lesson. When civilizations started to develop, you had hunters and gatherers. They wandered around falling on their food source by chance and employing some skill. They would look for the greatest concentration of food sources and would concentrate their effort in that area. Then they got smarter and took control of that concentration by domesticating and cultivating their own food, and civilization started to thrive. Either way, by chance or taking control of the source, they looked for concentration or numbers. The greater the number, the greater the chance to increase your "food source" or business. It works the same way in marketing. A true marketer looks for numbers, and that is the direction that we focus our marketing effort. New business and facilitating business efficiently is the life blood and the food source of your business. If you can take control of it, you will thrive and grow.

How big is your "Food Source"

The numbers tell the story and the trend of where things are going in the future. If you are wondering why nothing you do is working, marketing-wise, you may be shooting at a dead target. The way we did business ten years ago is dead. You don’t acquire new business the same way, and if you don’t change to accommodate this shift, your business will eventually atrophy and die. The worldwide total of population is approximately 6.5 billion people. Published statistics estimate internet useage worldwide to be at 1.25 billion users, which means that 18.9% of the people worldwide use the internet. Now let’s look at North America. . .you will be surprised! There are about 334.5 million people in North America. The number of people using the internet in North America is about 234.78 million people. That means, as of 2007, that about 70.2% of the population is buying, looking for information, utilizing, searching and finding sources on the internet! With those kinds of numbers, you need to have a website, and it had better be a good one or you are missing the largest concentration of new business prospects that the world has ever seen. The opportunity for growth and for your business to thrive is absolutely unbelievable, and the time is now to make a change and move forward. If you don’t change and embrace this new technology. . .someone else will.

By numbers, women are the main motivators and influence most of the purchase decisions in any given household. They are a significant demographic segment that you should take into account in any marketing effort. Here is more information concerning how the internet is affecting purchasing trends:

According to the Center for Media Research 8-28-2007,

64% of moms use Internet search to find out where to purchase products offline,

70% of moms use search engines for online purchases

89% of moms use the Internet at least twice a day

So, here are some more reasons why you need a website:

First Impression

A website is the first impression that many people have of you and your business. It is the default first place to go to find out more about you, where you are, what you do, and the QUALITY of your business. In marketing, there is a principle called "the Principle of Linking Attributes." Linking Attributes describes a consistent tendency of human behavior. For example, if you see someone who is well dressed, well groomed, clean and whose appearance is sharp, human beings will automatically link those good attributes to similar good attribues of smart, professional, trustworthy, etc. So you had better have a good quality website, or you may be chasing prospects away by looking like Billy Bob running your business out of your garage. With a good first impression you can:

  • Validate your credibility
  • Increase your visibility
  • Communicate a clear and consistent image
  • Help build trust with existing and potential new business – that is the goal of a marketing branding strategy! This makes your job much easier when they finally do have some face time with you!
  • Position yourself as an expert and a resource
  • Gain a tangible presence

Sales 3-5 Contacts

If you know anything about sales, it takes people (largest number in terms of purchase behavior) about 3-5 contacts before they feel comfortable with purchasing your product or service. The Internet never shuts down, doesn’t need benefits, doesn’t get sick or take lunch breaks, and is the ultimate advertiser’s dream tool that works around-the-clock. It is a support for your sales staff by getting some of those 3 – 5 personal contacts out of the way, and helps answer questions so that you don’t have to spend initial qualifying face time with prospects. An effective website will:

  • Increase local business for services
  • Increase global business for product sales
  • Enhance offline advertising efforts
  • Prospect – it is a great prospecting tool
  • Enhance customer relations
  • Make it easy to receive referrals
  • Help you build a mailing list
  • Facilitate feedback
  • Facilitate sales!!

Taking control of your "Food Source"

Control is a way of "domesticating" your food source. If you take control of your website you are controlling your new business flow, rather than hoping to fall upon it by chance. One of the main components in controlling your website is having the ability to change it at a moment’s notice. If you can change your website you can keep it current, and give visitors a reason to come to you. You can drive business to you and use a web site as the ultimate tool.

Stale sites are as offensive to viewers as having an unswept floor in a brick and mortar building. A stale website make the rest of your business look old and tired. You wouldn’t keep the same information on your advertising this year as you did last year. Another canon in marketing is that people only notice something that is out of place or different. If you don’t change your website and give visitors something current and of value, you will lose them quickly by a quick mouse click to your competition.

Change is important because potential customers won’t come back to your site with the same old information. They will look for more and better information and if you don’t provide it to them, they will find someone else who will. Unfortunately to the business who resists change, the loss will likely become the gain of their competition. A flexible website will:

  • Give you ultimate control that you cannot achieve in any other media
  • Give customers a reason to come back to you for information
  • Make you look professional and service-oriented
  • Stimulate sales
  • Support offline marketing efforts that you currently have going on
  • Integrate your business with your market over distances better because the contact is immediate and responsive to their needs
  • Create excitement and a sense of urgency
  • Call for direct response of "new stuff" that customers may be missing out on
  • Keep customers in touch with what is new with your products and services
  • Generate curiousity
  • Give you the ability to upload additional content or photos of what you are doing every day or week

We Can Help

Starting up a website can be a painful process, unless you are dealing with a professional and reputable company. We are in business to help you find solutions and maximize the money that you spend, so that it becomes an investment paying you back. . .not just an expense. Without a website, there is an opportunity cost that you lose with every day that goes by. A poorly constructed, unprofessional site, or the absense of a good website, is a roadmap to business failure for the company that has its sights set for growth, stability and becoming a thriving business in the future.

Author -
Donna Maas
Copyright 2007 Go Web Spot, LLC and its licensors.  All rights reserved.