One of the most surprising things when you look at small businesses is how many of them don't have a website. You would think that in this day and age everybody would know how important a website is for all businesses. Clearly that is not the case. Any business that does not have a website is missing out on one of the most powerful marketing tools available to them.
Far Cheaper and Much More Flexible Than Print Advertising
The Internet is extremely different from print advertising in that space is cheap, your advertisement is accessible for a longer period of time, and to a wide audience, using the web provides a large cost advantage over other types of marketing. Online you have unlimited space and an unlimited number of web pages to promote your business and each product or service that you offer. In print, you may only have a few sentences or a brochure that grows quickly out-of-date. The web is versatile and you can customize different web pages for different types of customers, products or services.
With a website you can use advertising to entice people to visit your website and find out about you (in case of a personal website), your business and potentially open two-way communication between the potential customer and a sales person.
Stay ahead of competition and Expand your market
A website enables you to stay ahead of and keep up with your competition. If your competition is online, they will be finding all of the customers searching for products and services in your industry. Without a website you are missing out on all that business. A website also allows you to expand your business into new markets far beyond the local customer base that you used to reach with printed material.
The Internet has allowed businesses to break through the geographical barriers and become accessible, virtually, from any country world-wide by a potential customer with an Internet access.
Diversify Revenue Streams
A website is not just a medium for representation of your company, it is a form of media from which everybody can acquire information. You can use this media to sell advertising space to other businesses.
A recent trend has risen where businesses feature their very own directory of complimentary services, where the visitor can search for information on a business that will enhance the use of your service. The business sells complimentary businesses a listing in their directory.
A good example is a catering company featuring a directory with businesses such as event co-coordinators, electronic equipment rental companies, and others.
Adverting and Selling 24hours 7Days a week 365Days a year
No more turning customers away when it’s time to close shops, putting up a note saying closed for public holiday, left for a weekend or leaving an irritating message on your answering service specifying your trading hours - tell them to visit your website for information they are looking for.
Offer Convenience
It is far more convenient for a person to research a product on the Internet than it is to get in a car, drive somewhere and look for or ask someone for information on a product.
The potential customer can visit your website whenever they like in their own privacy and comfort, without the stresses and distractions that exist in the real world .
Your website is a self-service medium for example, instead of having to wait in a long cue to pay your TV License, you can now do it electronically through the TV License website.
Add Value and Satisfaction
By offering convenience, a point of reference and that touch of individualised customer service, you ultimately add value to your offering and your customers experience a higher level of satisfaction.
Your website can add value in other ways too, by featuring tips, advice and general interest content you can think of including entertainment.
Standardize Sales Performance
By looking at which approaches have worked in the past and those which have not, you can produce the ultimate report and use it with your website, so that you use it on every customer. No more training of sales people and waiting for them to get a feel for your line of trade.
Improve credibility
A website gives you the opportunity to tell potential customers what you are about and why you deserve their trust and confidence. In fact, it shows potential customers that you are serious about providing the best service and that you are current on the latest technology. Businesses that keep up with technology are known to also keep up with the latest innovations in the field, so customers will trust your business to bring them the best products and services on the market, and that will not take them for a ride.
Promote Presence and Location
Getting lost trying to find a place can be frustrating for a potential customer. You can publish what they call a dummy map on your website, which shows directions and landmarks graphically, and the potential customer can print it out when wanting to visit your premises .
Growth Opportunity
A website serves as a great place to refer potential investors to, to show them what your company is about, what it has achieved and what it can achieve in future.
Two-Way Communicative Marketing
Customers can quickly and easily give feedback on your product and/or marketing approach.
Cheap Market Research
You can use features on your website such as visitor polls, online surveys and your website statistics to find out what your customers like more and how they feel about certain aspects of your business to determine how you can improve your product and the way you do business.
Website statistics show you how much traffic your website receives, how the visitor got to your website and where, geographically, the visitor is from.
SETItechnologies
is located at Makindye Luwafu Kizungu Zone after Makindye Court Martial down to Munyonyo Road.
Tel: +256 756 893 013
+256 702 746 220
Email: setitechnologies@gmail.com
