It's Critical To Have A Website

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With smartphones at our fingertips, customers are searching online more than anywhere else to research a product. As a small business owner, it’s critical that you have a website ready for customers who are looking you up. Understanding why it is important and figuring out where to start can be intimidating. Here’s what you need to know.

1. You can use your website like a virtual customer service agent

Rather than calling you, or struggling to track you down, customers can find answers to the questions they’re looking for just by checking out your website. You’ll save time and resources. Customers are more likely to trust you and feel more comfortable doing business with you when they know you’re only one click away.

2. It’s like having a TV commercial on every channel

Once your company is online, it’s easier for customers to find you instantly. Customers are looking for information on places like Yelp and Google. If your website is already there waiting for them then they’ll be able to find your business easily, from anywhere.

3. Your website is a place of your own

You can set your website up to be custom and personalized. It’s a great way to display your company’s brand. The look and feel of your website can truly reflect your business’s culture and values. It’s a place where you can tell your story.

4. It’s actually pretty easy to set up

Lack of courage and lack of direction are some of the main reasons a lot of small business owners never get around to starting a website. You’re busy with other things, building a website is the last thing on your mind. The idea of starting from scratch can be intimidating. Not all small businesses are super savvy with back-end technologies. Hiring someone else to do it for you can be extremely beneficial. Keeping the website up to date yourself is often surprisingly easy and straightforward. If you do things the right way, it can be so easy that it can literally take minutes to get a website up and running.

5. There’s no time like the present

Seriously, get started now. It does not have to be the most perfect thing ever on day one. Start with a simple website.Just include a little information about your company, your products and services, and how to contact you. From there,it’s important to keep your website updated with new content and be sure to add social media hyperlinks for places like Facebook and Twitter.

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Branding Is Not A Carefree Topic

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Branding is certainly not a carefree topic. It is a critical element of any business. All too often logo design is treated as being interchangeable with branding. Although they go hand-in-hand, they are not the same. Many businesses overlook the true potential of what a brand can and will accomplish, settling for just a logo. So, what sets a brand apart from a logo. Why is the jump from a logo to a brand so difficult? Why do you need a brand, not just a logo? Let’s explore.

SOME DEFINITIONS
In order to gain a healthy understanding of the differences between a logo and a brand, some definitions must first be established.

A logo is a business’ identification in its simplest form via a recognizable mark or symbol.
On the other hand, a brand is the emotion behind what someone feels, sees and tastes when they interact with your company on any level. At the core, branding is an emotional experience.
The progression is clear: a logo must come before a brand.

WHAT IS A BRAND?
A memorable logo is important; it paves the way for effective branding. However, a brand is more than a logo. It’s more than just visual identification. A brand is the emotion behind what someone feels, sees and tastes when they interact with your company on any level. Your brand is the image behind what your business believes and strives to accomplish. As a result, your brand becomes your personality and along with that personality comes numerous associations. Therefore a brand bears much more responsibility than a logo.

Brilliant branding takes courage because it is something that is constantly being formed by the public’s perception. Although a designer lays the foundation of a brand visually, the brand’s audience is what truly shapes it. Therefore, it is imperative that the foundation is laid correctly by falling in line with your business’ image and goals.

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Know What Will Resonate With Your Intended Audience

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Know Your Audience

It’s pointless investing time or money in developing your brand without first ascertaining what will resonate with your audience, and to understand your customer’s habits, wants and needs it is essential to talk to them; knowing your audience is the first and most important task in building a brand.

Color and design matter

Your visual identity, including your logo, is a consumer’s first encounter with your brand, so it must create the right impression.

Unless you’re a graphic designer, avoid the DIY approach and invest in a professional designer to create and develop your logo.

To keep your brand identity consistent across all media channels, create a set of brand guidelines containing detailed information on the color palette, fonts, and tone of voice to be used in your branding, along with other elements such as how your brand should appear on staff uniforms, marketing literature and advertising materials.

Finally, don’t ruin your brilliant branding by giving your brand a bad name. A brand name can have a detrimental effect on your overall brand awareness, so choose it carefully. A brand name must reinforce the key elements or objectives of your business because, ultimately, the more it communicates to your audience about your business and what it provides, the less effort you’ll expend trying to explain it.

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Make Sure Your Logo Is Functional

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Create a standout logo

A good logo will go a long way. Unless you are able to create one on your own, which looks professional, you’ll need to hire an expert at I4 Advertising. You can find our designers to help you create an image that lets people know what you and your company stands for instantly.

While brainstorming logo ideas by yourself is a crucial step in creating your business image, trying to create a logo completely on your own is a mistake.

Fortunately you don’t have to spend a fortune to find help. To save money, it’s best to have a rough idea of what you’d like. Brainstorm with friends and do some basic research. Don’t worry, it’s fun! Check out other company logos. Determine which ones you like and which you don’t.

What makes a good logo? There are a few key elements that make for a successful logo. Ask yourself, if that logo is:
Functional: Will it work on a letterhead, a business card as well as a large poster?
Aesthetic: No one likes an ugly image.
Original: If you use clip art, it will be obvious. I4 Advertising can create original art.
Appropriate: A plumber might have pipes in their logo or a large wrench. A humongous diamond ring would not be a good choice.
Timeless: Pick a logo that will work into the next decade.
Simple: A complex drawing with obscure references might confuse potential clients. Keep the drawing clean and simple.

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Have A Strong Brand That Is Easily Recognizable

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Some companies stop focusing on building great products and services when they become successful. This is a mistake. In 2008, Nokia was the world’s ninth most valuable brand. In 2011, Nokia was ranked 81st and this year, it fell even further. Even a strong brand will suffer when it creates average or below average products or services.

1. Have a good name and logo. A strong brand is easily recognizable. Recognition starts with the name of your business. The name will appear on your business cards, letterhead, website, social networks, promotional materials, products, and pretty much everywhere in print and online to identify your company or your company’s products and/or services.

It’s not enough to have a recognizable name. People commonly associate brands with the brand’s logo. As you think about your logo, keep your audience and products/services in mind because you want your logo to reflect your company. A good logo builds trust and a strong logo will help to pull your brand together. Think about the logos of some of the world’s most admired brands (Apple, Google, Amazon). How do you feel (emotionally) when you see their logos?

If you want to learn more about naming your business, we invite you to read 10 tips for startups and small business on naming your company. If you want to learn more about getting a great logo, we invite you to read 10 logo design tips for buyers.

2. Find your voice. What you say is important, but don’t overlook how you say it. Your company’s “voice” is the language and personality you and your employees will use to deliver your branding message and reach your customers. Successful brands speak with a unique voice. Think about the brands you admire – what makes them unique? How do they communicate with you and other customers? What do you like about their voice?

3. Be consistent. Many small businesses mistakenly change their messaging depending on their audience. For example, a company might take a more serious tone on their website but a very lighthearted tone on their Facebook fan page. This can confuse your customers and potential customers. To build and maintain a strong brand, every aspect of your brand should be as good as your product or service and you must be consistent in presenting your brand. This includes not only your company’s name, logo, overall aesthetic design, products and services, but also includes your marketing materials, website, appearances at trade shows and conferences, content posted to social networks, etc.

Why should you care about brand consistency? You should care because brand consistency leads to familiarity, and familiarity leads to trust.

As you think about the value your company delivers – you can ask the following questions: What sets your product, service and company apart from your competitors? What value do you provide and how does that value differ from that provided by your competitors? Think about which of the benefits are emotional – the most powerful brands tap into emotions.

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More Consumers Are Using The Internet For Products Everyday

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Different websites will have different needs and will therefore require different features to be added that are important to the success of those sites. For instance, an Ecommerce site that sells products may need some kind of inventory control feature to ensure that the items listed for sale are actually available and in stock. While critical to the success of an Ecommerce site, this feature would be pointless on a site for an accounting firm that is promoting the services they offer, but not actually selling physical products online.

Today, more and more consumers use the internet to search for the products or services they need. Your small business will gain credibility by having a website. Without one, potential customers will go to your competitors that do. If you already have a website but it is "home-made," having it professionally redesigned will provide your business with a professional image which will inspire even greater confidence. For home-based businesses, this is particularly beneficial since you do not have a store front to promote your products or services.

Regardless of a site’s needs, however, one feature that is critical to all sites’ success is mobile-friendliness and responsive design support. So why is responsive web design the most important feature that you can add to your website? Here are 4 key reasons:

1. Supporting the Multi-Device User
2. One Site to Rule Them All
3. Improved Search Engine Rankings
4. Future Scalability

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You Can't Afford To Miss Out On Branding

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"But … We Can’t Afford to Do Branding"

Actually, you can’t afford not to. Sure, branding can get incredibly expensive if your idea of branding is a nationwide television and print campaign. But it doesn’t need to be.

Here are 4 tips you can start on today to help your small business create, build and reinforce brand:

-Start with clarifying what your brand stands for. What’s that “one thing” you want customers to think of, when thinking of your company? How will you STAND OUT? Are you the most knowledgeable? — that is, your representatives can help the customer choose options in a complicated product environment; Speed — such as your 10-minute lunch menu, or same-day delivery, or fastest time to create a customized solution; high quality — especially when all the competition is low quality;

-Think it through. If you or your team are confused about that “one thing” that sets your company apart, customers probably will be, too.

-If you’re not sure what this is, find out. Schedule a strategy session and hash it out with your team. Do a customer survey to ask existing customers what they value most. Start asking new customers what made them choose your company or product or service.

-Try to limit it to one thing or at most two things you want your brand to be known for. If you end up with a laundry list of 20 things, go back to the drawing board and narrow it down. Customers don’t choose a vendor for 20 reasons. It’s usually one or two reasons that push them over the decision edge.

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Having A Website Levels The Playing Field

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Clearly there are still a lot of small businesses that do not have websites, there are various reasons for this but mostly it comes down to the belief that they are expensive. It is rather surprising how much small business owners believe a website will cost them.

Remember you don't need a giant ten thousand page website for your business, just a simple site that tells people about your company and your products will be more than enough.

A website will not only give you credibility but it will also help to give the impression that your company is bigger and more successful than it may actually be. One of the great things about the internet is that the size of your company does not really matter. There is no reason that you can't get your site to rank in Google ahead of a large multinational competitor and funnel off some of their traffic. This is a big part of the reason that a website is even more important for a small business than a big one, it tends to level the playing field.

The main reason that it is important for businesses to have a website is how people are likely to find you. These days most people will go online and research products and companies before they make a purchase, if you don't have a website you are missing out on all of this potential business. Even if people don't buy your product online they are still likely to research it online so you have to have a website so these people can learn about your business.

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A Website Should Be Professional and Audience-Appropriate

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THE WEBSITE

A company’s website is the most basic form of a company’s web presence and is a must have in today’s business environment. It also serves as an online storefront and acts as the face of the business’s brand and message to the world. If a company has one thing, it should be a professional and audience-appropriate website. It may be that your website doesn't serve its purpose. With the constant changes happening online, you want to ensure that your website is adapting appropriately.

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

The next evolution in a company’s web presence typically comes in the form of its social media channels. A business today will typically have a Facebook page, and many companies are taking advantage of Twitter profiles, Pinterest profiles, and other numerous social media sites to promote their web presence and overall brand. Because these platforms are free, it typically makes sense to jump on board and reach a wider audience.

SEARCH ENGINE PREVALENCE

Another aspect of a company’s overall web presence is its prevalence on search engine results pages (SERPs). Since Google’s search algorithm takes into account many factors, including relevant content and popularity, your website’s ranking on Google is a good indicator of how strong your web presence is. Lockdown appropriate keywords in your area by implementing a strong search engine optimization campaign.

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Does My Local Business Really Need a Website?

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Does My Local Business Really Need a Website?

The American economy, in times both good and bad, is driven by the success of small business. Yet so many small businesses do not have a good searchable website, or worse they have no website at all! Small business owners are among the busiest people, and I have heard some claim they do not have the time or financial wherewithal to develop a good website. This is a BIG mistake! Customers are continually searching the internet looking for products and services. And rightly or wrongly, they often judge whether or not to do business with your company on the basis of your website.

if you are a small business and have a less than great website or no website at all, you are missing a great opportunity to be there when potential new customers are looking for your product or service. And you are also missing an opportunity to tell your story in a fun and engaging manner. Customers are looking for what you have to offer. Will they find you?

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A Website Provides Greater Exposure To Your Business

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Reasons why your business needs a website are:

-Provides greater exposure to your business

A website enables your business to reach potential and current clients 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! You will no longer be tied to the limited geographic area. Website is visible everywhere. More and more consumers are using the Internet to find businesses and the product they need.
Economical

Without a website in this day and age is digital suicide. And with websites now being so easy and cheap to setup there is no excuse not to have oneToday, creating an online presence is highly affordable with low startup costs and distribution. It saves you on time, money and energy usually incurred by the printing of brochures, flyers and pamphlets. A website's distribution is GLOBAL and potentially increases your business's visibility.

-Convenience for customers

Using the Internet to search for businesses and products is much easier and faster than anything.

-Saves time

The time that you would have spent on the phone answering customers’ questions can now be used to invest in growing your business. Because all the information is already available on the website.

-Inexpensive, effective advertising

A website is also the most inexpensive marketing tool, with global marketing capabilities that works for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your marketing campaigns are completely tractable and can be monitored almost real-time, providing you with valuable information on Return on Investment.

Simply put, a website is a dynamic medium, updated daily or weekly, that provides and educates your customers with up-to-date information on your business, products and services.

Having a website is a guarantee that your business will be reachable to thousands and millions, spread across the world. But, one important question comes into mind... Is having a website important than maintaining it? Well, it's just like, having one's shop with no goods or products to sell. Think for a moment! Will anybody come to buy out there? Obviously NO! Likewise, when you go for a website design, you need to take care of three things that can transform your endeavors to a successful venture. These three things include simple website design, functionality rich, and high search engine ranking. Once you are dome with these three factors, you have rest moving smoothly.

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Get Your Business Accessible...Get It On The Web With A Website

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The key to making the most of the web is making your business as accessible as possible, letting people interact with you in a way that suits them, whenever they want to. Your customers are online 24/7, and as such they expect to be able to interact with businesses and organisations whenever and wherever they are online. Of course, that doesn't mean having to have a presence on every single online channel; it means being clever about selecting the ones that are most important to your audience.

-Be accessible
At the most fundamental level, this means a basic, professional looking website with easy to find, relevant information about your business. At a more advanced level, that could be a fully-blown booking tool that lets customers schedule their own appointment or booking with you, essentially giving your businesses a 24/7 receptionist.

-Think multi-channel – but focus on the ones that really matter
One of the first things to consider is through which online channels to make your business visible. Yes, your website is your flagship, but you need to get your brand to where your potential customers are. As a small business, you likely don't have either the time or resources to do everything, and investing in a fruitless channel can end up being a costly mistake. Think hard about where your customers are spending their time online, and focus your efforts accordingly.

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Stand Out From The Rest

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Branding is what creates customer loyalty. They say it is what keeps consumers loyal and buying repeatedly.

But let's go further. Branding is what helps a prospective buyer call to mind a particular company when it comes time to buy. In other words, branding also helps with awareness.

In a world of infinite choices, branding that helps people remember YOUR company is more important than ever. Today consumers have a seemingly endless choice of retailers, products and services available at their fingertips online, or at the local strip shopping centers or shopping malls.

If consumers are shopping for something, what do they do? Go to Google, where billions of Web pages and yellow page listings are available.

Not only are there many choices, but some of the decision factors that traditionally separated and defined companies are today transparent and without much difference. Take, for example, pricing. Pricing is easier to discover and compare than ever before. In certain industries there may be very little price difference.

When all prices are the same, what makes the buyer choose one over another? Nuances and qualitative factors may make the difference.

For small businesses, what sets apart the business may be factors such as high quality, craftsmanship, personalized customer service, superior knowledge to help customers make the proper product selections, and similar qualitative factors.

I4 Advertising Agency can help you brand your business and create a website for your small business.

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Can Your Consumers Reach You? You Need A Website

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As a business owner, you need to know where your consumers are. But what if consumers know your business and what you can offer, but they can’t reach you? That is one of the risks you take by not having a website for your business.

What are some other benefits of having a business website?

Cost Effective
You know exactly how much your website is going to cost you and its on goings – a brick and mortar store on the other hand is susceptible to many out of the ordinary occurrences which could blow out the costs such as leaving the lights on, theft, damage, extra staff etc.

A strategically developed website and online presence solution provides tremendous benefits and costing outlines.

Accessible around the clock
Your website and social media accounts are accessible 24/7/365. Imagine that you want to buy from a store. You put in all the effort required to go to the store, but when you get there, it’s closed. We all know how irate we feel in that situation. You’ll think twice about going back given the bad taste its left (ok might have been your fault for not checking but hey, this is proving the point here!). You will just find another store that is more easily accessible.

Since your website is operational around the clock, from the convenience of the local coffee shop, their couch or their bed, your customers and clients can easily access your website and services.

Convenient
What is more convenient: driving outside to look for different stores that are available to shop in, or sitting in the comfort of your own home and shopping for the products you’re looking for? Pretty obvious answer, unless you like aimlessly driving around. Smart businesses realise this and thus have their own website housing their products and services so that potential customers can browse online for the products they want to purchase.

Credibility
By building a website you are giving your business the opportunity to tell consumers why they should trust you and the testimonials and facts to back up those opportunities. Believe it or not, most people will search the internet for a product or service before the purchase to check the credibility first. When you provide good service or product, positive word-of-mouth about your business is likely to spread. Which in turn, delivers more repeat and new business.

People tend to trust a business after they have done business with it. Using your website, you can continuously serve consumers online and increase your credibility as a business owner.

Sales
Without sales, or selling more than you spend, your business is doomed. By having an online presence you allow for the sale of your products or services around the clock to whoever whenever with no or hardly any limitations; Unless you run out of stock or overworked, but thats a good problem to have right! Giving your business the online presence it deserves is crucial to your brand and accountants smile.

In short, being visible worldwide means you are very likely to gain more customers. The more customers and visitors you have, the more sales you will generate. The more sales you generate the happier you and your shareholders will be!

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Branding Reinforces Sales For Your Small Business

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Branding is what creates customer loyalty. They say it is what keeps consumers loyal and buying repeatedly.

I’d go further. Branding is what helps a prospective buyer call to mind a particular company when it comes time to buy. In other words, branding also helps with awareness.

In a world of infinite choices, branding that helps people remember YOUR company is more important than ever. Today consumers have a seemingly endless choice of retailers, products and services available at their fingertips online, or at the local strip shopping centers or shopping malls.

Pricing is easier to discover and compare than ever before. In certain industries there may be very little price difference.

When all prices are the same, what makes the buyer choose one over another? Nuances and qualitative factors may make the difference.

For small businesses, what sets apart the business may be factors such as high quality, craftsmanship, personalized customer service, superior knowledge to help customers make the proper product selections, and similar qualitative factors.

The challenge for some small businesses is how to get customers to think of them when it’s time to buy. You don’t want your company to be nonexistent in the customer’s mind.

And if they see your brand name in a list of competing vendors (such as in a search engine), you want your brand to be associated with positive factors that make it stand out.

Branding is not a replacement for sales or specific marketing campaigns. But branding assists and reinforces your sales and marketing efforts in important ways.

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Bottom Line... Your Business Needs A Website

How often do you do a search online for a particular business, only to find that they don’t have a website? How often do members of the business community hand you a business card with just an email address? In today’s business world it’s amazing to see just how many small businesses still do not have a web presence. Here I share 6 reasons your small business needs a website.

-Professionalism
-Visibility
-Sales Tool
-Convenience
-Market Expansion
-Changeability

The bottom line is this – whether you are a small business owner, inventor, entrepreneur, artist, author, musician or band, you need a website. Increasingly people are turning to the internet to find information. If you aren’t there how will they find you? Without an effective internet presence, your competitors are the winners.

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A Website Will Keep Your Customers Informed

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Like many small business owners, you may believe your business cannot benefit from having a website or that a website is not within your budget. Or maybe you think because you don’t use a computer, neither do your potential customers. These are misconceptions. These 8 reasons show why your company NEEDS a professional website, no matter what size your business.

1. Your small business will gain credibility
2. A website saves you money
3. It will let you keep your customers informed
4. It is always 'open'
5. A website can target a wider audience
6. It gives a way to show off your work
7. A website saves you time
8. It improves customer service

It's an internet world and the world is on the internet. About 80% of consumers use the internet to search for products and services they need before they make a purchase. Most customers today will assume your company has a website and may search for your business only to find you do not exist on the world wide web. Most of your competitors probably already have a website. Don't let them snatch your customers away by not having your own company website.

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Carve Out Your Own Distinctive Identity

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Branding is just as important for small businesses as it is for big names. Indeed, many corporate brands try to look more like small firms in order to appeal to consumers that prefer to support independent brands.

1. Don't repeat the same message in the same way over and over again.
Alternatively, aim to make your key messages work together to build a coherent identity.

2. Don’t try to mimic the look of chains or big brands.

Try and carve out your own distinctive identity. There is a big consumer trend towards independent establishments, and several chains are in fact trying to mimic an independent feel to capture some of that market. Truly independent operators can leverage their status to attract customers who are looking for something more original and authentic, that aligns with how feel about themselves.

3. Be innovative, bold and daring – stand for something you believe in.

Big brands are encumbered by large layers of bureaucracy, preventing them from being flexible and reacting to the ever-changing needs of their customers. Those layers of decision-makers can make it hard for them to be daring with their branding.

4. Always consider your branding when communicating with customers.

Don't lose your pride or dilute your brand positioning with indiscriminate discounting. Try offering more, rather than slashing prices. Promotions are an opportunity to reinforce your brand mission.

5. The old way of stamping your logo on everything won't cut it.

The future of branding is fluid and engaging — respect your customers' intelligence by not giving everything away up front. Generate some intrigue and allow them to unearth more about your brand for themselves. This is the way to foster ambassadors who revel in telling other people what they have discovered.

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Promote Your Business By Having A Professional Website

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Many small businesses, especially new small businesses, run a lean operation. They focus on necessities and urgent matters, only spending money when they need to. So, it’s easy to see why some business owners might think a website is a luxury item they can afford to live without.

They might even believe a Facebook page is enough for an online presence, or that a sign with their phone number will generate calls, or that a traditional mailer will help them sell products. But the truth is, the only way to start promoting a business is by building a professional website.

A website is the anchor for your marketing.

Before you print a business card or spend a penny on advertising, you need to start marketing by building a website.

A website will act as an anchor for all of your advertising efforts. All business details, product information and promotions should live on your website first. Then, you can create marketing materials that fall in line with your domain name, which will drive customers to your website for additional information.

A website sells your products/services online.

Your website acts as a digital brochure, sharing up-to-date information about your offerings. A benefit of web publishing is that you can change information in real-time — no waiting or paying for new print materials.

Guide potential buyers to the products and services they need by creating an effective website.

Think of your website as a 24-hour sales staff. It provides answers to frequently asked questions and can even process sales. Websites with e-commerce and purchasing options allow users to make direct purchases online, thus simplifying sales for both your staff and your customers.

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Why Do You Need A Website?

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Why Do You Need a Website?

Reason #1 – Online brochure
Companies spend millions creating brochures and distributing them. By having a website you can skip that entirely. Your potential customers can find out about you and any of your products online. If you get most of your business through networking and personal connections, then they will want to check out your website.

Reason #2 – More customers
More than 2.4 billion people use the internet every day, and some 90% of those have purchased something, or contacted a company, online in the last 12 months. So by not having a website, you will be missing out on a big piece of the pie.

Reason #3 – Business value
Have you tried getting a business loan recently? It’s not easy, but if you try and the bank manager asks to see your website, you better have a pretty good one. It doesn’t just stop with the bank, the perceived value of your business will be lower in everyone’s eyes – especially your customers.

Reason #4 – Influence
By having a website potentially thousands of people are going to see it. You are able to influence people’s decisions and educate them.

Reason #5 – Time to show off
You know that great feeling you get when people recognize your work? Well, by having a website you can show off what you do and take pride in your work.

Reason #6 – Instant credibility
Have you ever had difficulty making that sale? Or convincing someone that you are the real deal. By having a well structured website you can foster instant credibility with anyone. You can provide the ultimate proof that you are, in fact, the realest of all deals.

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A Small Business Needs A Website

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Thinking about a website? Good you should be. Your business needs one. Here's one myth about getting a website:

-A website seems so sterile and impersonal. It won't add to "our kind" of customer base that was built on personal relationship.

This statement is commonly made by specialty shop owners and real estate agents. Real estate agents will add "I already invest high dollars in space advertising." This might seem odd because the business owners that say this are some of the nicest people I've met - and are usually sound business people. They know how to treat a customer or client with special care.

However, they don't understand that all kinds of people use the internet to access information. The internet, unlike advertising mediums does not target a set demographic. Magazines, Newspapers, Television, Radio — are all demographically based. Family Circle will always target women between the ages of 25 and 35 that have young children. Country music radio stations target a specific audience as do Cable news programs or shows like Sesame Street.

The Internet gives everyone access, targeting no one in particular. The Internet user chooses where to look, just as they choose what newspaper to buy or what television program to watch. If your business is not there, it won't be found.

There are over 8 billion web pages indexed in the Google search engine. The top three commercial markets on the web are Technology, Real Estate and Travel. Technology businesses know they need a website. If you're in real estate (even an individual agent) YOU NEED A WEBSITE. If your business markets to travelers accommodations, restaurant, specialty shopping, tickets, travel wear, recreational products, travel gear, animal care, children's activities) YOU NEED A WEBSITE. Statistics show that 7 out of 10 people will go to the internet for information before they purchase real estate or set a travel itinerary. If you have a small business, YOU NEED A WEBSITE.

A website usually is rather impersonal — and that's a good thing. When people use the internet they want information not a personal relationship. The information will bring them to you. You create the relationship.

A website gives you a higher number of potential customers to create a relationship with. If internet users don't find you on the web, they'll seek out your competitors who have websites.

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A Website Is Also A Communication Tool

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Only you can determine if your company needs a web site. While making the determination, you want to consider that a web site is multi-functional, and is a communication tool — not an advertisement. If your business is organized, all of your clientele is local, and you have a back-log of customers waiting to be serviced —and you can handle that service effectively — you may not need a website.
If you often wish you could communicate effectively with a broader range of clients / customers, publicly post answers to frequently asked questions, attract new customers, break in to new markets and take the market share from your competitors — then a website is a MUST!

A web site is like your giant public bulletin board where people can get information on how to find you, where you are located, what you have to offer, why your service is unique, and what's new in your company. It also is easily updated and changed frequently, and is a communication forum through which your customers can communicate back to you with questions, concerns and feedback on their needs.

Your current customers may not use the computer much — that is possible.

A worthy concern should be about the potential customers that do use the computer and CAN'T FIND YOU. Statistics prove that 65% of the population in rural areas uses a computer at least once per week, and 85% in metropolitan areas use a computer. These percentages have NEVER decreased. It is likely that they will continue to increase. A website keeps you in sync with this trend.

Another interesting statistic:
The fastest growing sector of the American population getting computer literate is between the ages of 50 and 75. This sector also includes those with the highest percentage of disposable income. A website helps you target that using population.

Another thing to think about - 75 years ago, the American population felt that the telephone was an expensive luxury and not crucial to business growth. That sentiment continued for 30 years. As social communication trends changed, and expenses decreased — businesses changed to insure profitability. Use of the Internet will only increase in the next ten years.

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