Website, website, website, everyone says you need one. But do you really? It all depends. It depends on your market, business objectives, and even your comfort level and if you are willing to step outside of it. If your customers live and work within a few miles of your brick and mortar business or home based business, you might not need one. If you don't have any plans to grow your business, you might not need one. If you're in denial and choose not to see that change is going to occur with or without you, then you might not need one. If your community is small enough that you know everyone by their first name or can pass through the town in 30 seconds and you have enough business, then you might not need a website. If you're comfortable where you are and don't want to change anything, maybe you might not need one. Fact: Change is inevitable. It is the only certainty, besides death, we both know is going to occur. Fact: The Internet, as a communication media, is here to stay -- at least throughout the next few generations. Yes, it will evolve, just like televisions went from black and white to color, and now to flat screen. Just as dial up went to DSL and now wireless. Truth: If you aren't spending any money to advertise your business, it's going to cost you to have a website. How deep depends on your needs, own skills, and the other who's and what. The Internet is like yesterday's yellow pages. The number of households owning a computer isn't tripling every year like it did in previous years, yet the do increase by 80%. More people learn to pay their bills online every year, and postal letters to Aunt Jane fade. Aunt Jane, now 71, took a class at the Senior Center, and hunts and pecks her letters out on a keyboard. Once someone is introduced to how easy it is to use and the amount of information available with a few clicks, there isn't a generation gap or blocks, except a determinate "no" mindset. We'd like to think the Internet as new, however, it's now nine years old -- that is for public access. The first few years, a website was for early adapters, forward thinkers, and those that embrace the latest trends or want to keep up with the Jones'. For the wait and seers, those who wait to see how it pans out thinking it's only a fad like CB radios or mini-skirts, even you are past that opportunity peg on the scale. I'm sure you have heard the horror stories about spam, privacy invasion, or the spread of pornography. Yes, they are all true, even if the media stretch the truth to its fullest. These aren't new and you aren't going to keep them at bay if you don't have a website. All these were here before the Internet and aren't going to disappear anytime soon. Yes, you will need to take precautions. Not any different than knowing that it's not safe to put outgoing mail in your mailbox for the mail person to pick up. Note: Rip-off artists can easily pick up the mail, copy your check, and empty your bank account, all before you get out of the shower. Don't be surprised, this happens every day. It's so old news, that the media doesn't mention it unless the mailboxes blow up. Similar precautions you already take, like being careful with who you buy from, work with, knowing your vendors, or having insurance policies, to protect your business. You will need to still institute the same foresight. There are more pros than cons when it comes to having a website. Below is a quick list of some of those truths. But before I present those, let me mention there are three basics to creating a business presence whether handing out flyers, posting ad, or turning on your neon light, or setting up a website, they are: (1) patience, (2) baby steps, and (3) having a plan even if it only includes the first few steps. Truth: An Internet business presence allows small businesses to compete with the big guys. Truth: A website is the most cost-effective way to advertise your services or products. Truth: Every year there is a huge increase in the number of people fulfilling their needs with information from the Internet. Truth: The Net is open 24/7, 365 days a year to match consumer's schedules. Millions of people turn on their computer every day to find thousands of dollars transferred to their bank account from orders placed while they were asleep, at a meeting, or getting a tan in a salon or the Bahamas. Truth: Your business will no longer be local. I now have customers from 18 countries. I still shake my head in awe as my staff package a shipment bound for New Zealand or there are six countries represented in one of my teleprograms. It is a humbling affect and gets me singing Walt Disney's tune, "It's a Small World After All." Truth: The speed by which commerce travels increases phonemically every year due to the Internet. There are hundreds of truths on why and how your business can expand with a presence on the Internet. The negative side has less than 20. However, a website boils down to your choice. People can explain the pros and cons until they are blue in the face. You can conjure up tons of excuses, fears, or reasons why not to. The bottom line is, "Are they the truth?" The answer is, "Most likely not." Copyright 2004, Catherine Franz. All rights reserved. |
