Why at all a "WEBSITE" for your Business?

Do I really need a website for my business???

"I just started my business & we are only 2 people managing it initially. Do I really have to invest into a ‘website designing’ for my business?"

These are in fact the most prominent questions that are enquired about by the clients I meet & interact. There is always a sense of ‘cynicism’ among the entrepreneurs in having their business online. The most common explanation is: “I just started my business, let me focus on the physical marketing, word of mouth promotion, advertisement, etc, etc. I would want to hold on to the idea of going online as soon as I have a few clients/ customers in my list.”

Phew! This is a very alarming reason & this thought is so common with the entrepreneurs/ start ups/ business owners that I am compelled to write this piece of information on having an effective website for your business. I am hopeful that I would explain & clear out the stereotype misunderstanding about ‘Website design’ & in a way encourage business owners to position their business online & widen their reach.

I strongly advocate that an effectively designed ‘Website’ is most important medium of communicating about yourself, your idea, your business, services/ products lists, business processes, Value proposition, etc. and it is certainly irrespective of the business commencement period, nature of business, volume of sales, business reach. The very fact that you decided to start a venture of our own & are confident about it; so why not increase its reach & make it a 24*7 online access.

It goes without saying that a website would do marketing for your business round the clock; so you have to be very careful in creating it. While you focus on your business process, marketing strategies, etc. let the experts manage the website design, its appearance, content, user experience & so on! A well designed website should speak about your business in a way that you would actually want to present & promote it. I call it as a ‘preliminary sales pitch’! & would help your business in:

Online Visibility: Increasing online visibility is one of the most important factors in having your business recognized. Even though people are informed about your business & the company, they may certainly want to carry out research online first, before meeting you or making any transactions.

Accessibility: A website is online and accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Because of this, the online visitors, customers or even potential customers can visit your site for the required information about your business, its product/ services as per there convenience. Having a professionally designed website will act as an invaluable and readily available resource for information & transactions which would otherwise only be limited during your company's business hours.

Sales: Your website can sell your offered products/ services at any point in time. Interested customers are not restricted only to business hours. Instead, they can go online and purchase whatever/ whenever they would prefer. An e-commerce website with an online shopping can provide a significant boost in your sales.

One of the great things about the internet is that, it has leveraged on the business scope & the competition. With an online business page you have a wonderful opportunity to make an instantaneous impression which is everlasting! With a well-designed website, your little business operation can project the image and professionalism of a much larger organization. Irrespective of the volume of business, number of people employed; if you don't have a website, you're losing business to your competitors that do.

Now, here's the exception to what I emphasized above: It's actually better to have no website at all than to have one that makes your business look unprofessional! Your website speaks volumes about your business, presents the appropriate business image management, etc.

Your website is an important element of your business success, make sure you treat it as such.