Do you exist?
No, this isn’t a philosophical question but it IS one that has great impact on your business life. The first rule of marketing is “discoverability.” If people don’t know you’re there, well, you don’t exist, and they can’t do business with you.
In working with new clients, one of the first things we do is examine their website. Prospective customers will generally go looking for you on the Internet and what they find better be a good representation of your business. Surprisingly, only about 50 percent of small businesses have a website and the most common objection is that “I don’t sell anything online,” therefore the small business owner feels they do not need to invest in a website.
According to SCORE, businesses with a website will grow 40-percent faster than businesses without a website.
Your website is your window to the world. It gives prospective customers the opportunity to learn more about you before they decide to do business with you.
Remember, people generally will do business only with those they trust. If you don’t have a website, you’ve already failed the first step, because you’ve created the feeling that you exist in the shadows.
A website is the place you use to showcase your facility, your staff, the products and services you offer. It also will be (and this is important!) where you place your blog. Currently, in my opinion, this is one of the single biggest tools in your marketing arsenal that will position you as an expert in your field. More about that in a future article…
So, you don’t have a website. What can you do?
If you’re mildly creative, you can use a site that allows you to put up your website quite easily. Not an endorsement, but www.wix.com is one. GoDaddy and other similar companies offer “website in a box” solutions. WordPress is a popular platform that provides a CMS (content managed site), allowing you to build pages and add content easily. I’ve found a couple of good, but mildly technical guides for planning your site:
- https://webdesignfromscratch.com/design-process/web-design-process/
- http://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/steps-perfect-website-layout-812625
And here’s another good resource to examine some web-building sites.
Future articles in this series will address how to engage a site developer if you need one, what you should do if you already have a site, and simple ways to boost your search engine rankings.
AUTHOR BIO
Karl Stearns is an award winning accessory industry expert. A recipient of the prestigious SEMA PRO Jim Borre Lifetime Achievement Award, he now provides consulting services for marketing and sales, and product representation through his company KMS Marketing Solutions. He's always pleased to assist anyone in the industry and can be reached via email at karls@kmsmarketingsolutions.com.
Teaser
Do you exist? No, this isn’t a philosophical question but it IS one that has great impact on your business life...