I don’t want a website!
By: De Thomas

This is one of the many  sentiments expressed by many small business owners that we have encountered over the years.  They are all correct. Your business may not want a website – it needs a website! The first hurdle we encounter as web-designers is business owners who have varying opinions on what a website can do for their businesses.

Below we have we have  examined 8 of the most common objections he have  received from some of  our small business customers and our responses to them.

1. “I serve  only local customers so I don’t need a website”
If one of your local customers in the middle of the night wanted to know what are your holiday hours are during the Christmas season, how would they find out?   Instead of calling your establishing and hoping that you have recorded that information on your outgoing greeting they would simply visit your competitor’s website because they cannot find yours.  If your clients are getting information from your competitors’ websites there is a very strong likelihood that they will purchase from your competitors as well.  In other words – a strong case can be made that you will lose business if potential clients cannot access your information when they want it – most times outside of your business hours.

2. “I don’t sell products, I offer a service so I don’t need a website”
Many business owners are under the mistaken assumption that they have to sell physical products to require a website. Your website is literally your billboard on the information highway – that billboard will accept goods, services – anything that you have to promote.  Your website is not only for selling; it first and foremost a source of information about you and your business.  Many people when visiting a website is not necessarily in an automatic buying frame of mind – they are most times just researching what you have to offer and thus get an overall sense of what you are about.  Your credibility is very important to customers, they have become accustomed to finding information about anyone they consider doing business with via that business’ website.  Not having a website for your business  may not appear to hurt you immediately, but I guarantee you that over a very short  time your business will lose customers simply because they cannot find you online.  If the visitors to your site get the information they are seeking, they will be more inclined to make contact with you, which can be done right from your site or they may make a visit to your store if you are local to them.

 3. “I am small – so I don’t need a website”
Size does not matter – in fact many visitors will perceive you as bigger than you actually are simply by viewing your professionally designed website.  There is overwhelming   evidence that  the internet has helped many very small businesses grow to become medium and even large companies.  If your size is very small it becomes critical for you to get your website as this is the number one equalizer when it comes to promoting your business against giant size competitors.

 4. “I don’t know how to maintain any website”
You don’t have to – that is our job.  We not only design and build you a professional website for the most competitive price on the internet – we will update and maintain it as well.  The only thing we ask of you is tell us about your business, what you want to promote, how you want your business to be projected to the world.  If you need help in writing the content – we can arrange for a Communication Major from a local university to write the content for you for a minimal fee.

 4. “My cousin says she will build me one”
Having your cousin build your site might be a good idea – it depends.  Will your cousin be available to make changes and updates monthly?  Will your cousin provide ongoing content such as articles, videos for your site?  Will your cousin provide affordable hosting and optimize your site for search engines to find it?  These questions will all have to be answered in the affirmative in order to assess if you are making a good business decision.

6. “I advertise on Craiglist and Kijiji so I don’t need a website”
That is a very good place to promote your business on a daily basis – we highly recommend both. The main drawback is the dynamic nature of this medium. You have to post information daily otherwise you lose the top ranking spot within seconds of posting unless you pay for the top ads spots.  Incidentally, the cost of these top ads, is considerably more than what you would pay for a decent website over a short time.   If you do not have a website for visitors to visit you have lost that potential lead within a few minutes of posting.  Everyone who sees your post on classified ad sites will likely look for a link to your site. We use those media ourselves to lead visitors to our website. 

 7. “What is the big deal about a website anyway?”
The big deal is your website can almost clone you and promote your business while you sleep:

• IT  Promotes your business 24 hours a  day 7 days per week
• accepts appointment for you 24/7
• Provides information to potential customers 24/7
• Saves you a lot of “information only” phone call
• Saves you thousands of dollars over print, radio, direct mail advertising
• Send you emails and alerts you of potential customers who visited your site
• Keeps track of potentials that visit your site
• Gives out directions, phone & fax numbers, hours of operation for your business
• Posts press releases, videos, awards about your business
• Displays your catalogue of your items and services for sale
• Most importantly your website can sell your products and collects your money for you while you sleep!

 8.   “I can’t afford one”
Websites have become very affordable nowadays.  10 years ago a simple website would have set back the average small business at least 3,000 dollars, today that small, actually better website will set you back an average  $399.  The price of your website will be the most affordable form of advertising for your business – ever!  There is absolutely no other form of promotion out there that can reach the size audience that your website can.   Every business needs and deserves a website.

 There will be some small business owners who will likely never get a website. That’s fine.  However, if you are not comfortable with what they are earning using the methods of marketing that they now have in place, you may need to look into another marketing option.  Consider the internet – it is an amazing marketplace in which to promote your business to millions of potential customers 24 hours a day 7 days a week .  Good luck