Does Every Business Need a Website?

It might seem a strange thing for a web design company to write an article about – we believe that every business should have (at least) one! But are we right? Does every business really need a website? This article looks at a few examples and discusses the pros and cons of investing in a website.

Market location

If you trade nationally or internationally, then we think it’s pretty clear that your business needs a website: it’s simply what’s expected these days and your customers will find it strange if you don’t. Besides which, it’s an advert that’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in every corner of the globe. When you look at it like that, it’s the most cost-effective advert you’ll ever have!

But if your customer base is local, do you need a website? If you get all the customers you can handle from advertising in local newspapers, local radio or billboards, maybe you don’t.

But consider whether that might change in the future. There’s no doubt there’s a move towards an online society. More money is now spent advertising online than on advertising in newspapers. It all means there’s increasingly an assumption that every business will have a website. If you don’t, will you start to look out-of-date?

The size of your business

If you’re a big company, then a website is almost certainly a must – your customers and prospective customers will expect you to have one.

If you’re a small company, you might think that a website is an unnecessary expense. But think again. On the web, no one need know you’re a ‘one-man band’: you can compete on a level playing field with your bigger rivals. A good, professionally designed website makes a great impression on its visitors. You can include as much information as you want. And if something about your business changes, you can update it almost instantly.

In traditional advertising media, on the other hand, your budget directly affects the end result. If your advertising budget is small, your leaflet might not be as big as you’d like it to be or you might have to compromise on the paper quality. Your advert in the paper might have to be tiny. All these things affect how your customers perceive your business and how you measure up against the competition. Plus if something changes unexpectedly, it’s at least a couple of weeks before your marketing material can be updated – and you’ll have to dispose of the thousands of out-of-date leaflets cluttering up the office.

How do new customers find you at the moment?

If most of your new customers come to you via word of mouth, then you might not think you need a website – after all, you’re in the enviable position of knowing that your customers are doing your advertising for you. But a website will give those potential customers more information before they get in touch. If you’ve been recommended, then a website gives you the opportunity to reinforce their good opinion. And you’re also increasing the opportunities for bringing in new customers not via recommendation.

If you’re a local company, you might find that most of your new customers have found you in the Yellow Pages. But don’t forget that as online directories become increasingly popular, so the popularity of paper-based directories will decline. And if potential customers are searching directories for companies like yours online, aren’t they more likely to be impressed by a company whose website they can visit and assess before they get in touch?

A similar principle applies if most of your customers walk in off the street. A website means they can check you out before they come it to talk to you – they’re not wasting their time and they’re not wasting your time, either.

If most of your customers come to you as a result of traditional advertising, remember that the internet is regarded as a crucial advertising media now. In 2006, online advertising revenue was almost three times greater than radio advertising revenue.

How do customers order your products or services?

If most order by phone or fax, then online is simply another method that will help make customers’ lives easier. It’s also a method that could help to reduce your overheads (think of all the online-only insurance or holiday companies: their low overheads mean they can pass savings onto their customers).

If people get in touch by email and you don’t have a website, then your customers are trying to tell you something!

If people come to you to make a purchase, then a website would let them make sure they won’t be making a wasted visit.

Finally, does your competition have a website?

If your business rivals do have websites, ask yourself if you’re missing out on opportunities for new business. They clearly think it was worthwhile making that investment, so you need to decide whether you’re going to get left behind if you don’t make that investment too.

If, by and large, your competition don’t have websites then there are two ways of looking at it. The first is more cautious, the second less so. You could decide to wait until they start investing, then follow suit. Alternatively, you could decide to blaze a trail. The decision you make will depend on how you see your company: as a leader or a follower.

What’s the right answer?

It’s up to you. There’s no doubting that the internet is becoming increasingly important as an advertising medium and as a medium in which to do business. If your business doesn’t already have an online presence, the time may not be right now to make the investment. But it seems clear that the investment will have to be made at some point in the future.