My website is now up and running for a few days. The front page portfolio/business card is alive and kicking and will hopefully help get me some freelance work here in town. I have started posting content to this blog, all of which no one has surely read as I begin to type this post. The biggest reason I likely have no readers is I have told all of one person in the area about my website, my Realtor turned mortgage specialist. I have not had an opportunity to really talk to anyone yet and I also wanted to get some content up on the site before the first visitors roll in. It is part of the hard work involved in starting a blog, people won’t come until you have good content posted on a consistent basis. I will continue to work on both.
As I have been writing these first few posts and keeping an eye out for local websites I have noticed several things. First is the lack of companies to have even a simple website with basic information like contact numbers, address, directions, hours of operation and some pictures of their product or at least some type of marketing item. Then the websites I have seen advertised or found through searching are typically average or below average in design, layout and usability. Even the sites that appear to be updated frequently and would be of important use to customers have outdated and unprofessional branding. I believe the services I am offering would quickly address both groups.
To me a website is so much more than just another expense for a business. A website is a tool to attract and retain customers. Whether you are a restaurant or a distributor of widgets people more and more prefer to find information over the internet. For the seasonal businesses in the lake area a website would seem to be critical in informing visitors of your business prior to their arrival in the area. People are using websites, blogs, Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, iPhone Apps and other internet tools to find information at all times of the day without having to call your offices.
For many businesses in the Camdenton, Osage Beach and lake area an advanced solution wouldn’t make sense. I am not trying to say they would, but intentionally focusing some of your advertising efforts towards the internet should be a requirement. To provide an always-on business presence will put you ahead of your competitor who hasn’t yet moved to the internet. Scott Clark addresses the need for a company website plainly:
First of all, let’s get this out of the way… you need a website. Period.
And not just any ol’ website, but a great website with clear, crisp professional, easy to navigate design with superb user ability and functionality. Furthermore, you need a website that is just as easy for you to use administratively, as it is for your site visitors to use.
It doesn’t matter if you are a national corporate brand, a smaller brick and mortar with ‘plenty of business’, a brick and mortar with only local business, or an ice cream shop that only sells to people between 5’10 and 5’11 wearing baseball hats before 3 pm only… you still need a website! Your business can be broad or niche, it can be large or small, and despite what you may believe… you need a website!
Don’t let the potential costs of a website turn you away. There are many levels of service and different options thatcan be customized to meet your specific needs. If you invest some money into an e-commerce site, a product gallery or an online newsletter you are likely to make your money back in new sales due to the work of a experienced designer and developer.
If you want to venture into creating your first business website, updating your current site to be more professional and useful to your customers, build an e-commerce storefront, set up your office with the latest tools for productivity, or have a custom designed application and database to run your business, please consider hiring me. Contact me for a free quote on your next project. — tonkapark@gmail.com
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