My father is an incredible woodworker. He carves basketballs, baseballs, sports jerseys, sneakers, and baseball caps out of solid blocks of wood and the laymen cannot distinguish between the art and the real thing. There are many talented woodworking students who may never master such talent. Like my fathers talent, it is an art more than a science to create a great website and not everyone can master this art.
A poor website reflects poorly on a business. It is as detrimental to a business as a business having no website at all. Picture two eateries side by side; one eatery is new, clean and upscale while the other is old, dirty and broken down. At which eatery would you have lunch? Do you think this thought process is different in the virtual world? It’s not. A great website can be the difference between exponential growth and lost potential. It is an investment to leverage the largest customer portal in the world – the Internet, to create new business, retain existing customers and provide exceptional 24×7 service including self-service – the “I want it now” expectation.
With such a large pool of potential, why is a website still not perceived as an asset by many small businesses? It is looked upon as an expense out of bare necessity. Due to this stereotype, many small businesses are using cheap “do-it-yourself” website start up kits or a friend who “took a couple classes” or set up a Facebook account. What amazes me is the amount of respectable effort and money that a small business owner puts into the brick and mortar aspect of the business and circumvents that same passion entirely in the virtual arena. It is not just about having a web presence; it is about leveraging that web presence. That is the key point still being missed by many small businesses and so then, other avenues of revenue are also being missed.
A great website is not just about looks either. The word “great” here encapsulates all aspects of web design, development, and marketing that together make it a success. To truly succeed you need a team to back you and work with you. A great website does take time, as most good things do. The reality is a great website is an iterative process; each phase building on the latter. Whether through feedback, changing trends or expectations, a great website is an ongoing effort. Treat your website as a part of doing business, not as an expense of your business and the ROI will speak for itself. Remember that your website is your business interface to the world! Make it a good one.
Perhaps if my father could carve websites, this article would not be relevant;)
P.S. – my fathers skills can be seen here: DADS WOODWORKING SKILLS
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment