Website Benefits
More and more people and businesses use the Internet to find information,
it is convenient and saves time.
Having a website
is becoming so mainstream that customers and the general public almost expect a company to have a website. If people want
information on a product or service, they are now saying, "I think they have a website, I'll check that out first."
Below are just some of the benefits you can expect
from a website: - Increases awareness of
products/services -- A website provides the opportunity to publish the who, what, where, when and why of your business
in a powerful and effective manner.
- How many potential
customers might be swayed if they could learn a little more about you, your company, your products, etc., without having to
phone or taking the time to meet with you in person? A website makes it easy for customers to learn
more about your business at their own pace.
- Expands
market place --- website can expand your reach to a market that may have been difficult or expensive to reach through
traditional advertising. Increasingly, people search the Web rather than the Yellow Pages when looking for a service or product.
You'd be amazed how much shopping occurs on the World Wide Web overnight! With an e-commerce site you can even make sales
when your offices are closed. Currently over 75% of the people in the US access the Internet, up from over 40% at the end
of 1999.
- Increases hours of operation ---
Not only will your website be there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with the possibility of reaching millions of people every
day, but now your customers are able to contact you outside of your normal business hours. Your website is still working for
you while you are at leisure or asleep, and is not dependent on your having a PC or leaving your PC switched on.
- Marketing tool - replace or complement existing sales and marketing
channels It's a very low-cost method of promoting your business. By advertising your website, in addition to your product
or services, you give potential customers the opportunity to learn far more about your product or services than you could
ever place in an ad.
- Reduce publishing costs
--- One of the largest expenses a business can incur is designing, printing, and delivering marketing materials. Websites
are quicker, easier and more cost-effective to update than print based media. You can keep your website more current, more
affordably than any other media can.
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A website can help reduce long distance phone bills, postage costs,
printing costs and labour costs (and frees them up to perform other tasks) by having that information on your website.
Your website can also take orders while you sleep as people can place orders on a website at any time, day or night.
You would be surprised how many extra sales you could have by developing an on-line brochure or virtual store.
A
website lets you publish support information with up to the minute accuracy. Some companies only offer support through their
website. If the website doesn't offer the answer an online feedback form is provided. This is perhaps the most underrated
usage for business websites. - Improve Efficiency.
Email can improve efficiency of your operation - for your customers and your employees. Customers who use email don't
have to deal with many problems of everyday business: pushy salesmen, remembering to call during business hours, having to
battle crowds to get to your stores, spending time waiting on voice mail or getting the wrong information. It's convenient,
easy, and safe for the customer. Email is also convenient for you. You can respond to all your customer inquiries at the same
time, and do it when you have a free moment - not in the middle of rush hour when someone calls up to ask for product information
or directions to your location.
- Provide information.
Even without an online store, people can look to your site for driving directions or a map to find your store. Tourists can
look up your small shop and stop there on their next trip to your area.
- Many people use the Internet to find information. You can use your website to educate and inform
the populace. This can be done in various ways: publish an online newsletter, have an advise column, offer message boards,
or simply have a place where people can submit their names and email addresses to join your mailing list for more information.
This is another way to gain public awareness of your business or organization. It also allows you to grow your customer base
for direct marketing.
- Create a competitive edge.
If your customers can't find you online, they will find your competitors. With more and more companies making a web presence,
the companies that lose business to their competitors will most likely be those who fail to represent themselves on the Internet.
If a potential customer can leisurely browse your company information online but cannot find your competitors' information,
your company now has an additional edge.
- Open new
channels of communication with staff, partners and suppliers Intranet websites (websites that are generally closed
to the Internet users and are accessible to organization members only) are an easy way to provide your employees with a way
to reach the information they need to perform their duties in one centralized location. You can post benefits information,
changes in staff, kudos for hard work, a place for their schedules, and much more. You can put as much or as little information
as you want on your site and make them supply a password to access the information that needs to be kept private.
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