A Web site: To Have or Have Not

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A Web Site: To Have or Have Not
By: Tim Minnick
http://www.intertecweb.com

Maybe you own an established business, or maybe you
own a "new" business, or are thinking of buying a
business, or starting a business for yourself. If you are
any of these people, this question may or may
not have crossed your mind, "Do I need a web site for
my business?".

This article seeks to help you make that decision, notice
I didn't say, this article seeks to answer that question
for you. If you own a business or are thinking of buying
or starting a business, you're an intelligent individual,
perfectly capable of making that decision for yourself.
I'll just present you with some information, objections
and opinion and let you draw your own conclusion.

First, let's look at a couple of the most common reasons
business owners think they may not need a web site,
these are real objections from business owners with
whom I have spoken concerning a web
site for their business. For your business' sake…
I certainly hope not, but maybe you think the same thing:

1.We don't have a computer and don't have
Internet access at my business, so we
don't need a web site.
Please don't take offense, but a web site
isn't for you to sit in your office and look
at, thinking, "my, isn't that pretty". A web
site is for your customers or potential
customers to learn about you, your
business and what products and/or
services you provide. It's an opportunity
for you to inform your customers, bring in
new customers and most importantly an
opportunity for you to increase your
business' bottom line. After all, isn't your
business bottom line what makes you
money?

2.We've been in business for 30 years and have
never advertised. We've always depended
on "word of mouth".
My hat is off to you, if you can say this…
and I only hope your good fortune
continues. But let's face facts. We live in
a rapidly changing world. Due to an ever
growing increase in population, a
population that moves from one end of
the country to the other, at any given
time, for a multitude of reasons. While
word of mouth has always been, and I'm
sure will always be the best form of
advertising, how about the families that
just moved into your neighborhood and
haven't made any friends yet, but they
have Internet access. They don't have
the resource that people that have lived
there for 30 years do. Isn't that a missed
opportunity?

You've read the objections and opinion. Here's the
information:

According to the US Department of Commerce, Internet
traffic doubles every 100 days. In the year 2000, there
were approximately 102 million Internet users in the US
alone. Today, 70% of America is on the Internet. In
1994 the entire Internet economy was $5 Billion, in 1998
that same figure was $301 Billion, and Forrester
Research predicted that that figure would be $3.1 Trillion
by 2003. Well 2003 is almost over, and the latest
statistics available at the time of writing show this to be a
reasonable expectation. 65% of people in America that
are on the Internet make their buying decisions online…
there are more people that access the Internet when
they're looking to buy products and services than there
are that pick up the yellow pages.

Now, I ask you, does your business need a web site?

There are many qualified web designers that are quite
capable of developing a cost effective, aesthetically
appealing and functional web site for your business.
You can find them on the web or in the phone book.
Good luck with your business!