|
How Effective is Your Electronic Business Card?
by Donna McGuire
http://www.upperwestweb.com
According to Upper West Web, www.upperwestweb.com, a NY
based web development firm, having a website can almost be
viewed as having an electronic business card. Most
successful businesses cannot be without one. Often it is a
first impression or introduction to your business.
What does your website say about you and your business??
Is your business website
Appealing?
Informative or transactional?
Designed for the right target audience?
Worthy of repeated hits?
Currently updated, or in need of maintenance?
Quick and easy to load? Or cumbersome and flashy?
Improving your business processes?
On all the major search engines?
Playing a factor in your bottom line?
You should be able to answer yes to all of the above
questions. Nowadays, most people have Internet access, and
are using the web more as a research tool to obtain
information from everything about travel to local
restaurants.
Having an effective website is probably the most cost-
effective and easiest way to advertise your business. After
all, once it is built, the maintenance should be relatively
easy and inexpensive.
The difference between using a website as opposed to other
methods of advertising is the difference between having an
active or passive audience. People hitting your website are
an active audience, and are curious as to what you have to
offer. Print ads, telemarketers, or mass mailings are
geared towards a passive audience. An active audience is
seeking information, which your site can provide and really
win them over. The beauty of the web is that you can also
advertise your website by using the other passive methods
of advertising.
On the flip side, how often have you visited a website that
took too long to load, had a lot of flash and fluff and no
substance, was out of date, or looked like the boy next
door created it after his homework? Your business and your
image are too important to place in jeopardy. If a person
is trying to learn more about what you have to offer, and
sees a website that is less than desirable, chances are you
lost that business and they will not return. The web can be
the easiest way to pick up new business and you should use
it to your advantage.
Some establishments practiced business they same way for
many years and are having difficulty becoming web savvy.
They are also realizing that the economy has impacted their
business. The best advice is to look at your competition,
most successful companies and businesses, and your
neighbor. It is not a coincidence that more and more people
are doing business on the web. Maybe it is time to reach
out to a web developer and educate yourself on how the web
can work for you.
This article courtesy of ...
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.
|