It still amazes me how many businesses out there, whether established or start-ups that do NOT have a website or internet presence in the “digital age”.

I mean, the year is 2012, I know for a fact that when I need a service or product, the first thing I do is use my smartphone, iPad, or desktop computer (depending on where I am at the time) and do a Google search. of what I’m looking for, don’t most people do these days?

It often baffles me when I talk to business owners who are having a hard time setting up their business, and I ask them “what is your website address?”, they reply “oh no, we don’t have a website “. I think about me…
1. Don’t they realize what a great opportunity they are missing?

2. Don’t you realize how profitable it is to have a website compared to traditional forms of advertising?

Ok, so my next follow-up question is usually “why don’t you have a website?” Usually clenching my fingers and with a tense look on my face (yes, it really bothers me a lot)

Typical responses are usually “we don’t need a website” or “it’s too expensive” or “we’re not big enough yet” or my personal favorite “we do well with traditional advertising and word of mouth” plus many other weird responses that I had.

Usually at this stage of the conversation, I hand over my business card and say “let’s schedule a meeting so we can show you what you’re missing.” At the meeting, I will then go over the features and benefits of having a website. however, for the sake of this article, I will now go over the short and sweet answers to most of the objections I’ve heard…
1. “we don’t need a website”

My Answer: Yes, you do! In a nutshell, a good website allows people to get reliable information about your product or service that is available 24/7.

Studies show that more and more people are searching online for products and services,

And if your business doesn’t have an online presence, and your competition does, who do you think is going to get the sale or the contract? Your competitor!

My point is that this trend is only going to continue to grow as we move into the future where most people will search for your business digitally.

2. “it’s too expensive”

My Answer: No, it is not!

I’ll be the first to admit that there are some companies and some freelance web developers out there that charge phenomenal prices for something that could have been built in a few hours. I have a friend who runs a mobile hairdressing service and she contacted me one day to ask if I could help her update her website, I said “sure but you don’t have anyone for that”, she said yes but she wants $4,000 to adding a few photos and changing a few minor things here and there, I almost fell out of meat! And cursed a blue streak! My Response: (the clean version), “WOW, out of curiosity, if he wants to charge you that much for an upgrade, how much did the original design cost?”

She advised the price, I won’t tell you the exact figure, but the original design was $10,000. I was absolutely impressed!

I admit it was a decent website design, but no more than a day’s work for a good designer, and by no means worth that ridiculous amount of money. It made me wonder how many more business owners are being duped in this way.

I bet you are now a bit worried about prices after reading this section.

Don’t worry, I’m going to get to my point, for a small business that wants an online presence; You should NEVER have to pay anything close to that cost for a typical business website. If someone quotes you anywhere near this price for a “standard” business website, run away! There are alternatives.

3. “we are not big enough yet”

My Answer: The key word here is “yet”, my question to you is, how do you think the so-called “big guys” got their start in your relevant industry?

They didn’t start out as a “big kid”, no of course not, however what they did make smart decisions about their advertising and brand recognition when they were starting out, and this has catapulted them to where they are in the market today.

And I’m sure most of these people would have had the words “online presence” (depending on the age of the business) somewhere in their main bullet points of their original business plan or priority list.

4. “We do well with traditional advertising and word of mouth”

My answer – That’s great! Congratulations, (and no, I’m not being sarcastic)

This says two things, your current “traditional advertising” is working and your customer service must be pretty good as people tell their friends/colleagues about your service or product.

So is this the beginning and end of everything? Should you follow this method and continue on this path forever?

Well, hey, if it’s working, why don’t you say so?… fair call,

But this is what I would start to ask myself, what else can I offer my valued customers?

How else can I increase efficiency in my business?

How can I reduce costs in my business…?

I know…
How about a place where people can find out about my latest deals?

What about a place where people can find the answer to a question they have about my product/service that they repeatedly ask me 15 times a day through incoming phone calls?

How about a place where absolutely everything people want to know about my business is available at the click of a mouse or the touch of an Ipad? You can see where I’m going with this.

Wouldn’t that be great?

Well, it is not a fairy tale, it is certainly a reality; It’s just a well designed and EASY to use WEBSITE!

To top it off, this article is really just scratching the surface of why people don’t have a business website in 2012, I think it’s a lack of understanding and not knowing where to start for most small business owners. , which is understandable, however, if you are a small or medium business owner and have read this article, or know someone who has, please feel free to contact me using the details below, and I’ll be happy to help. to help you get your business online.

I hope this information has helped you in some way or another.

Thank you for reading.

Grant O’Hara.