Why Should a Service Company Own a Website?
Websites can serve two purposes. A small business may have a website as their only “physical” presence, or a website may serve as a supplement to their existing brick and mortar store. Obviously if a website is your only presence, then it is paramount for you to have a good website that is properly designed that will showcase your services and ultimately prompt your customers to either call you, e-mail you or purchase directly from your website.
What about service businesses that do not have a physical presence? Of course you have advertised for many years in the yellow pages, and that has brought you great business. Why would you change? First of all, the older generation is becoming more technically savvy. They still rely on the phone book, but they also use great tools such as google maps (http://maps.google.com) and other services online to make decisions about plumbers, lawyers, painters and the like. Many companies do not have a website in these industries, but some do. Those companies that publish their rates, have an e-mail address where they can be contacted or have examples of their projects posted on the Internet are gaining more business than their competitors.
What this means is that a website is becoming more important to customer retention and acquisition. This also applies to both brick and mortar businesses and other at-home businesses that have a good clientele. Although you might have a great customer base, word of mouth and repeat business are becoming less important. With the massive amounts of information in the average person’s head, it is difficult for people to remember who they should call for tires, car repair or a new roof. That is why a website is so important.
A website allows you to set initial expectations with your customers. They will know what you offer, how you offer it and have an expectation of price when they contact you. You essentially use your website to inform your customers. Additionally, with modern trends, most people receive a phone book, but the modern way is that people do not use it at all. They rely on what is published on the Internet to make their decisions.
When people make purchasing decisions based on this type of criteria, if you do not have a website or do not have a quality website, you are losing out on new business and maybe even your existing loyal business.
About the Author:Mr. Haake is the founder of Dot Net Ohio, a local website design and business development firm in Akron OH. Visit Dot Net Ohio for more information.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Why Should a Service Company Own a Website?