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What_is_the_purpose_of_a_website
| What is the purpose of a website?
After looking over hundreds of websites over the past year, the
one thing I discovered is people are still unsure of what the
Internet can do for them. People are generally under the
impression that a website is used to take their business to the
next level – expand from a local market to a global market. Most
people still don’t realize the benefits of a website to a local
market – and to a new, small and growing business.
Unless you sell a popular product online, you will not make huge
waves with your website. Instead, think of your website as you
do your phone number. You can’t start a business without your
basics, and your website should be considered a basic part of
doing business. Start by building your site using a basic
format. Include your products, information about your business
and general overviews and articles that pertain to your
industry. Keep it simple, clean and well thought out and put
together. Then expand as your business expands.
Put your web address on every piece of literature that leaves
your business: business cards, brochures and mailers, shopping
bags, your voicemail, stickers, invoices and packaging. Anything
that can have your information should provide your web address.
Then let time work and provide you with customers you could
never dream of accessing through traditional marketing.
Let’s consider a gift basket business for a minute. Imagine
receiving a phone call for a specialized baby gift basket from a
local corporate client. They have a great customer in another
state having a baby, and want to show their care and
appreciation by sending a basket. You attach a business card to
the basket, and add their mailing address to your database.
Several months later, this client is back at work, and is
putting together a tradeshow for their company. They remember
your company because they were so impressed by your basket, and
have been receiving postcards with your product information
regularly. They go to your website, see your corporate themed
baskets, and select a style suitable for their tradeshow. They
place an order for 100 customized baskets. An order you never
would have had if you hadn’t had a website.
That is the power of a website. It can drive new clients to your
site through referrals and through customer contact. Providing
it is well thought out and put together, and has the ability to
create the sale, it will help your business tremendously. Don’t
worry that you only have a few pages to start. A few carefully
crafted pages are much better than a lot of useless information
that leaves the viewer lost as to what you do. Start small, and
grow as your company does.
Make it a goal to add spend a couple of hours every month adding
new information to your site. Add tools and features that make
it fun for your visitors. And remember to always ask for the
sale. You should ultimately lead people to take action by either
contacting you or making a purchase directly online. Adding
content is time consuming, but has a very successful outcome.
The more time you spend on the Internet, the more you will
learn, and the more successful you will be.
About the author:
Lori Osterberg has created three successful businesses in the
past 10 years, and along the way discovered secrets of taking a
local small business and turning it into a worldwide success.
She now shares this passion with people all over the world, and
writes and mentors on using technology to grow your business –
and stay small at the same time! Receive her FREE ezine at
http://www.VisionOfSuccess.com.
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