As an entrepreneur and small business owner, you have to consider many things. At times, it feels like the smaller the enterprise, the bigger the struggles. From day-to-day tasks to sales, you have several tasks that are higher priorities than promotional focus or marketing strategies. Yet, a small business should not avoid marketing their business whenever possible. The hours you use to market your business will reap dividends.
You can market your business through old-school methods or with the Internet or a combination. These should not be mutually exclusive and every business, regardless of size, should have both. But, for small businesses, finding the time or energy to devote to running an Internet marketing campaign can seem too tall an order. The value, however, should not be underemphasized.
You have options available to you for Internet marketing. From direct email campaigns to SEO and more, these can be as diversified as the business itself. Yet, one area that is often overlooked and yet so important for small businesses is its web presence. Specifically, this article will focus on how a small business can benefit from being on the Internet.
High Return on Investment
When marketing on the Internet, many small businesses have to consider the cost—or rather the perceived cost. It can seem like a tall order and a lot of investment dollars to develop an Internet marketing campaign. But, cost should not be a deterrent, especially when starting.
To develop a webpage or website, for example, is one of the highest ROI for small businesses. According to the Small Business Administration, web pages can be purchased for little-to-no cost to administer. Yet, businesses often think that they need to spend an exorbitant amount to garner a web presence. The truth is, though, that a little can go a long way and even a simple site can reap dividends in revenue.
Displacing Traditional Marketing
An online presence does more than just create a profit. It also save on other items as well. Traditional marketing materials cost money in printing or production costs. With many of the tools online, there is no outright purchase of tangible materials.
Email campaigns, as the SBA notes, can save a business thousands, when compared with traditional flyers. There is virtually no cost to sending out an email campaign, unless you are using specialized software which is not required. Therefore, your marketing budget can go even farther when compared to a traditional marketing campaign.
This is not to say that Internet marketing alone will be enough for your business. On the contrary, an Internet presence for small businesses can work very well with a traditional marketing campaign. However, placing all of the emphasis on print media instead of developing an Internet presence can greatly hurt your possibility for success. An Internet presence, however, cannot be ignored.
Outreach
Millions upon millions of people from around the world are connected to the Internet every day. That means that there are potential clients, arguably, at every corner. All you have to do is capture their attention and draw them to your business. If you are not online in any way, though, you will never have the opportunity to capitalize on this traffic.
That is why you need to make an Internet presence. It allows you to outreach directly to your clientele. If you are running a small business, website traffic is crucial to quickly spreading the word about your business. It allows you to share your message and to ensure that you are getting the traffic that may have not before been reached. Consider your webpage as your storefront that is waiting for you to turn on the lights. Once you do, you are more likely to see people walk in than if it had been forever left dark.
Trust and Credibility
For an Internet presence, you have the opportunity as a business to build a level of trust with your consumer. You will quickly become an authority all things that you post. This authority will help to create a reputational value that builds you up in the eyes of your traffic and will have them looking at you for more information. As trust cannot be quantified into its immense value, consider your webpage as an essential opportunity to develop one of the strongest motivators of return success in both your trust level and credibility.
Convenience
Another reason why you want to develop a website is because of the convenience it provides your consumers and potential customers. Searching the Internet and finding your page is a great way for your clients to find the information that they need to schedule an appointment with you. As The Network Exchange Blog explains so well, your website is essentially your digital business card, providing the information that your clients need to obtain in a quick and easily accessed manner. Making this process convenient for them when they need is a great promoter of return visits.
Beating the Competitors
Your competitors are online, potentially, and they are capturing the audience that you could be grabbing if you had a website. If you do not have a webpage for your business, you are giving your fellow industry rivals the opportunity to essentially take the clientele they want without even putting up a proverbial fight. Therefore, as The Network Exchange Blog expounds upon, you must create a website instead of allowing someone else to pick up the traffic that could have been yours.
With so many resources from the SBA, as aforementioned, no business should be without a page. There is no reason to not develop at least a simple presence. Be sure to not let your competition have free reign in the industry. Make your market on the Internet and capture as many clients as you can through this type of business promotion. You may be surprised how many you can attract in this way.
Global Presence
You can stop thinking locally when you are on the Internet and begin to process the fact that you are now a global presence. It may sound a bit confusing, especially from a small business perspective, but once you are on the Internet, anyone from anywhere in the world can find your products or services. You are opening the door to a future that may be bigger than you had imagined, all through an affordable website marketing schematic.
According to SmallBusiness.Chron.com, small-to-mid-sized companies often ignore this aspect of a website. Sure, a local dental practice is not necessarily looking to grasp the consumer halfway around the world. But, name recognition and reputational value from parts before untapped can have an indirect impact in increasing your current clientele.
Further, if a small business has any want or desire to “go global,” they cannot ignore this necessity. A business with a website or Internet presence can start capturing a broader audience before they ever become that larger enterprise that they desire. For that reason, be sure to expand your horizons early and make a webpage if you are looking to expand in the future. What you do today can reap dividends tomorrow.
Communication
Your customers want to feel that they are being heard, that they can reach you, and that you are an accessible and friendly company. They also do not necessarily want to walk into your store to feel this way. If you have a web page, however, you can communicate with your consumers and clientele—and potential clientele—without them ever having to walk through your front door.
This is important. As SmallBusinessChron.com explains, building your communication with your consumer online can improve how they feel about you and your business as well as can help build your reputational value. Because reputation is nine-tenths of customer growth, then, any help in communication is a help to your business potential. Use it!
What You Need to Know
The above list is not a complete or exhaustive list of the ways in which a web presence can help your small business. Such a list as that would be near impossible because of the sheer immeasurable positive value that a page can bring you. Therefore, what you as a small business administrator need to understand is this: your business cannot afford not to be using a web page for business promotions. It is a low-cost tool of building your reputation, your online presence, and your customer recruitment rate. It is also a great way to spread your business message quickly as well as to grow your services and business size too. Therefore, use governmental resources that you have available, talk to fellow business people, and create a web presence today. Your business and profit margins will thank you for it.
About the Author
Jessica is a content crafter at Crawford and O’Brien, a dental SEO company that provides search marketing practices at a world class level. She has been in the internet marketing industry for several years and can be found online tweeting about her writing or at home, hiking sunny Arizona trails.