As a web designer, I’m constantly talking to business owners about websites and the benefits that a fine tuned website can bring them. Yet no matter how much I stress the benefits of great web design, I still run into large number of entrepreneurs with the same question. “Does my business really need a website because (fill in your excuse).” Now I don’t care what excuse you filled into the previous question, the answer is yes, you do need a website. For me it’s a no brainer, but there are still people out there wondering whether or not their business really needs a website.

Here’s our list of the top reasons why every business need a website now more than ever:

Reason #1: It’s the cheapest way to advertise

A very basic web presence can be created for around $1500, and a standard website for $3,000-$5,000, and complex database driven websites for $10,000+. Let’s compare these costs to a standard brochure. Completely custom and properly branded brochures can range from $2000 on the low end to $10 – $20,000 for multi-page brochures. Some of the factors that affect costs include: 1) Number of pages, 2) research, 3) writing, 4) photography (stock & custom), 5) custom artwork, and 6) logo design work. Bear in mind, these are only the costs for a professional design firm to design your brochure. So as you can see, the initial costs of brochure marketing are comparable to getting a website designed, but now we have to market our brochure.

Once a website is designed, it can be advertised on the web through Sparxx Web Hosting for as little as $3.99 per month, and whether 1 person or 10,000 people visit your website in a month, it’s still only $3.99. You don’t need to know these people, and they don’t have to be anywhere near you geographically. You immediately have an advertisement that can be accessed by anyone in the world, a one flat rate. Most brochure printers will require a minimum of at least 100 pieces, but to get the most cost effective pricing, you’ll need to get 1,000+ pieces printed. The printing alone on 1,000 brochures will run you another $100-$300, and once you’ve distributed you’re brochure to 1,000 people, you have to pay another $100-$300 to distribute it to another 1,000 people. This doesn’t factor in your distribution costs. Even if you have no distribution costs, brochures offer you only a limited amount of distribution and once you’ve reached that limit, you have to spend more money, while your website remains advertised for just $3.99 per month.

Reason #2: Remain open 24/7

We’ve all been there before. There’s some task they you need completed, some product you want to buy, or some sort of information that you need,  yet the company offering these products or services doesn’t have hours that fit into your daily schedule. The fact is, every business would remain open 24/7 if they knew that they could do so cost effectively, but the cost of hiring a 3rd shift employee just doesn’t make economic sense for most businesses.  Your website can fill this gap. Our office hours are from 8am t0 5pm, but we’re open 24/7 on the web. Our website offers many of our products and services to our current and prospective clients all day, everday. I can’t tell you how many product/service information requests, invoice payments, requests website analysis and product purchases that we recieve on our website in the evenings, early mornings, weekends, and on holidays. This is business we miss without  a web presence.

-CASE STUDY-

A mortgage company came to us with a problem. We had recently provided graphic design and printing services to  them for a direct mail campaign that they were using  to generate leads. Through a telephone call tracking system, they could tell that they were recieving telephone responses to their direct mail campaign in the eveneings and  on weekends when there was no one in the office to take those calls. Far too often, these missed calls, amounted to missed business opportunities. The solution was a website that served as the response center for thier direct mail campaign. Now, when a potential client recieves a direct mail piece from them, it directs them to thier website for more information. Once they’ve arrived at the website, they are taken through a sales funnel that ends with them filling out a contact form. Now, when the loan officers come to work in the morning, and have a list of qualified leads that would have been otherwise missed awaiting thier follow up. An information seeking consumer may not leave a voicemail requesting a call back, but a well dessigned sales site, can continue the sales pitch and capture these leads 24/7.

That’s it for part one of this series. Come back soon to see more ways that the internet can transform your business. Can’t wait for the next installment? Contact us here and one of our web design experts will contact to discuss how our web design solutions can make you more money!