Can Your Business Survive Without a Web Site?
I’ve been surprised, driving around Modesto, to see so many vehicles and signs advertising a business without a Web site in view. A name and phone number, yes, but nothing else. Unfortunately, to a growing percentage of people, you don’t exist if you’re not online. I’m not the only one who’s reluctant to call - people want to check you out anonymously first. And younger consumers, raised online, think it’s downright strange to call a business. But does an organization need a fancy Web site to thrive or even survive?
Presence? Yes. Fancy? Not necessarily.
There are probably folks flourishing in a niche using solely word of mouth but they are rare. What’s more, word of mouth is spreading increasingly online these days, so even if you’re not intentionally making an online presence, you have one.
You need to manage it. You have two choices.
A site of your own. Simple or fancy, traditional or blog, whatever fits you. Why matters is that you engage your clients and attend to the details with excellence.
Leverage existing sites. Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare, Twitter, etc. These are valuable tools but relying solely on them is a bit risky:
- They’re not under your control so you’re at their mercy if there are problems or changes.
- They’ll fluctuate in popularity. What’s hot will cool. (Geocities? MySpace?) You need to pay attention to what’s coming next or get left behind.
A client’s awareness of and interaction with you will continue to evolve. The key is to know where they are and be there. Your name and number on your car is not enough any more.
What do you think? Do you know of a success story that uses no online promotion?
Good: Dutch Hollow Tulips has a basic site which features content from their Facebook page where customers are raving about their tulips.
Poor: Who is TelePacific? Why do I need you? Why would I ever call you? And you have too many figures in your number. It's not clever, it bugs me.
