If you haven’t already, please read “When Word of Mouth is No Longer Enough,” where I discuss why you might want to have a business online.
Everyone tells you that your business needs a website, don’t they? And the truth is, they’re probably right.
Am I Getting Enough Business?
The first question you should ask yourself is, are you getting enough business offline? Are you getting enough business from the following sources?
- referrals
- offline advertising (flyers, direct mail, billboards, Yellow Pages, radio and TV ads)
- walk-ins.
If the answer is “I am getting enough business,” then maybe you don’t need a website. But, if you are planning for the future, it’s still worth thinking about getting a website. I suggest reading my post about referrals as the source of your business to see if you can subsist on them.
Am I Happy with My Knowledge About My Clients?
The other major question to ask yourself before you build a website is, “what do I know about my clients?” and “do I want to know more about my clients?” For example, would you like to know more about
- who your clients are
- what your clients do for a living and for fun
- where your clients are from
- why your clients chose your business
- how your clients found your business.
Because the other advantage a website will give you is it will give you the ability to learn more about your online clients than you have ever known about any of your offline clients.
You should ask yourself these questions before you hire someone to build your website because, just because everyone else has a website, doesn’t mean that every single company needs a website. (Look at key cutting services – they don’t have websites.)
When Word of Mouth is No Longer Enough | What Type of Website Do I Need?