6 Reasons Why Future Small Business Success May Be Dependant On
A Website
In the future, a large portion of people are likely to find
local businesses through the web. The following 6 factors
suggest the importance of local businesses investing in a web
presence...
> Google and Yahoo are developing local search engines. In the
future, no matter where you are in the world, all you'll have to
do is enter your address and a business type and Google or Yahoo
will return a list of businesses closest to you.
> Some of
your potential customers will already be using the search
engines to find your local business. For example, if you are a
real estate agent in Perth, Australia, some of your potential
customers will be using Google to find "real estate agent in
Perth Australia".
> The number of users with Internet
access is increasing rapidly. Young people in particular will
almost certainly use the web rather than page through a yellow
pages directory.
> Very few local businesses have websites
that are listed in the search engines. Competition is weak but
in the future local businesses will compete aggressively for top
positions in the search engines.
> A website is by far the
most effective and inexpensive way to manage a growing customer
database. Web forms make it easy to capture client's data and
e-mail management systems make it easy to send personalized
e-mail.
> A website can save a lot of time and money by
including frequently asked questions and giving the customer the
ability to pay via credit card, thus reducing the manpower
needed to service your clients.