Why do businesses need a website?

• Low Cost Advertising
  - When compared to the costs associated with traditional advertising methods such as direct mail, newspaper or magazine ads, or radio and television, the cost of a web site is nominal.
• Dramatically Reduce Recurring Printing Costs
  - The most common problem with printed advertising materials is that they quickly become outdated, as new products and services are introduced, incurring tremendous costs in revision and reprinting. Web sites offer the opportunity to provide your customers with up-to-date information when they need it, and allow you the freedom to change your products, services and information when necessary.
• Build a Customer Database
  - With a web site, you can build a customer / user database to save contact and demographic information about people who visit your web site. This can enable you to gain a better understanding of who your online visitors are, and create complimentary marketing strategies (direct mailings, etc.) customized to their interests. This is also a great way to keep in touch with customers who have purchased your products, leaving you the ability to send a follow-up e-mail, or occasionally sending them information about new products.
• Customer Coupons at Zero Cost to You
  - Give your customers an extra incentive to visit your store or purchase from your web site, by providing them with "coupons" and information about sales directly on your Web site Customers can simply print the coupons from your site on their own paper, so you get a wide distribution without incurring any printing or postage costs.
• Increased Free Advertising
  - One of the greatest features of the Internet is the ability to link to other web sites, and, more importantly, have them link to yours. This allows customers to find your web site through several different channels, increases the potential for traffic to your site, and essentially provides free advertising for your business or organization.
• Supplement Your Current Advertising
  - Having a web site is a great way to supplement your current advertising. By displaying your Internet address in other forms of advertising media, you let your customers know exactly where they can go to get more information about your business right away.
• Public Relations
  - Make information about your business or organization available to millions of people or just a select group through password protected areas of your web site.
• Great Demographics
  - Surveys have shown that the average Internet user is 36 years old, has a college education, and an annual income of $65,000.
• Give Your Users Printable Information They Can Use
  - A visitor to your web site can download and print anything that appears on their screen. You can take advantage of this by displaying: a map to your place of business, application forms that can be filled out which require a signature (which can then be mailed or faxed to you), product literature, assembly instructions for your products, diagnostic flowcharts, dimensional drawings, etc.
• Improved Customer Service
  - Your web site is a great place to publish your own list of "Frequently Asked Questions", or even the rarely asked ones. Well thought out questions and answers, in as much detail as you like, and exactly as you'd like it stated, can provide your customers with immediate help with their question, as well as provide customer service staff with a reference tool.
• Improved Technical Support
  - Additionally, you can provide up-to-date technical information, such as user manuals, product specifications, or detailed diagrams, allowing your customers immediate access to such information, and possibly saving yourself the cost of extra technical support staff.
• Immediate Feedback
  - A web site is a great way to get immediate feedback from your customers, through customer surveys, contact forms, and e-mail addresses for your contact personnel. This type of feedback can allow you to provide great customer service based on what your customers really want!
• Your Clients Expect It
  - With over 400 million users worldwide, the Internet is getting more and more publicity every year. As public awareness increases, the public will expect even small companies and organizations to have web sites.
• e-Commerce
  - Setting up an e-commerce site has never been easier. Allowing your customers access to browse and buy your products online gives your sales a boost with no direct involvement from you.
• Open an Online Store for a Fraction of the Cost of a Physical Store
  - Along those same lines, an e-commerce web site allows you to display all your products, complete with photographs, audio and video clips, and detailed written descriptions, without the need for a physical store. This means no rent, no utilities, no property and liability insurance, no property taxes, no repair and maintenance, no supplies, and none of the associated labor costs. If your suppliers will drop-ship, you don't even need to maintain an inventory.
• 24 x 7 Availability
  - The time of day is now irrelevant. With a web site your products, services and information become available to anyone with Internet access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Reach Very Specialized Markets
  - A web site can help you to reach very specialized markets because of the sheer volume of Internet users, now estimated at over 400 million worldwide! Customers looking for rare or specialized products, services, and information often rely on the larger Internet marketplace to find what they are looking for, rather than limit themselves to their local area stores.
• Product Availability
  - Save your customers and your sales reps time by tying your web site to your product database, so your customers know instantly if the product they want is in stock, or when it can be expected to be available.
• Product and Service Demonstrations
  - Use your web-site as a tool for demonstrating your products and services to customers. Multimedia presentations allow you to provide your customers with an in-depth, interactive experience with your products and services before they buy, and ultimately make them feel more secure about purchasing your product online. This could also be extremely helpful as an in-store sales tool for your local customers.
• Your Competitors May Have Web Sites
  - As more and more businesses and organizations get online, those who don't will increasingly be putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage.
• Your Competitors May NOT Have Web Sites
  - This is even better than the reason above!
• Networking
  - The Internet makes business-to-business networking as easy as clicking on a link, and your web site serves as your "business card" to introduce yourself to people around the world. By establishing relationships with other business and organizations you can provide industry-related information to your customers, employees, or colleagues, or provide issue-related resources your members, as well boost your user base through reciprocal links.
• To make pictures, sound and film files available
  - What if your widget is great, but people would really love it if they could see it in action? The album is great but with no airplay, nobody knows that it sounds great? A picture is worth a thousand words, but you don't have the space for a thousand words? The WWW allows you to add sound, pictures and short movie files to your company's info if that will serve your potential customers. No brochure will do that.
• Host a Discussion Board for Your Users
  - The interactivity of the Intranet also offers great opportunities for user networking. Hosting a discussion board where visitors can post and reply to comments and questions can be a great way to generate interest in your web site and your organization.
• Employee Recruiting
  - Do you have a position open in your business or organization? Announce it on your web site. The Internet has become a driving force in recruiting qualified and quality employees. By posting your job opportunities in the largest market you can, you make sure you're getting the best people out there.
• Faster Sales Force Training
  - A great way to promote faster training and product knowledge for your employees is through the use of a password protected area on your web site. Your employees can access it from anywhere, so you can ensure they always have updated prices and product information, as well as details about any time-sensitive issues such as a "Labor Day Weekend Sale" or next weeks staff meeting.
• Education / Distance Learning
  - If your organization offers educational services, consider putting your entire course online. Materials can be placed in a password protected area so it can be accessed only after tuition has been paid, and the online setting provides a great way for students and teachers to interact.
• Good for the Environment
  - In a world where our diminishing natural resources are an ever-mounting concern, the Internet is becoming a constant and "recyclable" resource. Every business that uses the Internet for marketing, advertising and commerce helps alleviate the need for printed information and advertising, in turn conserving the energy and resources it takes to print those materials.