When it comes to designing a website to represent your business, a cheaper designer is not always better. A website is an extension of an organization and should represent it in its entirety. It should be easy to use for users, functional and create a great interactive experience, and it should market itself to viewers to return to your bottom line. To help businesses understand this investment, try thinking of websites as another form of advertising. It simply should earn its value back over time much like radio, print and television and contribute to the bottom line.
The Myth
Many businesses believe that websites are a simple one-time investment that will rake in huge profits overnight. This major misconception leads to a path a terrible road of deceit and predatory online businesses who promise overnight business success for $500.
The Truth
A good investment in a web site is the result of many years of research and development. It comes from understanding your customer and their needs. Building a successful website takes a time and requires a significant investment. Over time, websites gain an extremely powerful advantage that will leave competitors scratching to catch up. A strong business web presence creates value for your existing customers, captures new customers and helps your business stay in front of your customers. Eventually, the website will reach a point where customers can answer their own questions, order their own products and increase their satisfaction with your company. One client of Onepax glowed about their website, “Our customers love our website! By the time they call us they already know what they want, how much it will cost and when they will have it! I’ll take those calls any day!â€
But many times, people are asking the question, “But I thought the Internet boom long past? Doesn’t everyone already have a great website?†The truth: They are dead wrong. Almost every industry can benefit from a website in ways such as reducing the cost of customer service, increasing monthly sales to providing tools for employees, the future is seemingly endless. The key to harnessing the web is by recruiting experienced web developers who can orchestrate business goals and technology into a beautiful symphony.
An Analogy
Good and bad web designers can be compared to housing contractors like roofers, electricians or plumbers. When you hire a contractor, you want them to do their job quickly, efficiently and correctly. I recently witnessed a construction site that hired the cheapest roofer they could find. The contractor showed up late, didn’t have all the materials they needed to repair the roof and even caused some major damage to their roof. The owner of the house had to pay almost two times the original cost for an experience roofer to come in and roof the house. The experienced roofer had to come to the building and remove
the damage caused by the bad roofer.
The same principal applies to good and bad web design. When it comes to your business and your customers, they deserve the very best. But in the business setting, cheap contractors are damaging your reputation, your customer relationship and even your bottom line. How much does will a business loose before they hire professionals? Businesses shouldn’t skimp when it comes to web sites since it could be the first impression your customer has. It provides a channel of advertising for businesses that can draw in customers for pennies compared to traditional marketing methods. The following table drives home a great reason why you should consider investing in a website for your business in addition to traditional marketing for your business.
Printed Advertising | Radio Advertising | Internet Advertising |
---|---|---|
$5-$15/customer | $3-$7/customer | $0.15-$3.0/customer |