Product research, or comparing products, is one of the Internet's most popular activities.
A Jupiter Research survey has found that more than 70% of Internet users are involved in this type of activity.
That ranked it the number 3 Internet activity, behind e-mail and search engine use.
Everyone will have different reasons for creating a website, however the following are highlights worth pointing out.
- To showcase your products or services.
- To provide 24/7 accessibility.
- To find sales leads.
- To conduct e-commerce.
- To sell products or services.
- To receive payments.
- To reach a broad audience with a message.
- To reduce customer service costs and provide 24/7 support.
- To reach a national or international audience with your information.
- To gain valuable market research.
- To share important business information easily and quickly.
- To create a powerful and pro-active way of advertising.
- To inform.
- To build a community.
- To gain valuable market research.
- To reduce support and customer service costs.
- To gain advertising revenue.
- To brand your company.
- To build trust.
- To reduce paperwork.
- To reduce printing and mailing costs.
- You establish a readily accessible national and global presence at a very cost effective price.
- You offer your customers and clients another way of doing business because of this accessibility.
- You share important business information easily and quickly.
- You comprehensively offer your potential customers reasons to do business with you while they absorb it at their own pace.
- You generate a greater awareness about your company and its products and services.
- You can broaden your customer base by posting your website on relevant business directories and forums.
- You provide public-relations materials, press releases and other information to keep the public informed.
- You create a central information bank to keep all those involved in your company informed.
- You can advertise more cost effectively than mailing out catalogues and brochures, or placing magazine and TV ads.
- You can be easily change and update your site with new information.
- You invoke a way to reach more people with less money.
- You offer high impact presentations to sell yourself and your products.
- You provide a way to answer frequently asked questions while saving time and money in customer service
- You establish a general overall way to make business easier to transact.
- You offer a means to make people more comfortable to approach you.
- You create a powerful means of passive advertising.
- You implement a catalyst to build your name and name recognition.
- You provide pictures which are easily accessible. ( a picture is worth a thousand words )
- You create state of the art media to establish a professional presence.
These are just some of the many possibilities.
Remember, the Web is not just a marketing tool.
It's a business tool as well.
While it is perfectly okay to have an Internet billboard that simply contains contact information, why settle for that when your site can do so much more?
Even the smallest local business can utilise the power of the Internet to be more efficient and to build revenue.
Once you start thinking about it, it's easy to get excited about the potential for your site. B&BD
See: Before & After Website Designs
