Westech Media

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3 REASONS WHY YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS A WEBSITE.

DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR SMALL BUSINESS DOESN’T NEED A WEBSITE? 

THINK AGAIN. 

HERE ARE 3 REASONS WHY IT PROBABLY DOES.

1. INCREASED CREDIBILITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Today, the majority of your potential customers (81%) will use the internet to search for the products or services they need.

Even when if you are using other forms of advertising such as leaflet and magazine drops or TV and radio adverts, the majority of customers will conduct follow up research on a business online. 

By seeing you online, you potential customers have the reassurances that they need that you are trustworthy business. This is especially necessary if you work from home and do not have a physical store front. 

If your business doesn’t have a website or any other online presence, the chances are that your potential customers will go to a business that does.

Think about the new customer who has never heard of you or the fantastic products and services you provide.

2. GREATER ACCESSIBILITY TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

A website is like a permanent business card or brochure available to your regular customers  24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.

It provides them a medium to to review your products and services and gives you a chance to show case to your work at a time convenient to your potential customers.

Your website can also provide a great customer service tool providing your customers with advice and an easy way to contact you.

Think about the busy customer who might not have time to communicate with you directly during your working hours. 

3. WIDER REACH FOR YOUR MARKET

Whether you provide products or services at your location or your customers, having a website means you can reach a great number of people and have a larger market with which to operate.

Your website can be designed to target more people who would be interested in buying your products or services that you would not normally reach by other means. 

Even if you are a local business that serves customers at their homes, there will be a large number of potential customers that will see your business through your online presence, that other wise would not hear of you.

Think about the customer who has just moved to the area or who has family in your local area.

THE COST

As a a small business owner you probably think you can't afford a professional website, but the truth is you can't afford NOT to. 

There are many website builders that allow you to build a website for free. If you have lots of time to dedicate to this, then this is a good way to go. But if you are busy serving your customers Westech Media can provide you with a fully integrated and designed website for just £49 per month. 

Compared with the cost of a newspaper ad, when you consider the potential market you can reach with a website, it is a very cost effective way to promote your business.

[westechmedia-blog]

SHOULD I USE YELL.COM TO PROMOTE MY BUSINESS?

Yellow pages was a big large yellow phone book dedicated to businesses that was delivered to every home in Britain in the 80′s and 90′s. Having an advert in Yellow Pages used to be vital to small businesses.

However the internet has changed all that. Sensible businesses used their hard earned money to invest heavily on online promotion and advertising.

Now days the only people who still use Yellow Pages are elderly people, which is fine - as long as they are part of your target market - and are your potential customers. 

For most small businesses advertising in Yellow Pages is a waste of time and money. The company that owns Yellow Pages knows this, which is why it created the online advertising business called Yell.com. 

The question though is whether it is worth paying to advertise your business with Yell.com?

Here are five points to consider:

1. HIGH PRESSURE MIS-SELLING

Yell.com employs an army of salesmen. Their job is to sell you as many of the most expensive services to as many businesses as possible, irrespective of whether or not your business even needs that particular service.

If a yell.com salesman comes to your business or even your home, you are likely to find yourself paying a lot of money for a lot of services that are of absolutely no benefit to you or your business at all.

2. UNSCRUPULOUS CONTRACTS

Once a yell.com salesman has your signature that is effectively it. You are now locked into a minimum twelve month contract and you can do nothing to escape it. 

If something changes in forthcoming months, for instance you find a better way to promote or advertise your business, then it is too late, you will still have to pay the yell.com services even if you don’t use them. Worse still if you can’t afford to pay yell.com they will take you to court and try to make you bankrupt.

3. LACK OF PERSONALISED SERVICE

You are just a number to yell.com. Whilst they employ an army of highly paid salesmen, they have very few actual people whose job it is to promote your business. 

Your account manager with yell.com will be the same salesman who talked you into signing the contract. It won’t be a professional who works with you regularly to promote your business so don’t expect to hear from him unless it is to sell you more services.

4. NO OWNERSHIP OR CONTROL 

Any adverts or promotions created by yell.com are only rented by your business, you won’t actually own any work that yell.com do for you. 

If yell.com create your business a website - you won’t have any control over it! You won’t be able to access it or upgrade it. The only thing you will be able to do is email or phone and request a change. But this can take month, which is not good when it comes to ranking highly in Google. 

Not only that, but if you find you need to move your website to new host, you will effectively have to start again from scratch meaning a lot of wasted time and effort.

5. HUGE DEBTS AND BANKRUPTCY

Yellow Pages and Yell.com is now owned by an American conglomerate called Hibu.

Hibu Plc is bankrupt. It has been sliding further and further into debt. In recent years it has twice failed for bankruptcy in the US with over £2.3bn pounds in debt. The situation is so bad that creditors have actually taken over control of part of the company and de-listed it from the stock exchange.

With the company itself stating it will cease Yellow Pages from 2019, and with a spiraling online business. The company go bust at any time, taking any money that you have invested as well as all your promotion and adverts with it.

If you need help with promoting your business online then why not contact Westech Media. We are a small, local business and we don’t employ salesman and you can speak to any member of our team and we are all dedicated to helping you and your business succeed.

Contact us today: ​ 0208 0683989 07907521032 [email protected]