It seems that everyday I meet a small business owner that doesn't have a website for their business. When I ask them why, the answers invariably come in two forms. 1.) "It's too expensive," and 2.) "I'm just a small local business. I don't have any reason to advertise on the internet."
Erroneous! Erroneous on both counts! (bonus points if you can name the movie) Allow me to address the second fallacy first: A website is an essential marketing tool for doing business in the 21st century. If you're in business, you need a website! No matter the type of business, providing potential customers with information about your business and the products and/or services you sell is marketing 101 and it is key to your business' success. A website is one of the most effective ways to distribute this information to potential customers. What's more, traditional marketing methods for small business (yellow pages, billboards,newspaper ads, etc.) are losing market share to internet advertising methods and a website should be the base for all of your internet advertising activity.
As far as cost is concerned, well, I'm inclined to agree with you that oftentimes, the costs associated with hiring a professional website designer to post and host your site is prohibitive for many small businesses. However, I'm happy to announce that our friends at Microsoft have provided a great solution that addresses these issues. Yes, Microsoft. :)
New York Times columnist David Pogue will explain it better and quicker ...
And now, your EKU Small Business Development Center is available to assist you in taking your business online using Microsoft Office Live Small Business. Give us a call today or drop me an email to learn more!
