Opportunity is knocking so open the door

Created by Jason Houlston

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I believe that the web is the single biggest opportunity and threat to the majority of businesses started in the UK today. So why are we not exploiting it? I have heard some of the following reasons – “all the best opportunities are gone now”, “we just don’t have the time or money to invest” “we have a site but it just doesn’t work”.

This opportunity is so big that it just cannot be ignored but it is by 90% of companies on a daily basis. And you know what? This just makes it an even bigger opportunity for the people who are prepared to grasp it with both hands. What makes the whole situation even funnier to me is that the web also contains all the information you need on how to use it!

I think the part of the problem is down to the overselling of the importance of being placed top of the search engines. Gaining a high search engine ranking is a difficult and time consuming occupation (under most circumstances) which can be richly rewarded when it is achieved. It is not however the be all and end all of having a successful website or web marketing strategy.

The most common mistakes that companies who are not using the internet successfully make are:

1) They have a poorly designed and difficult to use website (or they don’t have one)

I regularly have potential customers tell me they know how bad their website looks but they don’t have the time or money to sort it out. So basically they know its crap, they know it may be turning customers away or not presenting them in the best light? Now ask yourself this, you have 50 customers per year and each customer is worth £1000 in business. How much is it worth to have a website that helps you get an extra 5 customers per year?

2) They never or rarely update their websites with fresh information.

If you do not provide fresh information for your website visitors why should they return to your site? We are all busy in business however finding the time each week or once every couple of weeks to add another case study or news article to your website will pay off in the long run. Your website will be more interesting and informative. Potential customers will stay on your site longer and be more inclined to return if they find the information useful.

3) They don’t collect email addresses or if they do they don’t use them

If the internet is a gold mine then email addresses are golden nuggets lying around waiting to be picked up. Collect the email addresses of your customers and more importantly your potential customers. They will come in very useful if you use them in the right way. (The subject of another article coming soon! Keep an eye out on our website or sign up for our electronic newsletter……).


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