Internet Myth #5:
My Business Doesn't Need To Be On The Internet

Many businesses think they don't need to be on the Internet, or that they'll get around to it when it becomes more important. Wrong.

Every business should be on the Internet.

Here's why:

• The Internet reaches a local as well as a global market. Your message can reach around the corner or around the world. If your business is strictly local, you need an Internet site just as much as a multinational corporation.

• You add credibility to your business. Your current or potential clients' trust and confidence in your business is critical. An Internet Website provides assurance that you care about your customers. These days, if you're not on the web you're business is suspect, or may seem not to be "with it" in the eyes of your customer.

• You're losing opportunities if you're not on the Internet. Used properly, the Internet is a tool that is unmatched in business today. If you don't understand how you're missing out you're letting business slip through your hands.

• The growth of the Internet demands that you be there. Don't assume your customers aren't on the net, or won't use it - they are and they will. Don't assume you can catch up later, you need to be there for your customers now. The use of the Internet is growing faster than most of us can comprehend, and in ways we can hardly imagine. It's not too late for you now, but it may be soon!

• A professional Webpage can improve your public image. It provides you a chance to "look good" to your customers. With a good Website you can look as good as a large multinational corporation to your customers. Instant credibility!

• A good Website improves customer service. No matter what your business, you can provide better customer service with your Website than without it. It opens up opportunities for your customers to contact, interact and become informed about you. It can save them time. It can save you time.

• You can provide basic information about your business. Hours of operation, maps with directions to your location, phone numbers, policies and other basic information about your company becomes available everywhere 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Don't overlook this simple but powerful benefit.

• A Website can be a powerful marketing tool. It can enhance any and every marketing effort available to you now. Whatever your marketing efforts are now, the Internet needs to be part of it. Period.

A lot of businesses are going to get around to building or improving a Website "soon". It's often "on my list of priorities" but right now it's "on the back burner".

The problem is that months or years can go by and your business is just treading water or, worse, losing ground to your competition.

With the speed that the Internet is growing and becoming a huge part of peoples lives these days, you just can't afford to wait any longer.

Alex Johnson does Internet Consulting and Strategies for businesses. In addition to his business, AJConsulting.com, he writes and speaks about Internet topics. His business specializes in Internet Promotion and Internet Business Profiling.

Alex can be reached at AlexJohnson@AJConsulting.com

Phone 603-647-4190