Have you noticed how the face of business has turned online. In the past getting your name out as a business was straightforward, hire an ad agency, get a billboard, simple. Now with the volume of companies competing online it’s becoming more difficult for businesses to stand out. When everything was more local, many businesses were the only option for customers to get what they need, so customers would come to them, all they had to do was be open. Now, with all the options open to people, companies have to reevaluate the way they sell. They have to give potential customers a reason to choose them out of the unending choices. Having a strong online presence is an excellent way to do this, here are a few ways.
Becoming Mobile
Mobile devices are hardly rare now-a-days, people carry them to make their lives easier by staying connected to their business and personal life when they are on the go. Because of this many small-business owners choose to create mobile sites. These sites retain the branding that the company wants but allows for faster, easier navigation on a mobile device. Developing a mobile site makes your company more available to consumers.
Social Sites
Social sites, like Myspace, started out just social. But when Facebook came about it had a far more utilitarian interface and business caught the social site bug. Virtually every business you can find has a Facebook page. Social sites allow companies to share fun and interesting content that is related to their industry with prospective clients, which creates an online community. Recently Google unveiled its business pages. This walk-though will teach you how to set up a Google business page. Social sites enable such a noninvasive interaction between business and consumer I see the future of social sites as all business.
On-line Education
Offering educational content is an excellent way to reach an audience and stand out from your competitors. This can be done with blogs and webinars. On-line education shows your prospective clients that you are knowledgeable and sets you up as a thought leader in your industry. Developing trust in this way can lead to sales down the road as consumers will be visiting your blog for interesting and educational information and think of you when they need a service you provide.
While we still see store fronts and most of us like to visit a local shop and meet the owner who is working behind the counter we can’t deny that the face of business is more Web facing then street. Being aware of this and knowing why this is will make us both a more informed consumer and/or business owner. This article has some good reasons for having an on-line presence.