Your Website As Another Office Location

If you’re like many people, you see the web as just another promotional tool that you could use to promote your business. I’m going to suggest that you think of it as opening a brand new place to do business – one that’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Think of your website as the place where prospects can stop in to

• Read about your products and services
• Learn more about people with similar problems and how you’ve helped them
• Browse your online FAQ
• Contact you via an online form

Your new office has many advantages including

• Global reach (though you might not be ready to take on international clients quite yet)
• It’s a sales tool that walks clients through their purchasing cycle from “just browsing” to “ready to do business” and provides a means of contacting you to set up an appointment
• It’s an opportunity to specifically target those most likely to buy your services through search engine optimization and keyword advertising. By focusing on keywords that your clients are most likely to search for, they self-select to visit your website in their search for information.
• It provides you the means to publish as much information as you can create about your products and services without driving up printing costs.
• A professional looking and informative website allows you to compete with larger businesses in your industry.

That being said, a website is a lot of work. I occasionally get calls from businesses who want to give me a website within the next 24 hours. I guarantee you those types of websites will NOT bring you business and probably will hurt your reputation. They are always template driven, rarely look professional, and don’t allow you to update content regularly. To maintain a lead generating website, you will have to work to add and update content, add new features, and maintain your site’s position in search engines.

Again, think of your website as a new office – you wouldn’t haphazardly open a branch office without planning the logistics of how things will be done.

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