Why your business needs a website

The internet is a fact of business life, so even small firms need a presence
online to hook customers. Glenn Shoosmith explains

 Glenn Shoosmith
Friday 19 October 2012 10.55 BSTFirst published on Friday 19 October 2012 
10.55 BST

Despite the ever-increasing importance of an online presence for businesses of

all sizes and descriptions, many smaller businesses are not adjusting their
strategy accordingly. In fact, according to a recent research report, a massive
60% of small businesses in the UK still have no online presence at all.

But why is this significant? Does it even matter?

Many small business owners view their business as a totally offline entity,
pursuing traditional means to promote themselves and win new customers.
However, regarding any business (from the largest enterprise to the sole
trader, or anything in between) as purely offline is a risky strategy to take
when your customers are spending more and more of their time online.

Harnessing the web as a business tool is important, even for businesses that
may consider themselves as primarily offline. Beauty businesses, fitness
businesses, plumbers, driving instructors and any number of other service
businesses ultimately all measure success by their ability to build offline
relationships – and the web can play a huge part in that. So no matter how
established your businesses is offline, it's crucial to get the basics of online in
place.

As a small business, it's unlikely you'll have big budgets, staff or free personnel
hours to invest in a complex online strategy, but there are certainly some
simple steps you can take to start reaping the rewards that the web can bring.

1. Be accessible
The key to making the most of the web is making your business as accessible
as possible, letting people interact with you in a way that suits them, whenever
they want to. Your customers are online 24/7, and as such they expect to be
able to interact with businesses and organisations whenever and wherever
they are online. Of course, that doesn't mean having to have a presence on
every single online channel; it means being clever about selecting the ones
that are most important to your audience.

At the most fundamental level, this means a basic, professional looking website
with easy to find, relevant information about your business. At a more
advanced level, that could be a fully-blown booking tool that lets customers
schedule their own appointment or booking with you, essentially giving your
businesses a 24/7 receptionist.
2) Think local before you think big
Making the most of online tools doesn't necessarily mean trying to go global,
quite the opposite in fact. It can be a very successful route to building
relationships at a local level, which is crucial to the success of so many small
businesses. Focusing on your online touchpoints means building relationships
with customers and potential customers, and turning that online connection
into offline custom: loyal, engaged customers who come back time and again.
Think also about local listings sites, online networking groups and building
partnerships with other local business.

3) Think multi-channel – but focus on the ones

that really matter
One of the first things to consider is through which online channels to make
your business visible. Yes, your website is your flagship, but you need to get
your brand to where your potential customers are. As a small business, you
likely don't have either the time or resources to do everything, and investing in
a fruitless channel can end up being a costly mistake. Think hard about where
your customers are spending their time online, and focus your efforts
accordingly.

4) Nurture your loyal customers – turn them

into advocates
Advertisement

Finally, think about how you can use your most loyal customers to do your
online marketing for you. Social media has changed the way people make
recommendations and share their experiences. Weary of the constant
bombardment of marketing messages – and with a whole internet of opinions,
rants (and even occasionally praise!) at our fingertips – we now just have to
turn to Facebook or Twitter for advice. A business can be made or broken in
minutes. The mass adoption of online social networks has changed the way we
make purchasing decisions. Businesses of all sizes, no matter how small, can
capitalise on that. Best of all, these social recommendations are super-
targeted, personal and free.

To sum up, big impact doesn't have to mean big budget when it comes to the
web. It's all about being relevant, consistent and accessible online. Keep these
three things in mind and you'll be well on the way to succeeding in using the
web to create a slick, professional window display for your offline business.

https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2012/oct/19/businesses-need-websites.

Part 1: Think of an English (or Italian) equivalent for the highlighted

words
Part2: Summarize each (of the 5) paragraphs in a couple of sentences

Part 3: Answer the following questions using your own words

a. Why is it risky for all-size businesses not to be online?

b. Why should business mainly based on personal relationship have
their own website?
c. What is the best way to exploit the resources of the web?
d. How can even small companies be available at all times on the
Internet?
e. What does thinking local mean?
f. How important is the selection of the right channel?
g. What role does social media play in the success of a business?
h. What are the three most relevant aspects to bear in mind when
it comes to have a website?