White Knight

Like most small businesses out there, cost control is of utmost importance.  Your brand however, is not an area you should economise on.  Business should view their website as an extension of their brand.  Therefore it makes sense to ensure that you invest in the very best website you can.  When prospective customers come looking for the services/products that you provide, they will make a decision on whether to buy from you based on your website.  Its like your shop/showroom/office, you work hard to ensure that the environment is professional, clean and welcoming, as it’s an extension of your reputation.  The same principles apply to your website.

The Sensis’ eBusiness Report for 2008 tells us that 99% of businesses with more than 100 employees in Australia use the internet to look for information on suppliers compared to 81% of those with 1-2 employees.  What this tells us is that if your a business that relies on b2b, at the very least, 81% of your prospective customers are on the web!  If your customer range is medium to large in business size, they are all on the web, looking for you right now.

So you decide to get a website built, do you go for the template website for $25 just to get online, or do you invest a little more for professional web design?

What does a $25 website project tell your customers about your company and brand?  Would you do business with a company if you found their $25 website on Google or Yahoo?

I was searching around the other day looking for a service provider for a specific task.  I must have looked at 20 or 30 different websites of what appeared to be $25 sites through to custom web design sites before I made my mind up as to which provider I would choose.  I chose the provider with one of the better designed sites (reflecting a clean and professional company image), but also one that had professionally written content.  This gave me confidence that the provider I chose, was the best in their market.

If your in a competitive market, you really cannot compromise on your website.  As Google is now the dominant referrer of business (Smart Company, 2009), even more than the Yellow Pages, you need to show your prospective customers your the best in your field.