How Even The Smallest Business Can Profit From A Website
April 26th, 2010
Every conceivable type of business can profit from having a website. If you have a business, however large or small, a good website can only be a bonus to you. Many small local businesses question whether or not they need to be visible to the entire world, but selling globally is not the only reason to have a website.
Take for example a small business that caters just to a limited range of customers. We’ll take a hypothetical example. Stan’s Picket Fences manufactures and sells and installs picket fences within a 50 mile radius of his small factory. Stan didn’t want to expand his business beyond that range, but he was also tired of going out on the road every day to show his portfolio to potential customers, only about twenty-five percent of whom ended up buying from him.
One of his employees liked to make websites in his spare time and suggested he make a small website that featured a photograph album, some pictures of the manufacturing process and of the factory premises. There was nothing sophisticated about the site – it was like an online scrapbook album, but it worked brilliantly.
Within a couple of months, Stan found that he was getting far more sales from his initial visits to people’s homes because they already knew what he had to offer before he went to their homes. The first time they called, Stan told them they could see his portfolio online and if that was the sort of work they wanted, he would come out and see them. His website was already a huge timesaver for him.
Stan was so impressed with the website that he asked his employee if he had any ideas to make it even better. The employee suggested doing link exchanges with other local businesses.
Stan made a few phone calls and it didn’t take long before a nearby home decor accents business nearby happily agreed to do a link exchange. To Stan’s surprise, within a short time he was getting quite a few more leads. Over the course of a few months, he saw his profits increase by ten percent, thanks to an inexpensive website and a single link exchange.
As is that wasn’t enough, Stan’s business soared as a result of a link exchange he did with a local property developer who was just starting an online campaign for a new property launch. Everyone who was interested in buying one of the more than a hundred homes in the development saw Stan’s link. All of those who wanted a picket fence around their new home called Stan’s Picket Fences first.
Stan never made any big changes to his website, but it continued to pay off for him. His business doubled in size and profitability. That’s how the internet can help even small businesses!