In today’s market, a company’s Internet presence is its lifeline. With the number of people flocking to the World Wide Web, positioning your company on search engines, blogs, and Social Media sites enables the opportunity for direct connections with current and potential customers…a quality nearly unheard of in past marketing practices. If your business does not have a web presence, get ready to lose thousands of dollars to competitors that do.


Why isn’t business coming in at the pace it did in the past? Let’s evaluate…

A general consensus is that “people are lazy.”

That’s not the case. Some people are, but the vast majority of people are busy.

Another reason many companies attribute a decrease in sales and production is a down-trodden economy. That’s not the case either. People are still shopping. They may have become more selective about what they buy, but they’re still spending. Despite the economic downturn, many companies are still very successful. And nine times out of 10, it’s because they’ve adapted to their customer’s new buying habits.

One of the major reasons advertising mediums using interruption-based techniques are losing tremendous steam is because they lack the ability to make the customer’s experience personal. They speak loudly, through a giant megaphone, at an untargeted mass of people and hope a small percentage hear the message. But today, customers have far too many options and are no longer forced to listen to the noise.

Your average consumer has realized the Internet has opened up limitless possibilities for them to shop, gather information, and educate themselves on certain products on their time. No longer do they need to sit through a one-minute commercial to get an 800-number or website address at the tail end. All that information is right at their fingertips.

With customers developing new habits, it’s imperative you adapt. This means developing a presence on the Internet’s most popular sites…the ones your customers visit the most. These sites include Google, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Yahoo, and several others.

Doing this not only ensures they can find you when the time is right for them to buy, but also creates an opportunity for you to build a relationship with those customers. Relating to them on a people-level and providing them with critical information will help them earn your trust, thus promising they’ll turn to you when they decide to buy.

If you’re not building a web presence, or focusing on improving your current one, you’re behind the times. If your competitors are already on board, why aren’t you?

Here are 5 Things a Lack of Web Presence Is Costing Your Company:

1) Credibility – You may have built your business on a foundation of strong customer service and workmanship, but the bottom line is in today’s information age, not having a web presence shows you’re unable, or unwilling, to adapt to the changes around you. As time goes by, you’ll need to rely on repeat business because new customers who rely on the Internet will find your competition.

2) A ‘Face To Go With the Name’ - A company website is like the face of the company. Sure, a consumer may hear about you, but most people, regardless of the level of conversation, want a face to go with the name and voice. A website, as well as social mediums like a Facebook page, Twitter account, and company blog, are perfect outlets to ensure this happens.

3) The Ability to Connect Directly With Customers - It’s not about who can come up with the wittiest commercial anymore. It’s who can build the deepest and most meaningful relationship with their customer by giving them exactly what they’re after. This could be information, advice, helpful tips, or advanced notice of a product launch. Whatever your customer’s need may be, chances are you’re not meeting or exceeding them if you don’t have a web presence.

4) The Ability to Get Found - Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a very popular buzz term these days, and it speaks directly to positioning your website so people can find it when they use keyword search terms relevant to your business on sites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Getting a high ranking on these engines takes effort and diligence, but putting forth the effort will go a long way in helping your business get noticed.

5) Convenience For Your Customer - As I mentioned before, your customer may be busy with a million things, so having a well-maintained, current, and informative website to point them towards is a major convenience for them. This allows them to check you out when they’re ready. The ultimate step in securing a lifelong, happy customer is providing them with a convenient, genuine user experience.

Setting your business up for success starts with establishing a web presence. Relying solely on outdated print mediums can be a major detriment to your customer flow because the majority of people don’t look for ads in print anymore. They turn to the Internet. And so should you.

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