In my conversations with business people i've noticed a surprising lack of understanding about
Internet and its potential for their business. Most know it is important for business in general but dont really know why. Few really understand what it can specifically do for their organisation, "What can Internet really do for me?" This article aims to answer this fundamental question by identifying some key benefits to help you start reaping benefits of internet for your business today.
At its most basic level, Internet provides you with an opportunity to publish a website at a specified www address. Anyone armed with this address can then type it in to their computer and access your website at anytime day or night from any (internet enabled) computer located anywhere around globe. This starts to give you some idea of potential power and reach of internet.
Just stop and think about that for a moment. Your website and anything you place on it will be accessible around world, anytime, by any of estimated 450 million internet users. Thats some potential eh? Internet benefits for you: it enables you to reach new customers and markets. Plus there's supreme convenience of internet's instant, anytime, anywhere built-in characteristics.
Actually I think a website is more than a mere storage area for your web pages, it becomes a sort of 'focus point' to your customers, largely due to its convenience and text/visual format. People make purchasing decisions based on all sorts of questions and anxieties, either real or otherwise. A website provides a place where they can help themselves to find out more and answer those questions and anxieties or take any other action. Thats an often overlooked internet benefit that wasnt really possible previously: easy self-service. If they cant find what they want, they can simply send you a message from your website and await tailored response. Another benefit: rapid and personal communication.
Clearly, what you put on your website and how you present it is therefore very important. Your website's visitors will start to build an impression of your organisation and products based on what they see there in first few seconds of their arrival. Both its content and presentation should reflect you and everything you do well and should therefore get research and attention it deserves. Thats another benefit: flexibility of content and ability to add /update it instantly.
Too many sites remain static. If you can, try to attract and engage visitors by keeping your site up-to-date with fresh content. By way, when i say product i mean this in a very universal way, including products, services, information and any other item you may offer.
All you need now is some promotion to get word out that your website is up, running and eager to help your new prospects. You can use internet to find and contact companies, newsletters, publishers, etc. and to arrange your promotions and advertising on any industry or topic you choose. This of course is internet's speciality and a key benefit for you to use: easy access to information on every topic imaginable.
Now, if you do your homework and promotion for your new website well, you'll soon start to get prospects looking around your site and viewing your content. Ideally, they will arrive, read exactly what they want to and buy your product immediately. They click to purchase product and bingo you've made a sale. At this point you smile with satisfaction and sit back as your bank completes transaction and deposits payment into your bank account. You havent even been involved in transaction. Automation and new revenues: significant internet benefits.
