The following post was copied from The Hartford’s website, Business Owners Playbook.  

https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/strategy/building-website/10-reasons-need-website.   

Do You Really Need a Website?

The answer is yes. There aren’t many businesses that can survive without a Web presence and there’s no reason not to have a website. Your company’s website can be a highly effective marketing tool that can be very cost-efficient. There are quite a few benefits and very little downsides.

Ten Things Your Website Can Do (for Starters)

There are many things you can do with your website, here are 10  good starting points:

1. Create a presence. Who knows about your business? Where can prospects and clients go to learn more? Your website can help establish your business as a going concern, communicate your brand value proposition and it can convey professionalism. It also extends your reach to anyone in the world.
2. Help build trust. New clients and prospects might want to know about your business history, your expertise, and your specialization. This is a great vehicle for people to learn more and attain that comfort level they seek.
3. Get listed on search engines. Build your website incorporating search engine optimization (SEO) techniques so that you can easily be found by people searching for relevant keywords. This can be an important gateway to expanding your business.
4. Point of contact. Your website provides customers an easy way to contact you and learn more about your products, services, and business.
5. Leverage social networks. Implement a social media strategy to reach a larger audience and to create more buzz about your biz. Establish your presence on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Facebook likes and shares can drive people to your website. Links to popular or topical items from or to your website will add to its relevance.
6. Sell products. If your business lends itself to online sales, create a virtual store as an alternative or complement to a storefront or office location.
7. Share the latest news. Whenever there are new developments regarding your business, update your website. Sites that have fresh, relevant, and timely information draw users back more often.
8. Blog. Keep your website fresh and keep drawing people in with regular Blog posts. Show your expertise, share insights and provide practical tips on topics relevant to your business  or to your customers
9. Learn about customers. Learn about their needs, preferences, and interests. Establish and nurture two-way communication with prospects and clients. This will forge a deeper bond and serve them better.
10. Customer convenience. Providing customers with multiple ways to interact with your business is almost mandatory these days. Anything less could result in lost sales.

Common Concerns and Questions About Small Business Websites

It’s natural to have questions and concerns about setting up a website. Cost is a common one. Beyond an up-front fee to design the website, the ongoing costs can be minimal. And considering the long-term benefits, a website will provide, the cost to design a good website should be well worth it.

Other concerns often relate to a business not being web-oriented or that it wouldn’t sell goods online. The answer to these concerns is that a business website can provide so many more benefits. Establishing trust, strengthening your brand, forging better customer relations, and informing a wider group of people about your business’s capabilities are all key benefits.

Another common concern is that you don’t have much content to add for frequent updates or you don’t have time to blog. The short answer is that you don’t need to. Sure, more activity and frequently refreshed content can generate more interest, but any Web presence is probably better than none. Once you have a basic website, you can always add to it, as your business and resources grow.

Company Blogs as a Public Relations Tool

Unlike other forms of public relations and sales, promotion blogging allows a company’s website an opportunity to have a dialogue with their customers, suppliers, and their employees. Blogs as a medium of communication can introduce new products, services, address rumors, and share news.

The benefits of the comments section allow your readers to give you input. There are positive comments and constructive criticism which are both helpful in developing your style of writing. Unfortunately, there are the trolls who will be deprecating, insulting and vulgar, ignore them.

Before you start a blog ask yourself what is the purpose of your blog and what information are you trying to convey to your readers. A year ago, I took on the duties of writing blog articles for Keystone Business brokers. Originally, I was focused on news articles dealing with how small businesses are dealing with the Covid-19 crises. My primary emphasis was curating news that I’d read and seen on TV. Unfortunately, I received very few comments.

Before my current job I was a marketing and entrepreneurship professor for a major university from where I retired. I decided to post a series of articles about the “4 P’s of Marketing.” To my amazement, there were hundreds of comments posted to our site. This was when I found my voice on the blogosphere. Since then the articles that I’ve written have been focused on educating my readers about marketing and small business management. Unlike teaching business theory to college students my blog posts are focused on the practical application of strategies and tactics.

One of the comments that have guided me on my journey of writing was to keep my posts short (300 to 400 words). Some readers have commented they wished that I would give more information on the topics. My compromise has been to give an overview of the topic and add website addresses for more detailed information.

SCORE Website: 10 Reasons to Keep an Active Business Blog

https://www.score.org/blog/10-reasons-keep-active-business-blog 

US Department of the Interior / Digital Media Guide

https://www.doi.gov/employees/dmguide/website-and-social-media-basics 

How to Start a WordPress Blog

https://www.wpbeginner.com/start-a-wordpress-blog/

In closing, write what you know and share your knowledge with your readers. Provide information your followers can use, give them a reason to follow you.

Recently, my colleague Dennis, and I stopped at a coffee and donut shop to discuss business strategy. During that visit, I noticed that the display which included photos, trophies, and memorabilia of a little league that they sponsored was no longer there. The back of the establishment that was a TV lounge with pillowed chairs was closed off, obviously due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those of us that frequented the establishment were impressed by the owner’s support of youth sports. Sports events are the most popular by far at an estimated 69% of sponsorship.

As the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania start to relax restrictions in the coming months, sponsorship is a PR strategy that enhances the reputation of a business within its community. Sponsorship is one of the fastest-growing forms of marketing promotions.  Causes require a for-profit business to partner with a non-profit organization. This strategy includes contributing a portion of the sales to the non-profit.  The attendees of the event are informed that a set percentage of sales will be donated and a deadline given for the purchase. Sponsoring events to improve the stature of a company by being linked to a worthy cause, and resulting in increased sales and profits.

Another advantage of sponsorship is that it is a cost-effective way of reaching your targeted customers. With traditional advertising, you are paying the media to promote your products to a mass audience of consumers that have no interest, this is referred to as the shotgun approach. Sponsorship allows you to target the customers that you are trying to reach.

Courting local media gives the non-profit and your company coverage that is free advertising with much more credibility than paid promotions.

A hypothetical example is a sporting goods company specializing in tennis equipment, sponsoring a tennis tournament, supplying equipment to top players for endorsements, and donating a percentage of sales to the charity fundraiser. This is a WIN-WIN for all parties involved.

Reference:

Weigold M, and Arens W. (2015) ADVERTISING, 3e.   Dubuque:  McGraw Hill 

This blog post is from my lecture notes based on the textbook ADVERTISING 3e, by Arens & Weigold with a little help from Wikipedia.

Public Relations for Small Business

The role of public relations is to foster goodwill in the community and gaining public approval for your organization. The long-term goal of PR is to manage the reputation of the company.

Different PR tactics can be implemented by entrepreneurs to gain acceptance by the community they serve.

Press release, information issued to print and broadcast outlets.

Press kit, a package of publicity materials informing the press at staged events.

Website, containing information about the organization. Company blog to facilitate relationships with their consumers and other publics.

Publicity, the generation of news about a person, product, or service that appears in the media.

Community involvement, a local activity sponsoring or participating in an event.

Public speaking, giving speeches to local organizations, at events, meetings, and conferences. It is a very powerful way of presenting your operation and what you represent.

In future articles, we will discuss how to use these tactics, but in this post, free releases and the press kit will be covered.

The press release (or news release) is the most widely used PR tool, consisting of information issued to generate or shed light on a subject of interest. Topics may include the announcement of a product launch, new store opening, or community involvement by the firm.

A press kit (or media kit) is an excellent tool to announce the information for your press release. Traditionally the press kit was a folder that enabled the business person to present printed information, photos, contact information, and collateral information. Today, the press kit is digital using a flash drive, CD, DVD, and video.

There are many sites offering information on how to create a press kit, but I recommend you look at https://www.canva.com/media-kits/templates/.

Canva Media kit templates

Create stunning media kits with the help of our free media kit templates that you can customize and download. Highlight your brand and services and get people to partner with you.

Marketing Your Business With Video

The current trend in small business marketing communications is video. I’m sure that most of us can agree that we enjoy watching videos on our computers. We view videos for entertainment, learning new skills, and research. YouTube and Vimeo offer a plethora of videos about many topics. An example is my recently canceling my gym membership and watching TRX exercise videos to make sure I’m using proper form with my at-home exercises.

If you have a website you can place your video on your landing page explaining what you do and the benefits that you can provide to your customers. There are many platforms available for businesses to highlight their videos and create brand awareness. Social networks are ideal platforms for communicating and engaging prospective buyers. Get your customers’ attention by emailing a short video or a link.

There are different levels of production, the first being the advertising agency. These agencies will give you the most sophisticated and polished product with excellent results, but there is a high cost.

Some companies will produce a promotional video for under $2,000. Most of these companies are staffed by videographers, not Don Draper’s (Mad Men), who will need your guidance and input.

The easiest and most cost-efficient method is to use software that is available online. The cost of producing a video has become negligible, and the technology ranges from moderate to very easy depending on the software. The easiest way to create a marketing video is to use a template format that uses photos to tell your story and a VoiceOver.

One of the simplest editing tools to use is Animoto < https://animoto.com/business/promo-video >. Animoto will walk you through the production process starting with a storyboard template where you can create your big idea. You can upload your photos and video clips or select from their stock library. Edit the video and customize it to fit your organization’s identity. Viola, you have produced your video and are ready for distribution.

In my previous career, I taught marketing at a major university. One of the courses that I taught was Advertising. I am a firm believer in hands-on learning and my students were required to produce a promotional video for a local small business as their final project. I created an 88-page project manual to guide them through the process. If you would like a pdf copy of this manual send your request to nick@kbizbrokers.com.

Identifying Unique Business Opportunities

Successful entrepreneurs have a special talent for identifying unique business opportunities. They can identify market trends and navigate their resources to capitalize on these market transformations. When a gap or problem is identified a business owner should seek a solution, such as a product or service to fill this void.

All market indications are that this pandemic will be with us for many months, possibly another year. Some of the results of the changes we are experiencing will be permanent. Many companies will be downsizing their organizations. Employees will continue to work from home saving companies huge sums of money in office rentals. Commercial property owners in downtown city locations will have to reinvent their business model. They will have to convert their offices to other uses or perish. Recently, I heard about a motel that transfigured its rooms into mini-office suites. This is an example of a motel owner taking advantage of the market change to fill his empty rooms to long term leases.

If you’re in a business that has been affected by the current economic downturn try brainstorming with your partners and employees and discover an opportunity that can be beneficial to your operation. Use social media to get the pulse of your customers’ wants and needs. There is a wealth of information on the web, trade publications, and industry reports if you search and analyze your findings.

Once you have found a target opportunity the next step is to formulate a marketing strategy. When developing your strategy analyze financial startup costs, target market size, and market potential.

The best way that I’ve found developing a marketing plan is to purchase MP software that is available online.

https://www.capterra.com/marketing-planning-software/.

If you have any ideas or comments, please contact our manager.

Dennis Hassis, Agent Manager

dennis@kbizbrokers.com