Dear Rexal,
While the investment in putting on a good website is relatively low,
the benefit is great.
A website can function to:
- Inform existing clients;
- Target new potential customers;
- A respectable website enhances the reputation of the business.
Inform Existing Clients
=======================
I have searched, and I guess that many people like me have also
searched for businesses I already know in the Internet because I have
:
- lost their address/telephone
- wanted to know something about them (opening hours, deliveries,
services for example)
- wanted to get in touch with them quickly. This is a factor that is
especially important for an accountant in the country, because there
are distances and some clients might not be able to "srop by".
Communication through the site might be more effective.
Here are few solutions for contact forms (so you won't have to have
your email online and target spammers):
Contact Form Generator
<http://www.tele-pro.co.uk/scripts/contact_form/>
MyContactForm
<http://www.mycontactform.com/>
Free Contact Form Code
<http://www.ibdhost.com/contact/>
Getting New Customers
=====================
It is quiet possible, that some people in the region haven't heard of
your practice yet; or would like to know which accountant practices
exist in the region before they decide. Your competitor might be
online, and you're in disadvantage; and they might be off-line, which
gives you the advantage when soemone calls.
Needless to say, in this day and age, one doesn't really need to meet
the accountant in order for them to sort out their bills and help them
pay their taxes. A good website could help you hunt clients outside
the range of your country area - people who'd send you their papers
through the post, get your services.
Targeting new customers is a bit trickier than just keeping in touch
with the old ones through the site. You have to consider the fact that
some work has to be done:
- Writing content that would come up on Internet searches;
- Getting in touch with directories such as Google Local, so you'll
come up in local search;
- But also working on the general output of your site, so it could be
found easily.
Google Local - Add a Business
<://www.google.com/local/add/lookup?hl=en-US&gl=US>
(Currently limited to businesses in the US, Canada, Japan and the UK).
Yahoo! Local - Add a Business
<http://listings.local.yahoo.com/>
More about improving your Website and attracting more visitors:
--------------------------------------------------------------
Jennifer Kyrnin, "Improving Your Web Site for Higher Google Rankings",
About Web Design/ HTML,
<http://webdesign.about.com/cs/promotion/a/aaaagoogle.htm>
Tips for Improving Your Website (From Jokes 2000)
<http://www.jokes2000.com/tips/>
Roger Brown, "Nine Effective Tips For Improving Your Website's
Usability", Web Pro News, August 18th, 2004,
<http://www.webpronews.com/webdevelopment/sitedesign/wpn-26-20040818NineEffectiveTipsforImprovingyourWebsitesUsability.html>
Daniel Janal, "How to Attract More Customers to Your Site",
<http://www.efuse.com/Grow/marketing__marketing__marketin.html>
Other Reasons
=============
As I've mentioned before, a respectable website enahnces the image of
the business. Naturally, this means that the design should fit the
business (in this case, be conservative), that the content would be
free of spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, jokes, etc.
Here are few other reasons
--------------------------
Do You Really Need A Website?
<http://website-design.mcdar.net/6111.php>
Mindie Burgoyne, "Does Your Small Business REALLY Need a Website?",
<http://www.lowershore.net/articles/faq.htm>
Yaro Starak, "Do You Need A Website?",
<http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/429/do-you-need-a-website/>
FAQ's, Why you need a Website?
<http://www.blaiswebcreations.com/html/faq.html>
Tim W. Knox, "Why You Need a Website", Entrepreneur.com, October 27th,
2004, <http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,311640,00.html>
Roy Williams, "Does Your Local Business Need a Website?",
Entrepreneur.com, September 19th, 2005,
<http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,323517,00.html>
So, when can I see your website? ;-)
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it. |
