Benefits of Having Your Own Website(s)
- People expect it. Your customers expect to be able to go to your site to find your hours, location, directions, and learn something about you and your inventory. Many people no longer use the yellow pages.
- You can keep the same Email address forever. If you move, change hosting providers or leave the country, your email address(s) stay the same.
- Your information is available 24 x 7 365 from anywhere in the world.
- Your site is only 1 click away from a classified ad in the ABQ journal.
- You can save money by running smaller print ads that link to the website.
- You don't waste as much time on the phone because the customer has already seen your merchandise when they contact you.
- Changes are instantaneous; no problems with dated copies with old prices or terms.
- It is unbelievably cheap compared to any other form of advertising.
- You can afford to include lots of pictures.
- You have space to discuss any and all aspects of your business in detail.
- You can publish articles that establish your expertise.
- You can solicit comments/advice/suggestions from readers.
- You can sell things you write.
- You can profit from affiliate ad programs such as AdSense.
- You can show pictures of everything you sell.
- You may want more than one website. For example, investors who flip property probably don't want to say the same things on both the buy and sell side.
- You can use an anonymous test website to offer a product or service. If it doesn't work, no one else knows.
- No need for a retail location with retail overhead & hours (You can work all the time :)
- Unlike printed materials, a website should be published in draft form. Therefore they are great places to test & refine products and ideas.