Despite we can clearly see how dramatically our behaviour has changed over the last years, we can still find managers and entrepreneurs who do not believe it is important to invest into their online presence. Sadly. However, often times it is only a matter of a few minute discussion to make them realize what they thought is actually wrong and harms their business. That’s the reason for this article. So why you should work hard on building your image online even if you are not a traditional e-commerce?

You don’t need to be an expert to see that more and more people use internet to find a solution to more and more of their problems. That is why they expect to find you online and this alone should be enought for a true business professional to understand why it is inevitable to start building a professional online presence.

Why websites that were built ten years ago don’t work anymore? Because they were designed as a summary of what you offer with a list of simple bullet points. Today, this kind of websites is obsolete because customers simply can not find them. Contrary, well-planned, thought out and designed website reflecting target customers and portraying benefits of what it is that you offer using the right keywords (SEO) enables you to be discovered at first positions of google search result page. People don’t search for your company name. They search for a solution to their problem and that is exactly why you need to offer an answer to this to make it easier and convenient for them to find you.

Your wesite is an equivalent to the store front. It takes less than one second to make a judgement about you for people. This judgement that is going to influence the whole relationship you are going to have, if there is going to be any relationship, takes less than a blink of an eye. Looking visually attractive to impress your customers is what separates professional organizations from amateurs. It is also why “love at first sight” exists and it is why you should use this our emotional characteristic to your benefit.

Whatever it is that you offer, it exists to solve a problem of some kind. An old famous marketing line says “people do not shop for drills; they shop for holes in the wall where they will put photos of their children.” Your website is a perfect place - potentially an infinite space - for you to talk about all your products’ benefits and positives of cooperation with you. The second your potential customer starts searching for a solution to their problem, he can find you in the results and once you, it’s an incredible opportunity for you to establish yourself as an expert and a friend who can help him. Then, i is only a matter of time once he is back and ready to do business with you.

Trust is likely the most important element of business. No one ever does business with somebody who can not be trusted. Website is a perfect tool to prove not only your level of professionalism, but also show that what you say is true and thus you are the one who can be trusted. There are many ways to do this; from testimonials to case studies to certificates and other things, website enables you to design a perfect buyer’s journey and fill important pieces with the right information to persuade potential customer that you can hold your word.

Social media and pre-designed sites are good and for sure they are big asset, especially social media, and you should use them to your benefit. However, there’s a catch: if something is owned by somebody else, they can change everything at any time holding you hostage. Social sites release updates almost every week and regularly even reinvent themselves with huge transitions forcing you to adapt visually, functionally and else. Your own website, as opposed to that, is you home that you can dwell on. It looks as planned, it works as planned, no matter what. Moreover, it enables you not only to communicate, promote yourself and build relationships but also to provides many functionalities that will help your daily business (file management, HR and CSR activities etc.).