In ancient times (which is 10 years ago in the world of the web), people would target certain advertising medias to help boost their businesses workflow by advertising and attracting new customers to buy their products and services. Those forms of media were generally print, along with radio and TV. Fast-forward to the present, and the tables have turned, dramatically!
With the birth of the web and the ever-growing base of people now online, there are many, many platforms to market your business on. No, its not just Google anymore, there's other platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram as well!
So while the opportunity has opened up for you to advertise in different areas and better target your audience, the downside is it’s harder to find something that works specifically because of your many many options. Clients have told me "I used to just do ads in the Yellow pages and I would KNOW business would result from it”… where as nowadays some platforms work for some and don’t for others. Its really case by case basis.
Anywho, back on topic. Ask yourself, ask your friend, even ask your parents … "If you’re looking for something, where do you look?”. I can pretty much guarantee the answer is going to involve a computer or smartphone and the internet!
What does that mean? It means essentially everyone (~81%) of people use the web as the first place to look for information. That means any business owner wanting to survive and grow their business, must be online. Its not an option anymore. Businesses need to have at least a basic presence on the web, and while that might not be a website, it needs to be at least a Google Business Page. However like any of these ‘external’ business listing platforms, your surrounded by your competition. That's where a website is unique and gives your business the spotlight!
So if you don’t have a website, and don’t want one, don’t expect to sustain or grow forever! You can expect to loose out on many, many potential jobs which over time added to being thousands of dollars in lost revenue. And while word of mouth referrals are fantastic, people nowadays still look up online (because its so easy!) to see how credible that referral is.
