1. To establish internet presence ~ More than 100 million people/businesses worldwide have access to the internet. Have you stopped to think how many of those people or businesses might have been searching for you in the last few months and how many of those people were wanting to do business with your company and may have gone elsewhere.

2. To advertise your business ~ Think of your potential website as an online brochure. The only difference from your printed brochure is that your existing and potential customers can access it 24-7. If you had a salesperson advertising you and your business 24-7, how many hundreds of thousands would that cost? Having your website out there for the world to see saves on your advertising costs too.

3. Networking Advantages ~ Every smart business person knows, it’s not always what you know, it’s who you know. Picture your website as your online business card. Just as you pass out your business card to the contacts you network with – what if you could pass out your online card to thousands and possibly millions – it says this is what I do and if you are ever in need of my product or services, this is how you can reach me.

 4. Credibility ~ Whenever I network for my business and I’m handed a business card with an AOL, Yahoo, MSN or gmail email address, that person doesn’t have instant credibility and these days credibility is a great start to a profitable relationship.

5. To reach specialized markets ~ Do you sell a specialized product or service? You may think the internet is not a good place to be – think again. The internet isn’t just for computer geeks anymore. With the millions of WWW users, even the most narrowly defined interest groups are represented in very large numbers – Trust us, your competitors have a web presence.

6. To allow feedback from customers~ You pass out the brochure, the catalog, the business card. But it doesn’t work. No sales, no calls, no leads. What went wrong? Wrong price, wrong market, wrong color? Keep testing is what the marketing books say, and you’ll eventually find out what went wrong. That’s great for the big boys with deeper than normal pockets, but when you’re paying the bills the pockets suddenly become rather shallow. With your website, you can ask for feedback and get it instantaneously with no extra cost. An instant email response can be built into web pages and can get the answer while its fresh in your customers mind, without the cost and lack of response of business reply mail.

7. To protect your local market ~ With the impact of globalization, there is a great chance that your existing and potential local customers, that don’t know you exist, already go online and purchase goods and services from your competitors. By having a website, your local market can be protected!

8. To stay competitive ~ Do you realize that the majority of companies have a web presence? Your competitors are already in the majority. Chances are, if they’re not, they won’t be very happy to find out that you have one.

9. To make changes quickly ~ Again, think of your website as an online brochure. It is distinct from the print brochure in that changes can be made and mistakes can be corrected almost immediately, at little or no cost at all. With your website, your existing and future customers can get the latest updates on news, additions to your offerings and special pricing on a weekly or even daily basis.

10. Enhanced Customer Service ~ A business website is of great assistance for individuals who are leading a busy lifestyle; with a few mouse clicks your customers can find out all the information they would normally call you to get. Furthermore, people who are regular e-mail users would appreciate it if they can send e-mail asking question via your website.

If at least 3 of the above reasons for having a website struck a chord for your business or made you say ‘Hmmm’, you owe it to your business success to start small and get your web presence known.

Here’s how we might be able to help you.

The Latham Group is having a half price sale to help small businesses in the Houston and surrounding areas become the best they can be. We typically create a 5 page informational website for $800.

Your own website for 50% off!

We even offer reasonable payment terms for your convenience.

Go to Our call us page and fill out the form to set up your complimentary needs analysis to find out how we can get the word out about you and your business. We only have space for 10 businesses to take advantage of our Summer Special – so don’t wait – get in touch sooner rather than later.

 The most recent site completed can be found at www.ledouxforschoolboard.com.

Thanks and we wish you all the best in your business endeavors.. The Group