Below are some reasons to get a website (or a better website):
- It's expected - This may seem like a flimsy reason but it's significant. Imagine you were deciding who to choose for a service or product. Would you favor the company with a website or the one without?
- Cost Effective - The Web is the most comprehensive, cost effective communication tool there has ever been:
- E-mailing existing customers cuts down on expensive direct-mail print costs
- Keeping in touch with your existing clients by e-mailing a quarterly newsletter containing information about new products or services
- Sending special offers or an informative article is a good way to remind clients of what you do
- Easy Way to Contact You - Make it easy for visitors to contact you through an inquiry form as well as displaying your phone number, email address and office address at the top of every page.
- Distribute Information - Adding documents for your visitors to download turns your site from an online brochure into an information repository. This is an easy way to distribute your company brochure, case studies, directions to your office, minutes of meetings, reports, application forms, news, hints and tips, and more. The list is endless.
- Awareness - Raising general awareness of your business/organization.
- Wider Access - to publications, research, and campaigns.
- Other Multimedia Support - a means to present information including supporting multimedia video, audio, etc.
- Instant Interaction - with members/audience - polls, feedback, member contribution, etc.
- Real-time - instant-response editing/updating capabiliy
The beauty of the Web is that it allows everyone to have a voice, but this means there are millions of voices competing to be heard. If your website is to be effective, useful and successful, it needs to be easily found, it needs to be user-friendly and interesting to use, and it needs to provide well structured information. It also has to look good. Most importantly, it needs to understand who its primary audience is.
Be on the look-out for REM’s new and improved web site-- coming very soon!
