Why a web presence and why at CygnusUSA.com

After all of the hoopla about the internet over the last several years, many business people are wary to get involved. Reasons given are:

• There are too many different opinions on what is needed for a web presence.
• The cost is too high.
• I am not technologically proficient and don't have the time or inclination to learn.

An article in the OC Register (Business Monday - 12/11/00) focused on why the small business might need an internet presence and to what extent they need it.

• Small businesses tend to use their Web sites for marketing, not e-commerce, according to a new survey conducted by Gallup Inc. for Verizon Information Services.
• About 27 percent of small businesses nationwide have a Web site, compared with 24 percent in 1999, Verizon reports.
• Those establishing an Internet presence for advertising purposes increased from 8 percent a year ago to 21 percent, while those intending to sell on the Internet declined from 25 percent in 1999 to 13 percent. "Research indicates that many consumers use the Internet to window shop, to research and browse before they buy from local merchants," said Verizon spokesman Patrick Marshall.
• In a separate survey by Verizon Web site SuperPages.com, 21 percent of Internet consumers said they research online but buy locally, while only 5 percent said they research and buy products online. 48 percent of small businesses with a Web site believe their customers come from beyond a 50-mile radius of their location, while 20 percent of those without a Web site believe they have such broad geographic reach.

What does that mean to you, the small business owner? Unless you have a unique product or service or can offer a "killer price" on a common product, a shopping cart site can be an expensive and risky proposition.

Your web page is probably not going to make you rich. Your web presence like any other form of advertising should inform potential customers of your goods or services in a way that conveys your values of quality and service.

A web presence can legitimize your business to known customers and expose potential clients to your business