No matter what we're led to believe, running a business is always about building relationships. Building trust and a great reputation are two aspects of your business that you can control. One way to build trust is through delivering great services and/or products. Displaying the ability to deliver is just as important as actually delivering. It is in your best interest to create an online presence for potential customers to discover and interact with your business.
Today's tech savvy consumer will most likely use the web to research your business. Creating and maintaining an online presence should be a high priority. Many times, these tech savvy consumers will vet your business via the web.
Your web presence is synonymous with having a physical store for people to visit. At a high level, the following three 3 steps are the building blocks for establishing your online presence:
- (Building) You'll need to create your virtual work space by securing a domain and/or social media accounts.
- (Design) Your website and social media accounts should have a consistent look and feel. This will make it easy for consumers to navigate your site and social media accounts.
- (Maintain) If you had a physical building, you’d keep the building clean, mow the lawn, etc. Your web presence will require the same attention. Keeping content updated is one form of maintenance.
Depending on the industry, I typically make the decision to use a potential business based on their the online presence. An online presence confirms that you are legit and that you take your business seriously.