Why Today's Small Businesses Need A Reliable Web Presence

When you own and operate a small business in your city, you may not realize just how important a reliable web presence is. Did you know that this is the most common way people search for new businesses in their area? Thanks to such things as Google Local and Google Maps, they can readily find new businesses, complete with GPS directions. However, most won’t travel to a new business without knowing something about it and this is where a Web presence is the key to your success.

A business website tells them who you are, what you offer and why you are the best choice for them. However, without reliable connectivity, you may not be available to answer any questions they may ask on your chat box feature. Oh, did we mention how important that is too? Let’s look at all this a little closer to see just how important that web presence really is.

Reliable Internet Service Is an Absolute Must

If you live in the greater St. Paul metropolitan area, as one example, you would want a St. Paul MO internet service provider with downtime being rare. Altogether too often downtime can be the difference between making a sale and losing to a competitor. If a prospective customer only needs a question answered before making a buying decision and you aren’t there to give them an answer, they may become disheartened, moving on to a business that can be depended on to be available as advertised and as needed.

Choosing the Right Web Hosting Service

Then there is a hosting service to consider. Just as you don’t want an internet service provider that experiences mega downtime, so too do you need a web hosting service that is reliably up most of the time. It is literally impossible to be up and running 100% of the time, but if a service is online more than 99.999 percent of the time, they are as reliable as it gets.

Beyond a Business Website

Then there’s social media to be considered. This is a fantastic way to build relationships with your customers and that’s something today’s consumers really look for in businesses they deal with. Also, it is a great way to get their input on other products or services within your niche that they are looking for but having difficulty finding. What a great way to develop new product lines and/or services that would sell because you see an unmet demand.

However, all of the above would be futile if you don’t have reliable connectivity. Just when you need that connection to your website or social pages, connections drop out. There is no way to communicate with users if you’ve lost that connection which is why this is, perhaps, the most important feature to look for in any kind of online service provider. Consumers will see it as you being unreliable but, in reality, it is that service provider that dropped the proverbial ball. We’ll leave you with that. If you want to grow your business, you need a reliable web presence. Sometimes it’s just that simple.