Dave’s Take

I am constantly amazed at the number of small business owners I meet who still don’t believe a website is worth the investment. Or even worse, they buy a cheap template for their site and then fail to update or promote it. Next to a bad location, nothing stymies retail business more than not having a presence on the Web. These clueless owners don’t seem to understand how successful branding starts and ends with the Internet. To put it simply – a business without a website is a business waiting to fail. In the 21st century, a business must have a topical Web presence to survive.

A recent Yahoo WOM (word of mouth) survey reveals just how important the Internet is for peer-to-peer WOM recommendations. Yahoo researchers discovered that while only 7% of all brand WOM conversations occur online, almost 40% of all WOM conversations are influenced by the Internet. Think how many times you or someone you know has started a conversation with, “I read on the Web today about…” This is WOM branding 101 and it’s gaining in influence on a monthly basis. Clearly, if you ignore the importance of online WOM branding you are ignoring a huge stream of potential customers.

Some more surprising facts included in the Yahoo report:
• The Internet is growing in terms of WOM importance. All other media sources including TV and newspaper are flat in regards to creating WOM.
• Two-thirds of WOM is positive, with only 8% considered negative WOM.
• Certain businesses, such as financial and automotive appear to do better than most in online WOM conversations.
• Very little WOM is attributed to social media sites, as most conversations take place face to face. The level of Internet influence in WOM discussions has risen almost 5% over 2009 conversations.
• Almost 15% of ALL conversations include something from people who found the information online.

These stats act to cement the belief that without a website, your business will have a heavy uphill battle to be successful. The study also reveals how important website content is to prosperity. Visitors expect to be educated about your product or service in a professional and timely manner. Failing to update or include all necessary information will not only fail to increase sales, but can actually work against a business. Just remember, creating good Web copy is easy…just put yourself in your customer’s seat and see if you get what you need from your portal. If not, it’s time to change the message before it’s too late.