It's true and none of you can deny it.  No one can give a plausible argument that justifies not having an online presence in this day.  No one, absolutely no one. And justifiably so.  

The bigger question is why, why should your company be online? Well the answer is simple.  How about the $169 billion dollars (1) in online revenue generated in 2010 for retail sales. Maybe the $225 billion dollars in selected service sales in that same year.  Or maybe it's the fact that individuals are no longer jumping into the phone book to find service providers, restaurants and the like.  The internet, mobile devices, tablets, game consoles, smart tv's all with wireless capabilities provide a market and a wide array of options for searching and finding service providers on the go or from the convenience of their couch.  So tell me, why is your business not online?

Is it because you can't afford it? This is no longer a plausible answer.  Is it because you can't maintain it? Also not a plausible answer, your son/daughter/grandchild can manage and maintain a facebook profile, you can have them assist you in maintaining your site.  You can't duck and hide from the world wide web any longer.  

Here are some tips and strategies you can employ to get your business rolling:

Register a Facebook Page

There are 900 million Facebook users, of which, more than 10% of them live in the United States (est. 94 million).  The average user spends 23 minutes on the site per visit and visits upwards of 40 times per month.  If your product or service needs a jumping off point, this is it.  Registration is free and simple: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

Establish a Twitter Account

Yes, I said it, "tweet about your business".  Twitter gives you a micro-news platform that allows you to update your potential clients and customers 140 characters at a time.  It is perfect for posting new product releases, discount coupon codes and more.  The 140 million twitter users is a plus also.  Wait, did I mention that this too is free? https://twitter.com/signup

HIRE a Professional to Design Your Website

The key word in that phrase, professional.  There are only limited circumstances that you should be hiring your brother, sister, cousin or aunty to design and develop your website.  One of those circumstances is simple, your brother, sister, counsin or aunty is a web professional.  Web design professionals have an understanding of user behavior, interactions, browsers, designing for audiences, device capabilities, etc.  This is knowledge acquired through research and problem solving.  It is also knowledge the will serve you, the client, and your clients in the long run.

Search Engine Optimization

This is a tired and old term by this point.  For a year or so now, designers have slowed down on touting SEO as a major pitch point.  Simple because we ALL do it.  However, if it's not done, your in for a lot of trouble.  SEO is important simply because it allows Google and other search engines the opportunity to discover your website, content, products and services.  The possibility of your being found in one of the 3.5 billion (3) web searches is quite high if your site is optimized correctly.

Regardless of how you may feel about the web, or why you think you don't need a website, chances are, if you do not have one, you are letting money slip through your fingers.

Sources:
(1) http://www.census.gov/econ/estats/
(2) Tips and strategies inspired by http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/entrepreneurs/2012/06/14/marketing-your-small-business-online-effectively/?intcmp=featuredmedia 
(3) http://searchengineland.com/by-the-numbers-twitter-vs-facebook-vs-google-buzz-36709 

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