Website Return of Investment - ROI!
Return of Investment: Print Design vs. Website Development
- Websites are never out of print.
- Websites have universal distribution points.
- Websites have no space restrictions.
- Websites communicate better.
- Websites are always available.
- Websites interact with customers.
- Websites allow sales during off hours.
- Websites are ready when your customer is ready.
- Websites have low overhead.
- Websites change with business.
Business perception of a website is often negative. Many business owners resign themselves to creating a website simply because their competitors have one. They do not see a website as a positive marketing outlet, nor a good investment. This attitude often results with poorly designed websites. Poorly designed websites are destined to fail, and when they do, business owners prove themselves right – wasted resources and wasted effort.
But wait. There are businesses out there that are selling most of their products online and getting rich! Some have cut costs of training and information distribution by thousands by using Internet solutions. Just out from the NYT (Nov. 30, 2005) online holiday sales statistics!
- VisaUSA said that online buying by its cardholders on Monday rose 26 percent, to $505 million from the same day last year.
- Little was accomplished at the office as the number of workers who shopped online jumped to 15 million from 11.1 million in 2004.
- BabyUniverse.com had a sales increase of 50 percent over the same day last year
How can this be? They have good web design and good marketing strategies. Online retailers used incentives used in their stores, discounts, coupons, etc.
Good marketing is a coordinated effort of your business model – your product, your customers and your budget. If you put a print brochure together, you probably take considerable time planning what you want on the piece, what to advertise, who is your audience, what pictures to use, even down to what paper to use and who will print it because printed materials are expensive! When it comes to the website, less attention is given to something that is vastly more powerful and useful than a simple brochure.
That’s quite a claim. Vastly more useful? Absolutely. Let’s compare several print piece costs with a website. Considering cost to develop, distribute and audience circulation (not to mention customer readiness to buy), print advertising pails in comparison.
- Trifold Brochures $800, 500 people for 7 days
- One Newspaper Ad $250, 35,000 people for 1 day
- One Sunday Paper $400, 70,000 people for 1 day
- One Industry Magazine Ad$750, 12,000 people for 30 days
- One Business Journal$600, 12,000 people for 14 days
- Our entry level easyPublish Website Design
Millions people world wide for 365 days
Of course, these are hypothetical numbers, but realistic and are used to demonstrate that a print ad has high costs involved with producing and distributing and has a limited life span; when a website has relatively low cost involved in producing and distributing with a long life span and extensive distribution.
Get the most out of your website! Don’t be doomed to failure because of lack of effort. Before you invest in a website, make sure you know what you like, want or hope to accomplish. Do your homework.
- Find websites that you like. Why do you like about them?
- Look at your business. Find ways that technology can help you.
- Outline what you hope to accomplish with a website. Increase sales? Support staff or members? Provide product information?
- Produce content! Take time to finely tune or message.
- Find a competent and helpful web designer. Ask questions and look for suggestions.
- Look at your competitor’s websites. See what works, and what doesn’t.