Is Your Home-Based Business Be-Dazzling or Be-Scamming?
by Ken Shorey
Home based businesses are growing daily on the Web. These websites owned by sole proprietors, family owned business, and small business owners must compete with Fortune 500 companies. How a website is perceived by the Internet consumers can determine whether a business is successful or a dazzling failure.
In the early days, the mom & pop business that was operated out of the garage was represented on the Internet as a home made quaint little website that gave the consumer some trust that this business was legitimate.
The potential customer felt they could do business with this small company because the perception was the website was created by the small business owner who is working hard to grow their business on the World Wide Web.
As the popularity and profitability of the Internet grew, there was an onslaught of shady business owners with splashy, flashy websites that promised the world and delivered nothing. Online opportunity seekers spent thousands of dollars in cyberspace and received nothing for their hard earned money.
After a while these high priced websites were perceived as SCAM central. Internet users were getting smarter and started clicking away from these websites.
The down side to the scenario is that legitimate internet marketers who understood web design started building sleeker, cleaner sites. These legitimate small business owners were all lumped together with the scam sites. It was difficult for the Internet consumer to make a distinction between legitimate and non-legitimate sites.
As a result of these dazzling colorful sites, Internet consumers perceived these glossy sites as either SPAM/SCAM or X-rated. Consumers became leary of these sites and avoided providing any information.
The amount of Spam that accompanied signing up at one of these flashy sights resulted in tons of Spam in email boxes. The smart consumers avoided these fancy websites like the plague.
These websites using multimedia with the dazzling displays of colors and sounds were intended to impress the Internet surfer. But there was the opposite reaction. Surfers regarded these sites as off limits.
Now the Internet has come full circle. Small businesses must compete with Fortune 500 companies who have a strong presence on the Internet. The Fortune 500 companies have the technology and the money to create the best professional sites money can buy.
The mom & pop sites are no longer a standard to determine legitimacy. Web surfers are sophisticated consumers who want to see a well designed site that can be navigated seamlessly. Websites do not have to dazzle but they do have to look professional and be well designed.
This shift in perception can enhance or destroy your business. Keeping your website up to date using modern technology will enhance your business presence.
A hastily constructed home made website is no longer the standard that Internet shoppers look for when determining the legitimacy of your business. The old mom and pop small business look is passé.
The new business websites are sleek clean business cards that speak to the needs and wants of the Internet community. Superb copywriters create the words and phrases that pull customers into the site and lead the customer to the payment gateway.
The perception of the Internet buyer has changed - so must the face that you provide to the Internet community.
This entire Internet may be all perception in all about perception. The customer can not meet you face to face. The customer depends on your website to determine your legitimacy. Since your business is your most important asset, putting your best face forward is an important move.
