As business people we have all seen them, or at least heard from them - the dreaded telemarketers who call in "on behalf of XYZ company" to try and sell us a website.
This call, outside of being a waste of valuable company time, is puzzling to most business owners and controllers as there is mostly no visible need for the service.
The thought process, usually, goes something like this - we already have a website, we've had it for a while now and it works just fine. The last thing we need today is some yokel telling us that they can give us a new and improved version of what we already have. After all, if there was a need we would have already realized it and called someone ourselves.
All very accurate and very true, except of course for the fact that it isn't. To attain a different perspective on the topic it would be advisable to keep in mind that this article does not endorse telemarketing, or any other method of sales executed by the untrained. We don’t hate sales people, we hate bad sales people. That said lets look at the issue from another perspective, that of the web-development company: the Internet has changed, has grown and has evolved substantially from the early 2000's, when many sites and projects were initially launched. The advances in technology and in user experiences are incredible and data-access is becoming rapidly faster and more efficient. The other noteworthy notion is that fewer and fewer people out there don't know how to use a mouse. In conjunction with each other these two points are producing an evolutionary experience in the end user, whether a retail client or a corporate decision maker:
Our clients and prospects are becoming a lot more demanding in terms of what they want online presence to feel like. In terms of what they want their online experiences to be and last but not least - in terms of ease of use.
Gone are the days when all a company needed was a presentational type site; if there is a product or service to purchase, the users will demand a way to buy it online and buy it quickly. A site that is not intuitive enough for a user to navigate - will not get navigated. A site that is overly complicated and is overloaded with cumbersomely placed information will not be attractive.
All of that said, a site now days is more then a beauty contest - it is also a very powerful tool, in the right hands. With advances in technology and process automation, a simple looking site can be a powerhouse of databases, ECommerce functions and information analysis. Properly written back-end systems can make logistics easier, cut costs without cutting quality and provide the user with up to the minute updates of where their product or service is. To the company it could mean the difference between growth and decline, success and failure.
In a simplified fashion - web presence is no longer optional. The internet is a Mensa-level genius Beauty Queen. We can either dance with her, or be left standing in the corner holding our drinks. But before we can dance, we need someone to show us the steps - we need a Web Development Company.