Three Stupid Questions

We’ve all been told that there are no stupid questions. I beg to differ! There are stupid questions, and I’m going to share three that I’ve heard recently that get my skin crawling. It’s possible this will offend some, but maybe a blunt answer is what you really need to your stupid questions/comments!

Do I really NEED a website?

For real? It is 2013, if you don’t have a website, it’s hard to believe you’re still in business, let alone growing. Even if you are doing well or growing without one, you’re missing out on an even greater potential of growth when you have a strong presence online. I just spoke with someone this week whose company did roughly $6 million in 2012, and the owner of the business is concerned that a website costs too much. For real? You made $6 million, and you can’t spend $5,000 in order to make another $100,000 or $1 million or more?

A website is more than just a brochure online, too. When designed and optimized effectively, your website becomes an invitation to people online who are searching for exactly what you have to offer. If you don’t have a website of your own, you are COMPLETELY missing this group of people. You’re just giving business away to your competition. I suppose that’s cool if you don’t want any more business!

I don’t know if there’s a misconception around the cost of a website, or if it’s a struggle for business owners (large or small) to justify the investment. But, a website doesn’t have to cost tens of thousands of dollars. Here are a few that are under $10k, some far under…

Broadleaf Partners

Triton Products

Christian Sales Coach

Creative Wealth Associates

Let’s assume you’ve gotten past Stupid Question #1 and you have a website. It might be a little harsh to call this question “stupid” – but unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that a GAZILLION people search for products and services every single day on Google and other search engines. So, yah, I think it’s still okay to call this one STUPID! Granted, sometimes websites are “found” by Google without you having to go through an official search engine optimization process. But, that’s like having the cure for cancer and just putting a sign on the back door of your house to let people know. Sure, some people will see that sign, and they may tell their friends; but you’re keeping the fact hidden that you have the cure for cancer for cryin’ out loud!

If you truly believe your product or service is the “cure for your industry’s cancer,” then why wouldn’t you want people to know about it? Sure, there are costs involved in hiring an outside SEO firm to help you with this process. But, there are also lots of things you can do without spending a dime to ensure your site is more visible to search engines. Here’s a great set of SEO resources from SEOmoz.

Is SEO necessary? Absolutely.

I’m not sure my business needs to be on Facebook.

Okay, so this isn’t a question. Just a stupid comment! There are now ONE BILLION people on Facebook every month, and it’s not just kids and grandmas playing Words with Friends. People like and comment an average of 3.2 billion times every day! When you have a strong presence on Facebook, your business is part of these conversations and has access to the most powerful kind of word-of-mouth marketing — recommendations between friends.

I don’t care if you sell clothes or carpet cleaning services, engine repair or commercial landscaping, financial services or sheets of steel…your business needs to be on Facebook. Of the one billion people on the social network, your audience is in there somewhere. And this is not just to say you have Facebook page, but to actually reach and engage your customers, vendors and partners. According to a recent study by Recommend.ly, more than two-thirds of Facebook brand pages are updated less than once a month. “Being” on Facebook is just the beginning. You actually have to do something with it!

Facebook is not just for B2C businesses. JeffBullas.com offers these five reasons why B2B companies also need to be on Facebook:

1. Business leaders and CEO’s ‘are’ on Facebook
2. It improves your companies chances of being found by search  engines
3. It provides an environment that can spread your ideas to people who ‘like’ your company Facebook page by just posting an update such as news, photos, videos and your latest blog post to your Facebook page
4. It collects and captures feedback about your products and services
5. Provides another communication channel ( 2 or more is always better than one)

What about you?

Do you agree/disagree? Or do you have thoughts or comments? Let us know – here or on Facebook.