I recently received a call from a new aquaintance; friend of a friend. In the small talk following the introduction he asked what I did and I tried to explain in non-techie terms.
From our conversation, my new friend gleaned that I did websites. [I may have done one generic, static website in my career, but that's easier than getting technical.] The phone call was to tell me that his barber may need a website. Now while I appreciated the thought, the idea of building a website for a barber shop caught me off guard. A salon or day spa? Yes. But an old men’s barber shop?
That got me thinking… who really does and doesn’t need a website?
A business website can be used for different things.
- Selling directly online (ie. an ecommerce website)
- Online business card
- Informationtional site
- Marketing
Selling directly online – Most ecommerce websites fit into this category.
An online business card – A small site containing information about a business or person and contact info.
Informational site – A site containing information about a person, place, event or product with contact information for further details.
Marketing – A marketing tie in site. Coca-Cola, Budweiser, etc.
Most restaurants in cities would benefit a residual effect of some online presence. For a downscale restaurant a map listing with contact information on a Citysearch type site. For a more upscale establishment, an advanced site with menus, pictures of food and commentary. When you are looking for something to eat these types of sites make it easy to find a restaurant close by, find the days and hours, delivery options and phone number. Except in rare cases, these are not destination sites.
Any type of professional; doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant could see results from a business card site with additional information about specialties and links to outside information on specific issues of their profession. I don’t think every doctor should outline the intricacies of their specialties, but links to medical journals and other known resources would be helpful.
An upscale spa or salon could support a more broad website in many cases. Besides the general information, more specific details about treatments and special events would be useful. A reservation form could be utilized. The income potential per website vistor would be higher here compared to most restaurants.
I can’t see how a barber shop would benefit proportionately to the cash outlay required to setup and maintain a site. I wouldn’t think traditional barber shop clientele would go to the web to find a barber in their area.
It boils down to the income potential of a website whether it is beneficial or not. If you are in a high income potential arena, it only takes a few positive hits a month to take income from a website. With a more modest income potential arena, it can take a lot of hits to make a website break even, so if you can generate the traffic, it may not be worth investing thousands in.
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