One study found that of people who “liked” a brand:

• 13% were much more likely to purchase the brand
• 41% were somewhat more likely to purchase the brand
• 47% felt liking a brand had no influence on purchasing

So nearly 1 in 2 people who actually liked a brand, had actually ticked the box, were no more likely to buy that brand.

Another study found that just 1% of FB users who liked a brand were seen as loyal to the brand. As FB is generally seen as brand building, and loyalty building rather than a direct sales channel, 1% is low. In fact it is lower than the margin of error: it could be zero! This suggests  a certain hyperbole in the sale and pushing of FB, giving credence to the thought it is mostly just pub type conversations.

source

One website I did took £8000 in the first week, and it’s not an ecommerce site. The owners were over the moon.

Another site I persuaded the owner to let me tweak the SEO, making the site less aesthetic in her point of view. In a fortnight she had won a £2000 commission. She is a happy bunny.

Now, in both cases the product was great, and the service was great. But nobody knew that until they found, and liked, and used the website.

Which is sort of what I’m boasting about.

More than 90% used black type* on a white background. 90%+! That has to be a vote for using type that way. They also found the average font size was 13 going on 14, and that this was increasing over time.

Black type on a white background with a good size font.
Because it works.

*Truth be told, some designers used dark grey instead of black…

trans-sporting.com

But I still wanted to put this old fave in…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygCDv5jQN3w

…and KerPow! His girlfriend found out. Nuclear is not the word for that meltdown. So the site had to come down, (and I’m sorry, no link…)

Have a look www.UltimateGolfRetreat.co.uk

OK, not all do, and the sites can be holding pages or very simple 5 page sites, but most small businesses will do better with web sites.

Let’s ignore anything to do with ecommerce and think only about brochure sites, or a cross between a business card and a small brochure site:

Lets customers find your telephone number
Lets customers find your location
Lets customers find your opening hours

Without these people will go to businesses that provide these details, businesses that make life easier for customers.

Thats the business card part, out there 24 hours of every day rather than in a wallet or dispenser on the counter of a closed shop.

Then the site:

Lets customers find get an idea of what you stock
Lets customers find get an idea of your positioning in whatever field or sector you are in.

Thats the brochure part of the site, again out there 24/7, quietly working away.

Now, a small business might not lose much business but it probably will lose some by not having a simple brochure site. And some small businesses don’t want the extra business anyway. I think these small businesses are a small minority and that most want all the custom they can get, and want new customers to replace the inevitable loss of old ones.

So, most small businesses will benefit to some extent by having a small website. Small, functional, good looking and reasonably easy to find; a site that conveys basic information, a site that says “I’m open, I’m here, and I sell this good stuff”

At the very least it is just being polite to your customers.

www.enchantedlark.co.uk