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By: Steve Chung
 
So many years have past since the Internet revolution, yet there are still questions on the viability of bringing a business presence to the internet. We are not talking about having a complex online transaction site for your business, it is merely an online presence that proves that hesitation among businesses still exist. Why the lacklustre response? To begin with, the rate of Internet usage penetration in Malaysia is still low in comparison to developed nations. The rates are increasing everyday, and the potential for business to jump onto the bandwagon before their competitors do is still a very viable option.
 
So why should business invest in a website? What benefits awaits them? In this article, we highlight the 5 primary importance of having a web presence for your business, regardless of the industry you are from.
 
Low Investment, High Returns
Business today invest a significant amount of their revenue back into marketing. That is not a big surprise, as awareness is always the key to differentiating your business to your competitors. It's all about how well a business position themselves in the market that builds up its value and desirability in the eyes of their prospects.
 
However, marketing effort can be a costly affair. From participating or organising events, to sending our brochures when a new product is released, these actions require ongoing marketing investment. This is where the Internet provides a value proposition that is unsurpassed by any other marketing medium. Developing a presence on the Internet requires a modest one time initial investment, and as the structure is built, maintenance as and when needed, is all that is required to keep it marketing for your business, even when you sleep!
 
Global Accessibility
Businesses may argue that they are not looking for global accessibility. That's what small business owners such as batik sellers initially thought, that such designs will only appeal to the local market. The Internet has once again proved otherwise. The conclusion is simple; we will never know what demands are in existence on the other side of the globe, and Internet presence is the first point of entry in discovering this possibility, at almost zero risk. Many businesses out there have discovered and grown through this method, in fact that is what business globalisation is all about, to discover new markets for your products and/or services.
 
Business runs 24/7
The best thing about websites are they never sleep, even when you do. This makes it the perfect platform to sustain continuous marketing for your business, with absolutely no constant ongoing cost, unlike events or exhibitions. In fact, if we think about it, most internet users surf the net after hours to find information they need. If the Internet is not 24/7, it wouldn't have become an essential medium in everyone's life today.
 
Awareness Creation, Image Building
When we run a business, we wish to adopt a theme. What that means is that a toy store should look like a toy store, and a hardware store should look tough and relevant to the product it is selling. In another word, for any products/services that is offered, it has to appeal to the market it is targeting to. A website is a full visual medium, thus it's ability as a platform to build a theme for your business is ideal. Apart from that, customers have a very subjective view towards businesses. Imagine conducting a sales pitch via email, you will find that emails such as myname@somefreemail.com will lose out significantly compared to myname@mycompany.com. These are all image building exercises, subtle yet significant.
 
Versatility And Scalability
The Internet never sents anybody to a dead end. The more prominent advantage to a web presence is its ability to scale alongside the business itself. Today your business website may be showcasing your products, tomorrow it could be running an online business selling your products, the day after it could provide even complex database to help you keep track of your suppliers. That's how versatile the Internet can be. And by moving and automating certain processes and task online, not only can you reduce cost of operation in the long run, you will also save significant amount of money investing in marketing efforts, as mentioned above.