Karen Bussone: Think About Your Electronic Footprint | Chroniclers

For example, the relationship of customers to businesses, out of necessity, has become more dependent on electronic communications and from the perspective of the small business owner, there is simply no turning back.

At the McLean County Illinois Small Business Development Center at Wesleyan University of Illinois (SBDC), we encourage all of our clients to carefully review their electronic footprint – especially their website – as they are starting to assess where they’re going next, now that life seems to be on the verge of establishing some normalcy.

Think about ways you can find a new business. If you’re looking for a specific product or service, there’s a good chance you’ll go to your browser and end up clicking on a link to its website. Maybe you are walking past a new store front. Where do you go to get information? The Web. Maybe a friend has suggested a store, in person or on social media. Where will you learn more? The Web.

There are a myriad of apps that can help you build a website from scratch, but remembering that this will likely be the first impression of your business on your new customers, isn’t it wise to spend some time on it? additional resources? Like it or not, everything in our lives is becoming more and more digital, and small businesses that invest in this aspect of their business, with a dedicated web administrator or contracted online marketing expert, have it in mind. together more success.

Creating an exciting landing page that clearly identifies your brand in an engaging and informative way is just the start.

There are practical needs. Your site should be scalable – it looks great on the phone or computer screen. Navigation should be easy, intuitive and, most importantly, everything on the site should work properly. Search engine optimization (SEO) is necessary to grab the attention of customers who are looking for a product or service in your ideal area.

There are also content needs. The information presented should be timely, fresh, interesting and entertaining. And again, with people’s growing reliance on e-commerce, it’s a good idea to be able to sell your products online.

Do you think you might need some help with all of this? Want to get an objective review of your website, or would you like to brainstorm some ideas for an upgrade? Contact SBDC and let’s get started. (www.mcleancosbdc.org)

Buy local, please. Small local businesses are the backbone of our community.