Now, this could be due to luck, great timing, networking and other factors, but I have a feeling that the uptrend in businesses wanting to have an online presence in Malaysia is slowly on the rise.

With Unifi, ‘claimed’ greater broadband penetration throughout the country, more and more baby boomer business owners are themselves getting connected to the triple W.

Hey, even my mum uses Facebook, skype, MSN and all now!

People Google More Than Ever

I got a comment on this website a while ago commenting, ‘how many people actually use Google to search for dentists’? The reason this reader had asked this question is because I had used dentists website as an example of the importance of having a website.

As it turns out, there are more than 1 million searches for people searching for the term ‘dentists’, ‘orthodontists’ and various versions of those words, PER MONTH.

In Malaysia alone.

People are getting into the habit of going online, doing a quick search for information, absorbing said information and getting on with their day.

Long gone are the days of people searching through the Yellow page (available online anyway) or even using a street directory (GPS/ Google Maps anyone?) and this trend is only going to continue.

Without A Website, You Don’t Exist

This is what a friend of mine from Korea told me the last time I talked to him. Over in the land of Kimchi, he said that if you don’t have a website, in the eyes of a lot of businesses, you aren’t really a real business.

This is a good lesson we can learn from the world’s most connected Internet country.

Already more companies are asking for a website from a potential vendor/ supplier just so that they can a) contact them at a later date or b) to find out more information on their services.

It still confuses me how people are willing to spend on many other forms of advertising/ marketing materials instead of getting a simple website made.

While driving the other day I saw a bridal shop, all decked up in lights, a huge sign on their shop, expensive interior decorating and just as expensive rent as it was in a very popular neighbourhood for bridal shops.

They had a .blogspot website.

The sign on which their free website was printed on probably cost more than a simple website would have cost – what does it say to potential clients if you can’t even afford a website to represent your brand?

Having said all the above, the future looks good for businesses taking up websites and finally getting their brands online. It’s more a matter of when and not if.

And I’ll be right here waiting for them

Your Website Is Your Brand

As a ‘marketing expense’ money would rather be spent on getting brochures, leaflets and other things which we are more familiar with here. I mean, who hasn’t had a brochure or two stuck on the windscreen of your car recently?

But a Website is not just a typical marketing expense, it can’t be put together in the same league as a brochure or a leaflet. A website is part of your brand.

Your logo, your mission statement/ aim (probably placed somewhere on your ‘about us’ page), your contact details, your team members are ALL on your company’s website.

When people search for a business, they typically look for their company website on Google, Yahoo or MSN and see what the business is all about.

You may be actually quite a good business, but if your website gives a bad first impression, that can be all it takes for a prospect to never walk into your door.

Control What People Think About You

With a website, you can typically (but not always) control what people see/ read about you.

It’s a known statistic that when searching for information, browsers rarely go any further than 3 links down the first page of the search results.

Without a website, who would be these first 3 links for your business? They could be completely unrelated, or worse, they could be a website saying negative things about your business.

Let’s take this website as an example. When you search ‘OnlineBusinessMalaysia.com’ on Google.com, almost every single link on the first page belongs to either this site or a 3rd party site with content I have put there linking back to this site.

So essentially I have controlled what people think about this site and how they perceive my brand. Can you say the same about your website?

It Only Takes One Lead To Make Money

For my Web Design business, it only takes a single lead to make a sale, as web design is a relatively high ticket item. For some of you who sell products or services with higher profit margins, this may be the case.

One lead, one prospect coming to your site may cause you to break even that month, or make a record profit?

And the beauty of the Internet is that there are things you can do to drive more and more traffic to your site, hence increasing the number of leads you have and possibly boosting your business.

Facebook, Twitter, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are just a few of the methods that people use to get more ‘eyeballs’ on their websites, products or services.

A Website Works 24/7 All Over The World

Unlike magazines, brochures, leaflets or many other typical points of contact with your audience, your website can work for your 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

No matter what time of the night people may be searching for your business or service, they can get access to that information.

If your clients are overseas and need to get some information from your website they can do that, regardless of time zone. Better still, if you’ve always wanted to do business overseas but never knew how, a website can open up that channel.

Building a website, even here in Malaysia, means that it’s online, all over the World, for all to see.

I remember asking one of my friends what happened when he had a website made for his family business, he said:

“I’m surprised where some of the leads are coming from, not just in Malaysia but sometimes overseas as well”

If you’re considering getting a website made, you’re opening doors you may never knew could be opened.

If you’re still not sure if a website is for you, I hope the above information goes someway in convincing you otherwise.

Now what are you waiting for? Get a website created today!

Your Internet advocate,

-William Lee

Let’s take a local paper based printing company for example (I know a few that I’ve worked with in the past). As it is, they run in an already very niche market segment, where people may be searching for ‘billboard printing’, ‘brouchure printing’ etc.

In Malaysia, if they were to start a website, optimize it for the keywords ‘paper based printers’ as well as write some articles on paper printing or about their machinery, I’m sure their page would get ranked very high. However, in other countries like America for example, there is more competition for just about all streams of business online, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t start a website.

You may need to rank your website for more localized terms, taking the printing example above, you’d could optimize your website for ‘paper based printers [insert town here]‘.

I have a friend who helps his dad run a white board manufacturing company.

After convincing his dad to start up a website, he’s been getting more leads from places he never expected to receive them. And that’s the power of a website, it can show up in many more places than you or your business card can.

Let’s say you take your website and attach it to your Facebook account, in the signature of your forum profile or even one small advert in the newspaper… the amount of leads you could generate to your brick and mortar business would be so much greater than you could imagine. The reason? It is much easier for someone to view a website than it would be for them to call or visit your business. On the Internet, you can stay anonymous and still browse for things that you would like to buy.

Let’s face it, not everyone is a maverick who can just walk up to anyone and start a conversation. Most of us are apprehensive of public speaking (even if it’s one on one). That’s what the Internet frees us up from, it allows people to ‘talk’ to us without actually havint to ‘talk’ to us. Get it?

Well I hope this short article helps you decide to get a website or at least start a blog if you don’t already have one.

And if you’re in Malaysia and would like some more information on getting a local website made? Email me at william@onlinebusinessmalaysia.com and I might be able to help you out.

Thanks,

-William Lee