In the future, a large portion of people are likely to find local businesses through the web. The following 6 factors suggest the importance of local businesses investing in a web presence...
> Google and Yahoo are developing local search engines. In the future, no matter where you are in the world, all you'll have to do is enter your address and a business type and Google or Yahoo will return a list of businesses closest to you.
> Some of your potential customers will already be using the search engines to find your local business. For example, if you are a real estate agent in Perth, Australia, some of your potential customers will be using Google to find "real estate agent in Perth Australia".
> The number of users with Internet access is increasing rapidly. Young people in particular will almost certainly use the web rather than page through a yellow pages directory.
> Very few local businesses have websites that are listed in the search engines. Competition is weak but in the future local businesses will compete aggressively for top positions in the search engines.
> A website is by far the most effective and inexpensive way to manage a growing customer database. Web forms make it easy to capture client's data and e-mail management systems make it easy to send personalized e-mail.
> A website can save a lot of time and money by including frequently asked questions and giving the customer the ability to pay via credit card, thus reducing the manpower needed to service your clients.
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