ANTenna Blog -- Internet/Web

A longstanding quip about advertising is that half of it works, but no one know which half. A glass half-empty response to this adage might be to scale back marketing efforts. But, on the other side of that coin is the view that predicting which marketing efforts will work is impossible, so no business can afford to miss an opportunity to connect with customers. Yet, that's exactly what more than half of small businesses are doing by NOT (yes NOT) having a Web site.

According to a report from Warrillow & Co., only 41% of small business owners have a Web site. That's stunning when you consider that according another report 39% of small business owners use text messaging (PDF).

Not surprisingly, having a business Web site appears to correlate with company size. Yet, it's not until a business hits the 5 employee barrier that Web site ownership climbs past 50%.

These smaller businesses without an online presence -- the storefront that never closes and is on every street -- are squandering an opportunity to lure new customers, establish stronger relationships with current customers, build credibility for the brand, and that's just for starters.

Let's ignore (for just a moment), the myriad ways that businesses can employ a Web site to boost business and, instead, focus only on the branding and advertising aspects. Would you leave your business phone number unpublished? NO. Would you open a storefront, but skip the signage? NO. Would you leave your business name out of the yellow pages? MAYBE, if you had a Web site. And there are some who suggest that not every business needs a Web site, but only in favor of pursuing other online strategies.

In today's business climate, no business can afford to miss an opportunity to connect with its market and a Web site is the digital equivalent of hanging out a shingle and letting people know you're open for business.