The Internet is Good for a Recession
It’s no secret that we’re now in a recession and most industries across the country and the world are feeling the effects. In talking to a number of other web professionals and from my own experiences, I believe that the Interent is good for consumers and businesses alike, thus being good for our industry. Let me explain a bit more and maybe make more sense.
The Internet for Consumers in the Recession
With everyone needing to become a lot more conscious of their spending habits and how much they are spending, more and more people with be researching and even making their purchases online, looking for better deals. Hence, I believe that although we are in a recession, there may be a shift of spending from traditional sales channels over to the online sales channel. During the boom times in Ireland, we didn’t really care what we were spending on items because there was always more cash coming our way (I’m generalising here but not always the case). I’m constantly reminded that I don’t know what it is like to live in Ireland during a recession and it’s a different mind set. The last recession in Ireland was in the 80’s and I was too young then to notice. With the Internet available to all in this ecomonic cycle, I wonder how much it will influence people in their buying habits. Spending figures may go down but I think the percentage of spending online will go up.
The Internet for Businesses in the Recession
So, it’s no longer the spending frenzy that as it has been in years gone by and I’ve found that a lot of businesses that previously didn’t need to do much marketing for the business to sustain their size and also grow, are now looking at new ways of bringing in the business. A recession pushes businesses to get back to basics and focus on sales and marketing to keep their businesses alive. This is where the Internet comes in to play. Utilising a business website to help market your business and generate sales leads or indeed direct sales can be a cost effective approach compared to traditional sales and marketing methods. Take a one day full page ad in one of the national papers that can easily cost upwards of €10,000 but it only lasts a day. By putting €10,000 towards your website, you’re looking at a sales and marketing tool that can last at least 2 years. Any subsequent traditional advertising can be directed to your website to pick up where they leave off, and generate those must needed sales leads. If you haven’t embraced a website for your business or your current site is looking a bit dated, now is definitely the time to look at how a strong web presence can benefit your business in these difficult times.
The Effect on the Industry
Both of the above lead to one thing for our industry, we are definitely getting busier. I’ve talked to a number of other professionals in the industry and nobody seems to be feeling the effects of the recession just yet. Everyone is saying the same thing – they are busier than ever. Will this last? I’m not sure but if businesses all come to realise the strengths a good website can have for their business during a recession, our industry will continue to grow. We’re working with lots of new clients on their new approach to online business as well as upgrading existing clients with new techniques to improve their presence. We would definitely recommend companies that need a new sales and marketing strategy in this unsure time to look into this further and contact one of the many companies out there that can provide a good service. Finding the right company can be difficult though so in addition to ourselves, I’d like to recommend a few web companies and individuals off the top of my head, that I know in the industry and believe they can do a great job:
- Ken Stanley – Standards guru with a good team around him for some exceptional work
- Contrast – They mainly build web apps but also design some very unique websites
- Sabrina Dent – Designs some great looking websites that have also achieved some great success
- Spoilt Child – Probably one of the best design companies in the country with an excellent portfolio
- Click Stream – Have a wide array of clients and producing some very good work
- Red Fly Marketing – For when you need to market your website in the online world
Do you need some advice?
We love talking to businesses and offering any advice we possibly can. Feel free to call me directly on 046 – 9072998 for a chat or email me at info [at] davidbehan.com.
