It seems a sacrilege even to ask the question—do you need a website for your ADR business? These days, websites are as ubiquitous as dogs on Church Street in Burlington, VT (my old digs…at the time I lived there in the late 1990s, Burlington had more dogs per capita than any other city in the country).
The general answer is yes, you do. But here’s a better question: When do you need a website?
If you’re in start-up phase, then you don’t need a website yet. Put your money and energy into good business planning, office systems, clarity on market niche, development of a professional image in your print materials, etc. Here’s why a website shouldn’t be at the top of the list for new practitioners:
- You probably don’t yet have readers to direct to your site. If it’s your intention to use a website as a sort of online brochure, then you first need a substantial client or prospect base to refer there.
- You are unlikely to be found via the web. Unless you’re very tech savvy, have tons of time to teach yourself SEO (search engine optimization) or pay substantive bucks to have someone do it for you, it’s unlikely searches by potential clients are going to find your site. There are exceptions, of course, but most of you won’t be those exceptions.
- Now brace yourself: Is it possible you’re using the development of a website as a way to put off going out there and actively getting clients? Ouch! Sorry to have to ask the hard question.
If you’ve already set a good foundation for your practice, then you do need a website in order to:
- Continue to build your professional image and credibility.
- Give your prospective clients a way to get to know you and you work with a depth of information that a brochure or packet just can’t provide.
- Help you get the word out for announcements and press releases.
- Convert your print newsletter (costly) into an e-newsletter or blog, assuming your clients and prospects are web-oriented.
- Provide value-added services and support for your clients.
Create a strong foundation for your practice with sound business planning first. Then, when you do build a website, make sure it projects the kind of image you’d want prospects to see, and make sure it’s written for your target market.
Just got started on your site (found via “Online guide to Mediation), and I already like it a lot. I’ve been reading “How to Know if You Need a Website,” and I have two initial thoughts.
First, my answer to your “hard question” is mostly “yes,” though it cuts both ways: I’m also consciously uncertain as to whether I’m ready to start marketing myself.
Second, there’s a glitch on said page: the bullets do not appear to be at the beginning of each item and the first two characters of each line in the bulleted list are cut off. This is the case in both AOL 9.0 and IE 6.0. (ETA – also true in the “find What Your Lookin For” fram on the right.) Hopefully, this buys me a minute or two when I’m ready for my free five minute review.
Bottom line – great site, fills a useful niche. Congratulations.
Hi there, Lucy, and thanks for writing. I really appreciate it when folks take the time to comment. The bullets problem is one I’ve been working on and only seems to occur in Internet Explorer–I hope to have it resolved somehow tonight! Thanks for your other comments and best wishes to you as you continue your decision making about how and when to market yourself. You definitely bought yourself 2 more minutes!