I'm an Accountant. Do I Need a Website?

So you're an accountant. Or a personal trainer. Or a brand consultant. Or maybe you make websites for people.

If you provide professional services for clients in your network, you may be wondering: do I even need a website? Since most of your business comes through referrals and personal relationships, it may not seem like a website is necessary. And to some extent it's not as necessary as it would be for someone who is selling products online, like former clients and subscribers Porvata (selling ergonomic office furniture!) and Hullwinkle (selling organic pillows!)

However, the answer to this question is not black and white. Instead, you should think of your website in terms of Return on Investment. If you run a professional services business, a website is an investment in future business and can help you in the following ways:

• You can show examples of past work

• You can describe your services so people can come to the first conversation with more info

• It gives potential clients an easy way to contact you

All of these can facilitate future client conversations and bring in more business. If you've been following this newsletter, you know I like to use the analogy of the digital storefront. Having a nice website is like having a clean, inviting storefront - it can bring potential customers in and convince them to work with you!

So how do you know if a website is going to generate a meaningful Return on Investment? Here are a few good considerations:

• Do you have time and money to spend on a website?

• Is your client base digital-oriented (read: young)?

• Do you work with people that you don't know personally?

• Are your clients often comparing multiple vendors?

If your answer to some or all of these questions is yes, then it's likely your website will have a strong ROI in the relatively short term. Do you agree? Are there other important considerations you can think of? Reply and let me know!

Bennett