And Now for Something Completely Different

Below is my attempt at writing for a consulting company.
Doesn't look like that's going to happen, but it doesn't make this any less true.
Enjoy, or don't, whatevs...

Welcome to 2013!

It doesn't appear the world is going to end soon. Thanks to the internet and social media though, the world is changing drastically everyday, especially the business world. By now many business owners seem to recognize the benefits of a web presence, but it appears a good number of businesses have failed to understand the what that web presence means and just how much of an impact their on line presence has.

Studies show that about 80% of business and commerce is done on line, and 78% of consumers do their product research on the internet. So what does that mean to you? Combined with social media, the increased use of the internet means that yesterday's emphasis on interpersonal contact is a decreasing factor when consumers are deciding how and where they will spend their money. The internet has moved from a means of advertising and simply passing along information to a means and method of doing business. Instead of a customer service representative as the face that represent your company, your web presence has now become your most valuable means of telling people who it is they are doing business with...or not.

The internet is now your businesses lobby, showroom and market presence all in one. While you wouldn't want a shoddy showroom or lobby, hire a bad sales rep or exemplify a disregard for your clients in today's culture that's exactly what you're doing if you have a web site that is static and boring. To the modern consumer, the failure to update your site with fresh content, making it difficult for the average user to navigate, and broken links virtually amounts to a company that doesn't take their reputation, customer satisfaction, and perhaps their product seriously. It's just bad business.

Good internet representation doesn't have to be expensive if you're a little tech savvy  resourceful, and are able to put the time in to it in order to do it right. Of course you could hire someone as well. Either way, it pays to remember that to most people the quality of your web presence is wholly indicative of the quality of your business so if you're going to do it, you should do it right or perhaps not do it at all.

The internet...if you're not getting business and making money there, you're as much as giving it to someone else.