I can’t believe I’m writing a post like this in 2011, but the sad fact remains that some small businesses don’t have websites.
A friend told me about a local business that had a gift I wanted to get for my wife. I figured I’d go out this morning and get it. I found their location on Google Maps, but couldn’t find their hours listed. Searched for their website — nothing. Google “Place Page” — nothing.
Finally, I just called to find out their hours. Phone rang and rang, but no answering machine. I assumed they’d open at 10 on weekdays, so I took the morning off and drove my daughter to preschool so I could purchase this gift. Come to find out they’re closed on Monday. I just wasted 90 minutes for nothing, and I’m not happy.
I would have been willing to go tomorrow if I had known that they were closed on Mondays, but they made no effort to get that information out there. Other local businesses carry this particular item, so I’ll be visiting one of them instead.
It’s 2011. If your business don’t have a website, then maybe you should call it a hobby instead. I’m not a big fan of “business card” websites, but at least they get the information out there.
[UPDATE] They actually do have a site, but it’s written entirely in Flash. I dug deeper in Google and found their site was 50th for “company name marietta, ga”. Flash is still ok in moderation, but it kills you if your entire site is written in it. In this case, like most, they were buried in Google and inaccessible on most mobile devices. Plus it had auto-playing music. I think their developer might actually be a competing company, doing everything they can to stop them from succeeding.
