Website vs Facebook fanpage for business

Well everyone knows that Facebook is free so if their company can only be found on facebook it will lead to people asking themselves ,if they cannot afford a website why should I give them my business?

Show them some examples of how they can't control facebook and how a few bad comments could wreck their business

They don't own the web property..facebook do, therefore their biz page could be taken down and there's nothing they can do about it.

An analogy I often use is the desire to own a home vs renting. MOST people would prefer to own their home. Web property is the exact same thing. When you own a property, you can control many things. A few simple negative comments on YOUR site, can be removed, on Facebook... not really.

The other method I use is education on ever piece of the puzzle has a function. youtube has a function. Facebook has a function. A website has a function. More importantly EACH page of a website has a function.

The moment you try and blend functions, you are diluting the ability for that function to do exactly what it is supposed to. As an example Facebook as of 4th quarter last year has 1.23 Billion users. 1/6 the world population. ok yeah so whatever right? Well look at this: 3 Million Teens Leave Facebook In 3 Years: The 2014 Facebook Demographic Report | iStrategyLabs – A Digital Agency That Invents Solutions Online and Off

So hard facts... US population is 325,000,000 the hard data above shows there are 180,000,000 American facebook active accounts. ( how many of those are family pets? ) So anyways... the possible reach Facebook has is 55% of the American population. An impressive number. BUT...

Some recent Census data ( 2013 ) indicates that 74.4% of HOUSEHOLDS have Internet access, with 73.4% being "high speed". The actual PERSON count based on the 2011 Census data shows that 82% of Americans have access to and USE the internet. To put that in a number for you... 260,000,000 Americans access the internet.

So the difference between Facebook users and the internet in general is a minimal 80,000,000, or 30.7%.

The difference between the 2 comes down to one factor and one factor only, and that's "reach". Internet in general has the potential for 100% reach... and before you say ah no way..I bet every person in America has been on Walmart's website. but how many have been on their Facebook page? I know for a fact given the above data there is AT LEAST 80 Million that haven't. ( Not such a minimal number NOW is it? )

These are the facts that I work around when I am up against the "I just need Facebook" objection. A website has the potential to reach 82% of a local market. Facebook - I think the total reach capability is unknown, but I will bet the percentage is not all that high.

But isn't this exactly the concept that wordpress is built apon. "ANYONE" can build a website... so in theory "ANYONE" could go in and change those things?

But lets bring this right down to brass tacks. these clients you are speaking to... they went with the provider that is currently creating dissatisfaction in their lives for one reason and one reason only. they were CHEAP. You truly do get what you pay for, and web design is no different.

No offense to you.. but you come along, and offer a static no need to change front end, and offer all of these changes in the social end.. and guess what? a year from now they will be bad mouthing you as well. because they don't know how to make the needed updates or remove the needed posts. They call you, and of course you are going to charge for that.. but they already paid you to make it. why would they have to pay to fix it? and it all ends badly.. or your working for little to nothing.

And at that point you understand that they took YOUR service for one reason and one reason only. it was cheap!

Service plans / Hosting plans.. however you do it. this is the key to all of these issues. And to by quite honest, if the client wont except the terms of having to pay monthly for these types of services.. I walk away. No sense in dealing with the above scenario. Been there done that once if not 10 times to many times.

My answer to the above question will probably not surprise you, but the answer is YES. Well let me rephrase that a bit, YES if they actually want the page to rank, and draw them new clients. If it is simply their to have "Presents" then no... but seriously.. why bother at that point.

But the real issue as a provider of this type of service is to get to the core of this statement: "I see small biz who hate the "talking head" they paid so much money for, who are unhappy with their overblown sites.". WHY are they unhappy? Basically what was promised, and not provided? These people were sold a vision... an understanding of results... forget the page for a moment and get into what these potential clients EXPECTED and did not receive.

Understanding the clients EXPECTATIONS is the basis to providing services that will provide RESULTS that meet those expectations. If you are out to just make a "sale" you are no different than the provider before you.

I know there are limits and could not even begin to tell you how much how little and how its determined

I wish I new the answer to this...

If I was starting a Brick And Mortar tomorrow, My first thought would be the name, this name would definitely be based on me doing concurrent domain searches looking for availability of such name.

Then the website, all my info of the business, the address would be the last thing I would add to the site once I had the property.. I cant even imagine the idea of opening the doors if the site was not already live. I may consider opening without a Facebook Fan Page however...

I actually get upset when I pass a new business that has coming soon, try to look it up on my phone and find nothing, drives me nuts.

Maybe Im crazy, probably, this also why i wouldn't be successful with a brick and mortar, the bills would be pilling up because I am yet to open the doors because I am not happy with my site :-)