A website is crucial for any business. If you have a business and do not have a website, you are probably losing out on opportunities for your business. A website can be used to accomplish many different marketing strategies to help your business grow.
A well designed, informative and updated website will add credibility to your business and strengthen your brand. If you want to build a successful business in the modern marketplace professional website is critical.
According to figures released from the SCORE Association only 51% of small businesses have websites, even though 97% of consumers search for products and services online. A website not only helps small businesses promote and sell their products and services, it also allows them to differentiate themselves from their competitors, especially for customers who rely heavily on the Internet to learn everything about a company. This makes a website one of the most important business assets for sharing information, building credibility and standing out in crowded marketplaces.
Here are 8 reasons every small business needs a website.
FIND CUSTOMERS
Today, customers are constantly searching on computers, tablets, and smart phones. A website enables them to find your company and learn about your
business and what it offers at anytime and anyplace. In today\’s competitive online search environment, content is key. Google has revamped its algorithms to better serve user searches today, including rewarding sites that provide visitors with helpful content and a good user experience. This means that if someone is looking for a product or service that your business offers, your website needs to show up in the search results or you will miss out on potential sales leads.
BUILD CREDIBILITY
You can build a brand presence for your business on social media, but you\’re restricted by the platform in terms of design, process and technology.
A website can help small businesses increase flexibility, control, branding and credibility. In today\’s digital marketplace, businesses without a website are less credible. The reason for this is because most companies have a website, so those that do not may look like they have something to hide. How does a website help you build credibility? Well, it allows consumers to see what your brand is all about. In addition to showcasing your products and services, you can also tell consumers about your company and its mission. By helping consumers get to know your business, you are working to establish trust, which is the first step in building long-lasting customer relationships.
GROW YOUR BUSINESS
Many small businesses aim to expand in the market and reach out to new customers. While face-to-face interactions can be important and business often comes from word-of-mouth, a website gives you a chance to \”pass your card out\” to thousands online. With an e-commerce store, you can sell items online and ship the product to customers almost anywhere in the world. You might discover that customers in a neighbouring city or state are interested in your services, leading to a larger service area, and maybe even an expansion to regional offices.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Consumers want to be informed about their purchasing decisions- what they buy and from whom they buy. Without a website, you risk losing customers
to businesses already taking advantage of the online marketplace. If you are in direct competition with another business that has a website, your competitor has a clear advantage-especially if they are effectively marketing their website. A website can help level the playing field.
ACCESS
A website provides accessibility to your target audience around the clock. Even when you and your team have checked out for the day, your website is still working hard to bring more customers to your business. Imagine how many more sales you could make if you never slept. Well, luckily, you do not have to give up sleep to reach your customers 24/7. With a website, you provide a place for consumers to see what your brand is about and learn more about your products and services, any time of the day or night. If you make your products available for sale on your website, then consumers can even make purchases around the clock. By making it easy for consumers to browse and buy your products online, you are making it as convenient as possible for leads to convert to customers.
LASTING VALUE
The great part about a website is that once you invest in it, you have it forever and it continues to work for your forever. What other advertising methods are there that once you pay for it once, it continues to work for your business for ever? Not many. When you pay for a newspaper ad you get that one ad and any benefit that one ad generates but after that ad it is done. That money you spent on the newspaper Ad is gone, and you can never get it back. If you do not get a return on investment from it, you never can. The same is true for Google Adwords, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, a Yellow Pages listing, magazine ads etc. Whereas with a website, if you do not make a positive ROI in the first year, no worries because you have from now until the end of time to get a return on your investment.
SELF SERVICE CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPPORT
Another advantage of having a website is that it can improve your customer support and as a result improve your overall customer service. A website
can do this if you post support Q&As on your website or create a forum where users can ask each other questions about your product and other users can answer these questions. These answers to common problems or questions are then available on the internet
if other customers search in a search engine for a solution to this problem. You can also direct customers to these online documented resources so that they can solve the problem themselves. This can make things much faster for your customers and make your customer support department more efficient. Not all products or services can benefit from a troubleshooting forum, but I would argue all products could benefit from a Q&A page for commonly asked questions as well as a forum where customers can post any questions, comments or feedback they have about a product.
PURCHASE
Your website should be an easy way for customers to make a purchase. As you may already know, the buying process begins online most of the time.
What this means is that you have an exceptionally good opportunity, with a professionally designed and optimized website, to make sales with your website. In today\’s world, people are terribly busy and a little lazy too. We are wrapped up in our jobs and want the instant gratification
to click \”buy now\” from the convenience of our couch rather than go to a brick and mortar store. It is important to have a website that is set up to at least assist in the purchasing process. And hiring a developer to build a custom website is an easy way to do just that!
If you have started a business and need a website we can offer competitive rates. We also offer maintenance packages as well as hosting. Try Us:)