Do I Need a Website?
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Through ever-advancing technology, the digital age has done wonders for the invention and reinvention of revolutionary and fascinating ways to professionally showcase small businesses. This has made it possible for these businesses to compete with bigger companies. It has been proven that the most effective method of doing this is through a compelling small business website.
The best possible way to attain success as a small business owner is by having a well-designed, user-friendly website. A small business website is tremendously effective at attracting customers to your business. In the digital age in which we live, your business will come across as being outdated and unprofessional if you do not invest in a website. This could greatly affect whether or not a consumer chooses to conduct business with you.
In addition, a website provides the opportunity to reach more individuals, regardless of where you or your potential customers are located. Therefore, if you have been thinking about having a small business website designed, now is an excellent time for the breakthrough. It is definitely time to stop procrastinating and get it done. If you are still having doubts, we will go through some of the benefits of having a website as a small business in detail:
Authority
In the past, marketing through word-of-mouth, Yellow page ads and direct mailings was how businesses targeted their audiences. However, the way consumers look for products and services has changed over the years. These days, your social presence which includes your own website are key points customers consider when searching for a service or product, whether you are a small business or not.
Having a website is effectively setting up shop on the World Wide Web. This provides customers with a place to which they can go to find out more about your business. Have a blog where customers can read articles related to your business and the products or services you offer is an important of having a website as small business. A blog provides you an opportunity to give your customers something of value without it costing them anything.
By having a website with a blog it will allow your small business to become an authority among your competitors. If your business does not have a website, you will be at a huge disadvantage and essentially closing the door to countless opportunities to grow and network your small business.
Credibility
When you have a small business with a website, your credibility soars above businesses that do not have an online presence. According to Web Presence Solutions, 65 percent of consumers view a company-branded email as being more credible in comparison to Gmail, AOL, Outlook, Yahoo mail or other generic email accounts.
[bctt tweet=“The era of effectively advertising on matchbooks has long passed.” username=“bpdunbar”]
To be credible and maintain relevance, it is essential to invest in a small business website. It must be understood that if your competitors all have websites and you do not have one for your business, they will end up looking more credible than you.
Outrank your competitors
With a website, you have the ability to outrank your competitors at the search engines.
If your small business website is search engine optimized (SEO), it will show up higher in the search engine results, which will result in more customers visiting your website.
With that being said, the higher you move up in the search engine results, the more chance you have of a customer visiting your website instead of your competitors which in turn can result in more sales.
For more information on SEO, you can watch the video, Small business website SEO 101: How it works in a nutshell
Value for money
Considering the number of different methods that can be used to promote a small business, among the least expensive is a website.
Furthermore, it can potentially reach more consumers than print, television, radio or other traditional advertising methods which makes a small business website a good return on investment.
Advertising/marketing
Online advertising opens you up to free and paid options.
Free advertising comes in the form of posting on a variety of popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and many more.
Search engines such as Google and Bing can also be considered as free advertising; however, this only works if your website is search engine optimized as previously mentioned.
Compared to traditional advertising, paid online advertising can still be more affordable. In some cases, paid online advertising is even more effective as you would have more control over the target audience of your advertising campaign.
Facebook ads and AdWords are included among the paid advertising options available.
For more information on Facebook ads you can click here, and for Google AdWords click here.
Create an email list
With a website, you also have the option of creating an email list for your small business which is a very effective way of marketing your business.
According to Capterra, studies have found that…
[bctt tweet=“89 percent of marketers use email as their main lead generation channel.” username=“bpdunbar”]
This is essentially a list of visitors who have an interest in your product/s or service/s and want to keep track of your business.
It is possible to collect email addresses from in-store customers and keep them up to date on the happenings of your business. However, having a website enables you to do this more efficiently as it makes the process faster and simpler.
Working in collaboration with your website, an email list can be one of your most powerful sales tools as a small business.
Enhanced opportunity for discovery
AdWeek mentions the following, 81% of shoppers conduct online research before buying.
These individuals are using search engines to find solutions to their problems and by doing research online. If your business does not have an online presence, there would be no way of them finding you even if you have the best possible solution to their problem.
If you thought this might only be applicable to business beyond your borders, consider the following statistic from BrightLocal provides the following:
[bctt tweet=“74% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more” username=“bpdunbar”]
Being aware of these numbers and understanding consumers’ online habits make it difficult to fathom why a large number of small businesses have no website.
Small business owners who have invested in a website have a distinct advantage where discovery is concerned.
With more than 3.5 billion Google searches taking place every day, having a website makes it possible for customers to find your business in a matter of seconds. This would put you in the running when they are making the decision as to who they should buy from.
Business websites enable customers to learn about your products and gain access to your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Market expansion and more customers
It is highly likely that you started your business serving your local community. If you have a brick and mortar business that you would like to take to the next level, a website can help you to do that.
In fact, expanding into a larger market is among the most lucrative benefits of having a small business website. Your business can experience exponential growth when the product or service you are offering is made available across time zones and even internationally.
Depending on the kind of business and what you have to offer, you will be able to reach more customers than those in your local community, just because you are a small business, doesn’t mean you have to think small.
Increased capacity to be relatable
The capacity to establish relationships and effectively relate to a defined audience is a game-changing advantage of having a small business website and maintaining it. Having the ability to use your website to tell stories about you and your business is a remarkable method of forging relationships.
Gaining in depth knowledge of your audience and the ways in which they benefit from using your product/s or service/s helps to tighten the bonds of the relationship. Attracting and retaining customers through visits to your website should be the ultimate goal, along with effectively relating to and successfully serving your customers.
It is more likely that customers will visit your website than make a call to find out more about your business. As such, it is important to reply to emails and comments on social media in a timely manner, this will help build trust and personalize their experience with your business.
Business sales tool
There are a number of purposes of a small business website; however, the primary objectives are:
- To engage
- To inform
- To convert
As a powerful sales tool, your website will enable you to address any concerns your customers have in a timely manner. Additionally, it provides them with the information needed to make a decision due to its power to create captivating calls to action.
You could keep hoping that word-of-mouth advertising generates enough interest on its own or keep placing advertisements in the Yellow Pages. However, the best way to go is to create a website that inspires positive action.
Keep in mind that word-of-mouth is dead, but the more avenues you have to promote your business the better and the Internet is a powerful platform that you can use to your advantage to grow your business and increase sales.
Visitors can browse and find out relevant details regarding your business and more personally engage with you or other members of your staff. It is important to use your website to establish your brand as a small business and instil this brand with confidence.
The most effective methods of using a business website is by providing top-quality information. It is also important to learn about the wants and needs of your audience and establish a sales funnel that supports them throughout the sales process.
Automation of the sales process is one of the greatest benefits of a small business website. It also enables sales conversion at a much higher rate than conventional sales techniques.
Increase sales
The fact that your website is always available and has the capacity to reach more people means you will be able to exponentially increase sales as you are not limited by traditional business hours.
Flexibility
Creating print adverting is expensive, and can cost the same when they need to be updated, not to mention the typical waiting period for these to be ready. These days, consumers expect up-to-date information and new marketing campaigns on an ongoing basis.
A small business websites enables you to update any information whether it be pricing, business hours, demographics or services at any time and at no additional cost.
WordPress and other easy-to-use website platforms are user-friendly even from mobile devices; this enables making updates quick and easy. This level of flexibility will keep your audience informed and encourage strong relationships that keep customers coming back.
These are only a few of the benefits of having a website created for your small business. The days of consumers pulling out printed copies of the Yellow Pages to find your business are gone and show no signs of returning.
Creating a website for your small business is more than a nice thing to do, it is necessary for the expansion or even the survival of your business. Without an effective small business website, your business will be placed at a significant competitive disadvantage.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post, if you have any questions or comments, please let me know below.