In today’s ever-evolving digital marketing world, for a small business owner having a website is as significant as having a telephone number or office. 6/10 customers necessitate brands to have a website. Why do you think customers visit a website? To find information about your product or service. Moreover, if you’re in the business world, information is the deciding factor. Meaning, if you want many customers, you need an online presence to give your customers information at the click of a button. So, why to wait longer, your customers are looking for you already! Here are five reasons that will leave you wondering why you didn’t step into the online world sooner!
Here is Why You Need a Website for Your Small Business
1. Business Credibility – Website is Your Brand’s Online Identity
Yes, it is true – Just by being online, your small business will gain more credibility. Customers trust companies that have an online presence than ones without a website. Think about it this way. What do you do when you want to buy a new product for your home? Google it – Right? You go online and see which one is the best product and read reviews. Based on the reviews, you will finalize on the one which suits your requirement. Similar is the case with your customer. Your website is a useful tool to share information related to your business. Potential customers will likely be distrusting of any business if they don’t have a web presence. You don’t need an awesome website design. Just create a website which is easy-to-use. All you need it to tell customers about your products or services and to answer all the What’s and Why’s that they may have. Look at it this way, if all your competitors have a business website and you don’t, who do you think looks more credible?
2. Business Visibility- Anyone, Anywhere & Anytime
You sure don’t want to work at 3 a.m., but your online customers could be browsing the web at any time. Makes sense to create a website that’s available to you and your customers 24/7, 365 days a year, doesn’t it? Benefits of having a website are, regardless of you are available or not, your business is online, and you are generating leads. You can have a contact form or any other way maybe a business email on your website for people to be able to contact you. It will help them to get in touch with you, regardless of you’re in front of a computer or not. So as long as you have a website, your business is always open!
3. Market Expansion – Reaching a Wider Audience
If you have a website, meaning your business is accessible to anyone all over the world. Meaning, you could potentially reach those customers who otherwise are unreachable. You can increase traffic to your website by consistently updating and promoting the contents of your site. Literally millions of people use the internet. They are continually looking for something; You never know maybe your potential customer is searching for you from the other part of the world. Your business will be visible to anyone, from any country. Mainly, you may now have a potential customer from any part of the world. Internet shopping is still on the rise, so having a business website will potentially allow you to expand your business. You need not sell using your business website, but always have one to tell your customers about your business. It is like your online business card. People tend to visit your website before they come to your business location. If you want your customers to visit your brick and mortar shop or even be able to find your business in the first place, it is must to have a search engine optimized website.
4. Consumer Insights – Improves Customer Service
Considering all the benefits mentioned above, you may have understood that your web presence will you improve your customer service. But, unless you ask each customer who visits your website, how they found you, you may not know the origin of your visitor – be it social media or any other marketing campaign. However, it may not be achievable for you to ask every customer. Instead, you can use analytic tools to find out about your consumer insights to improve your customer service. Using website analytics, you can identify who your typical customer is, how they found you, what they like. You can adapt the data from these reports to maximise purchases through your site and enhance your customer service. Analytics tool will provide real-time data about the following:
- Demographics of your website visitors
- How visitors find your website
- How frequently visitors return to your site
- How long does a visitor stay on each page
- The number of daily/weekly/ monthly visitors to your website
- How many pages visitors access per visit
- Which website pages are most visited
5. Website Cuts Cost – Cheaper Than Renting a Shop
Having a business website can cut the cost of physical premises, staff, tax and utility bills. In some cases, you can even sell your products or services to the customers directly from your website – eliminating the need to establish a “brick-and-mortar” stores which involve substantial operating costs. You can instead spend that money on promoting your business on various online channels. Create a website that’s user-friendly and optimized for search engines. Ensure it’s built on the latest technology and has all the business information filled in accurately. Again a website that isn’t up-to-date could be worse than not having one at all.