Except you are a small business owner who is not interested in growing your brand, you need to have a website for your company. These days consumers expect businesses that are serious to be on the web. Your online store will be not restricted to business hours, and it is one of the best source of free advertising. Having a business website is not just about selling your goods and services – it will also provide initial information about you to potential customers.
Still not sure how having a website will help you to grow your business online?
Here are 10 reasons why every business needs a website:
1. Your customers expect it:
If this were the only reason on the list, it would be enough. Now a days, consumers expect brands to provide online information about their business and services in form of digital medium, and more than half head straight to the brand’s website for the product and services related information. If you don’t have a website, today’s digital-savvy customers may look elsewhere.
Using the Internet to search for businesses and products is much easier and faster than any time in the past. Millions of searches are done everyday and it is commonplace for businesses to find their next supplier over the web.
2. Provides instant access to customers to give feedback:
Many consumers claim that the online reviews influence their buying decisions. You could rely on review forums such as FourSquare, Yelp, and many other are available to host reviews for your brand, but you can fulfil the two requirements with the one condition for the website. Since potential buyers are already looking for you online, including customer testimonials on your site is a great way to impress potential buyers.
3. Create your own story via blogs:
It is true that you cannot control what others say about you on social media channels, but you can influence public perception by creating your own story via a business website. A company blog helps business owners to get their message, mission, and personality in front of their target audience faster than print ads or snail mail brochures. Plus, social icons linking to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other networking platforms make sharing your content easier for your visitors who like what they see.
4. Creates measurable results:
A website allows you to track the number of visits and where they came from. It can record the number of enquires or online sales in the case of an e-commerce site, thus producing a ratio of enquiries to visitors which gives the conversion rate. With this information, you can take steps to improve this ratio and increase sales.
5. Boost your professional image:
Adding your domain name (www.yourcompanyname.com) to your business cards, stationary and advertising material attracts attention and tells people that you really mean to your business. Even if you are a one-man shop or a small office of three, a website can make you look like a large professional operation. Not only do you get a personal domain name for your business that you can plaster all over your print materials, but also get to replace that free consumer email address with own business’s name for adding branding and credibility.
6. All you competitors have company websites:
Consumers typically start their buying journey with research and recommendations from peers and social network connections. Studies show that once a consumer has an idea of what they need or want, they start researching, and most of them go online to find educational material, reviews, and testimonials, according to a recent report. So if you are not staying competitive with your competition, you are giving shoppers a reason to buy from another brand.
7. Don’t put “Closed Down” sign again:
Nobody likes to work at 2 a.m., but some people like to shop then. Having a business website or ecommerce store means that you can sell products all the time – not for specific hours between 9 pm to 5 pm. An online store will boost your sales, especially when you factor in additional customers who are not restricted by geography. The online presence of your website will also supports marketing campaigns, customer service, client relationship building, brand recognition, and almost every element of the revenue stream. Also, combining your website with marketing tools, like email marketing, helps you reach new customers and generate repeat business.
8. Your business will show up in google search results:
If you don’t have a website for your business, the chances of showing up on the google search engine results page are ‘Zero’. But if you have a site, you can optimise it for search engines. Thereby increasing your chances of appearing at the top of Google’s results and getting more visibility with the customers. Long-tail keywords, meta descriptions and titles are just some of the things you can customise on your site to improve your search engine optimisation (SEO).
9. Create a resource centre for your staff:
In addition to helping customers, your business website will also benefit your own employees. Create an orphan page (one that is not visible anywhere on the site so it can’t be found unless someone is given the direct link) with self-service videos, instructional materials, or even internal forms to help your team everything the need to know on their own schedules.
10. Showcase your products and services:
Not only can you display your products or outline your services in detail with beautiful images, but you can provide short video tutorials or downloadable PDF instructions to give hesitant customers no reason to go elsewhere to purchase. As a website can contain large amount of up-to-date information, available anytime to anyone with Internet access. A website can play a role of the abundant, high quality, interactive, full- colour brochure listing all the goods and services you offer.
After reading this article, If you are looking for someone who can build a website for your business, then we are here to help you. For more information, contact us now.