If you are a small business owner, you’ve probably asked yourself:
Should my small business have a website? The answer is: “yes, it should”. You could also ask: should my small business have a website even if the business itself is done predominantly offline? The answer is still: “yes, it should”.
Ok, the second answer may sound counter-intuitive, especially if you’d say this to someone who is NOT from what most would say ‘the internet generation’.
According to research from AT&T, 88.5% of Americans and Canadians are internet users, but 59% do not believe in the benefits that being online with their business can bring. Yes, 59% of small business owners do not have a website.
If you are one of those owners, we’ll try to change your mind in this text to get a website, today if possible. It’s the easiest solution possible to improve your business, increase your revenue and build a brand image.
Whether it’s a dry cleaners business, a cosmetic salon, furniture manufacturer, or a doctor’s practice, getting a website puts your business on the map.
So, without further ado, here are the 6 reasons why your small business should have a professional website:
1. Credibility
This can’t be stressed enough. Having a website gives your business an additional degree of credibility you’d otherwise have to prove in other ways.
According to Salesforce Deskfacts research, 90% of potential customers will first check you out online before contacting you via e-mail or calling you.
Having a website adds an additional level of professionalism and legitimacy to your company. If potential customer looking for your business or services you provide can’t find you online, they may simply go to a website (perhaps a competitor) which has all of that. Wouldn’t you?
2. You are available to everyone, all the time.
Your website works for you 24/7, 365 days a week. Your audience can be the whole country if you wish it and it also allows you to showcase your work or demonstrate your skills.
You could provide your customers or clients the convenience of both reviewing your products and services, as well the relevant information about your business.
There are many features available to you, allowing your visitors to also contact you, buy your merchandise or schedule appointments.
This allows better user interaction and facilitates a business model more suitable for 2018. and a busy lifestyle of an average consumer.
3. It’s a very potent marketing platform
Having a website for a small business is also a very good marketing channel. The best way to think of it is as an online billboard.
It allows you to introduce your products or services to the people, to many more of them than a physical billboard ever could, if used correctly with appropriate digital marketing methods, such as Google Ads, Facebook advertising, search engine optimization, and blogging.
One of the important advantages over the traditional methods of marketing is that EVERYTHING IS MEASURABLE.
This means that if you invest in digital marketing, you’ll always know where and how much of your money is spent, what the results are, and therefore, the bottom line of your marketing efforts.
Clear measurability of digital marketing also makes identifying and fixing problems in the so-called ‘marketing funnel’ a rather easy job, something that can not be said for traditional marketing methods.
4. It SAVES money in the long-term
If you are a small business owner, especially one that has recently started, you may think that you can’t really afford a professional website. If we’re being completely honest, you can’t afford NOT to.
Even though the cost of website design varies, depending on the needs, amount of work, and skill level necessary, a professional website is worth the money in the long run, especially if done with a solution such as WordPress, reducing the number of work hours necessary to design a website, saving you money directly and indirectly through significantly reducing update and maintenance costs.
You should especially avoid the cookie-cutter, free(ish) solutions.
For one, your website is not truly yours, once you stop paying, you lose the website.
Also, in the long run, the amount of money you pay for a free, really basic website should be enough to cover a design of a professional one, which would allow you a whole degree of options in terms of design, user experience, conversion rates, and marketing capability, which free solutions cannot really offer.
The long-term sensibility of investing in a website is especially apparent when marketing is factored in the equation. Traditional means of marketing (newspaper ads, flyers, commercials, and so on) are both less effective and more expensive than digital marketing solutions.
The price of advertising online is much more affordable and gives better results, compared to the traditional methods, making a website a very potent tool for increasing revenue.
HERE you can read about 3 examples where having a website and increasing digital presence gave great results for these small businesses.
5. E-commerce solutions
If you have a product you are selling, whatever that product may be, having a webshop can be a great way to increase your sales.
Combined with a sensible marketing campaign to bring customers to your website, it can make wonders for your business. a professional website is a solution that allows your customers to shop from the comfort of their home, which is easy, convenient, and time-saving.
US consumers are have spent $455 billion in the past year alone on the web and retail purchases, a steady 16.1% increase from 2016. Given that these numbers are steadily rising, investing in a webshop for your small business is a smart move for any business looking to sell its products.
6. Lead generation and data collection
Building a customer (and potential customer) database is easier when you have a website.
Instead of handing and collecting information the old-fashioned way, now all the visitors of your website have to do, if they are interested in your product is type in their e-mail address in the small box on the website.
And there you go! Another potential customer. The scope of data collection can vary, but the solution itself is a very powerful tool to take great care of existing customers or to find new ones with better accuracy and efficiency as compared to the traditional methods.
There you have it, six of the many reasons why you should have a website if you have a small business. In short, whatever you do – get a website. The upsides of having one are many and if you have competent people on your side (choose us! choose us!) – it’ll do wonders for your business.
If you have questions, feel free to contact us, or browse our blog page for more articles.
