If you are not interested in growing your brand, then you won’t need a website.
However, if you are serious about business success, then having a website for your business should be high on your priority list. These days getting a website up and running is easier than you think; the costs won’t burn through your budget and your business will be available to potential customers right around the clock.
Having a business website will instantly increase the perceived value of your business.
Here are eight reasons every business needs a website:
1. Your customers expect it.
This reason alone should be enough to propel any smart business owner to take action. Statistics show that 6 out of 10 consumers expect brands to provide online content about their business on some popular digital platform and more than half go straight to the brand’s website for product information. Not having a business website, means that today’s digital-savvy consumer may overlook you because you simply do not exist on the world wide web.
2. It provides social proof.
You have served customers in the past, so including customer testimonials on your site is a great way to impress potential customers and clients. Statistics show that 90 percent of consumers say that online reviews impact their decisions when making a purchase. Can you think of how a product review on Amazon or your favorite shopping site influenced your last purchase? Why not use a website to create this same impact for your business?
3. You control the narrative.
By creating your own business story, mission and personality you can influence public opinion about your brand. You cannot control what others posts, tweet or share about you but establishing what your brand stands by, will off-set even the worst publicity you can encounter. Utilizing social share buttons linked to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other networking platforms makes it easy for your visitors and loyal customers to share what they see posted on your site.
4. More bang for your buck.
The costs to build a website yourself on Wix, Weebly, WordPress for example, or even to hire a professional website designer is far less than the ad spend to design, print and mail out thousands of brochures about your business.
5. Your competitors all have company websites.
If your competitor is successful and has a website, then you need a website and quite frankly one that is better. Research shows that 72 percent of shoppers begin their research by going online to find educational material, reviews, and testimonials to help them make a purchase decision. If you are not keeping up with your competition, then your are giving your potential customers a reason to buy from another brand.
6. Never put up the ‘closed for business’ sign again.
Your website continues to work for you when your staff stops working after closing time. We all know no one wants to work into the wee hours of the morning, however shoppers might just choose to research your business after closing time. Having a business website means you can sell products all the day, all night.
Your website can capture visitors information through subscription forms that collect their email as well as advertising cookies and re-marketing tactics so you can continue to advertise to them and generate sales long after they have left your site.
Using search engine optimization will increase your chances of visibility on google results.
7. You’ll show up in Google search results.
Google has made it possible for just about any business website to be ranked on their search engine. Your customers can meet upon your brand by typing in one or more keywords that links them to your business in seconds.
No website means zero opportunity to show up on the search engine results page (SERP).
Using search engine optimization will increase your chances of visibility on google results.
8. Showcase your products and services.
Your business website allows you to showcase your products and services with beautiful images and detailed descriptions, videos and downloadable content. As your products and services evolve or increase you can make such changes without much expense compared to the traditional paper product brochures.
Using search engine optimization will increase your chances of visibility on google results.
Need help setting up a website for your business?
If you are still operating your business without a website, it’s time to make the step. We offer WordPress website design and monthly management. See some of our recent work here.