Everything is switching to online. I for one didn’t even want to send a job application to a company that didn’t invest in a website. Because this meant that if they can’t or won’t invest in themselves, how are they going to invest in me and I am not talking about money. I am talking about time and knowledge. It’s like they don’t care about their business and don’t want it to be successful in the long-term.
And I am sure you want to help businesses and people too because your customer’s success is your success. You know that you can get more out of your business and you can serve and help more people by being online. This means you are accessible anytime and everywhere. The interesting part about the business websites is, that having a website is not only recommended, but it has become a necessity.
Yes, the percentage of businesses that have a website has increased in one year. In 2016 there were almost 50 % of Businesses that didn’t have a website. The new research shows the percentage is improving. In 2017 only 29 % of Businesses didn’t have a website. But the alarming thing is that they don’t use it to market themselves.
The information is for the USA, but I think that the results are similar for the rest of the World or more likely worse and there are likely around 40 % of Businesses without an online presence. If you don’t have it, you are losing revenue and reputation. You should understand, that for now you can have enough revenue and clients, but when the younger people will start to be more in the market you will be losing out.
Of course, these are statistics and I want to give you some more reasons you should get your Business a website.
Your Business Needs a Website and Online Presence
Okay, you are now probably wondering, why did this guy just add online presence. Well, you should have a complete online presence with a website included. You should interact with your audience on social media and bring them to your website.
To do that you need a website with a blog, social media marketing, and promotion and to have this all do its job it’s important to know who your perfect customer or client is. You can read more about online presence here.
Some Reasons You Need a Website :
No matter how big or small your business is, you should have a website and below are the reasons why small businesses need a website :
1. Your Business is Never Closed
Yeah, what do you mean never closed? I want to be with my family. Of course, that is the point. The website is there 24/7. It sells and promotes your services and products all the time.
While you don’t want to spend all day in your office and work until 3 or 4 AM. Many people are doing research about their next buy at that time. Why wouldn’t you want to be one of the options?
2. A website is a Tool That Sells Your Products and Services
A website can act as a catalog or a brochure for your services and products. If something changes, like prices or packages for your services, you just change it.
You don’t need to wait for your printed materials to arrive, which you have then sent out to your potential clients. This is your billboard. You can instantly put your business in front of millions of potential clients.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you don’t have to do anything else. You need to promote your website and business.
There should be an SEO strategy, content marketing, and social media exposure. Everything is connected and works best together.
All this combined can also be called Growth-Driven Design. This means your site should be ever-evolving and be flexible for changes in the market.
3. You Can Target A Bigger Market
Your local market will be wider, you will be in front of potential clients that weren’t in touch with your brand before. No matter if you sell products or services.
If you decide to have an eCommerce store that you can sell right on the spot and the store is up at any time.
4. Your Business Can Now Do Business Globally
It’s not just as said above, that you can now reach a bigger market. It also means that your Business can now offer products and services globally.
In today’s World, there are almost no limits. You can reach markets and clients that you wouldn’t imagine before. This is the reason you and your Company needs a website. It is your ticket to a whole new level.
Sky’s the limit if you put the right strategies behind your business website.
5. Your Potential Clients Are Online
that’s right. People are online, and that doesn’t mean that only the younger generation is using the internet. Almost ¾ of the Earth’s population has access to the internet.
It doesn’t matter if your business is big or you run a small family business. You should be online, presenting yourself as one of the providers of products or services.
People are more and more looking to do the research on what to buy and more importantly from whom to buy online. If you are not there they’ll simply skip you. You will be left outside.
6. Your Clients Expect You to Be Online
There was an interesting research done in 2016 by Brightlocal, that shows, that clients do expect Businesses to have a website.
80% of participants in the age between 18 – 54 say, that they are more likely to contact a business if the business has a website.
You could be missing a chunk of clients that are looking for your product or services and they can’t find you.
7. Get New Clients For Your Business
As you can see by now. People are searching for new information online. So they tend to search for solutions to their problems more and more.
With a well-designed website, you can position your company as someone who can provide them with a solution.
This can mean a lot when your potential clients and customer are deciding where they want to buy their next product or service.
Show them that you can solve their problem and that you understand their pain.
There is also an option to implement a “call back button”. This means they can book a call from you in a few minutes. You get a notification and you call them back.
This way you can present yourself on 1 to 1 basis
8. You Can Educate Your Clients About Your Brand, Products, and Services
This means that you control what you are saying. You are in charge of your publishing. And what better place can you write about your brand, products, and services than on your own website.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean that you should brag in your posts. Your articles should reflect your business mission, your personality and be valuable to your visitors.
If you can provide value through your website and educate them about your niche they will be more engaged and more likely to become your clients.
A great addition to your blog posts are share buttons for social media. This way your visitors can share your posts and get you even more exposure.
10. Your Website Can Provide Social Proof
Of course, you probably have some type of social proof, like the Facebook page or Twitter account. Not to mention Yelp, Foursquare, and Google Reviews.
All this is great, but if people are already looking for you on the internet, it would be great if they can find your website. This is where you can include your happy client’s testimonials.
Don’t forget that you could do some case studies and provide even bigger value. Because you will show them the process and a happy client.
Believe it or not the majority of people love to look for reviews and what other people are saying about you. The results of a survey done by Brightlocal say that 88 % people trust online reviews
