You might be surprised to know that nearly half of all small businesses don’t have a website. In this article, we will emphasize why your small business needs a great website?
It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of website ownership to businesses, large and small alike. The Internet gives even the smallest of startup companies a chance to connect with millions of potential customers. A well-designed website for a small business is the best chance of making a lasting impression on your target audience.
Knowing why a good website is important is key. So, in this article, I’ll explain why a good website is a crucial element in marketing your small business.
Why a Website is Important for Your Business?
First Impressions Count
Let’s face it – we live in a world where people Google before they shop, visit online review sites like Yelp before they buy, and “check-in” via Facebook as they go about their days. Because of this, you want your first impression to be the best it can be. Beginning with your website, consumers are passing judgment and making decisions about whether or not they will even visit your store, restaurant, or office. They’re likely to dismiss you entirely, as well, should they believe your website doesn’t reflect the kind of experience your business – or a business like yours – should offer.
Think of a website as the front porch of your business. You want to make a strong first impression, don’t you? Especially if you provide services that aren’t fixed to a physical location. If that’s the case, your website might be the only contact or frame of reference potential customers have upfront, which should only emphasize the importance of a great website even more.
A Custom Site Is Cost-Effective
For one thing, putting time and money into a strong website is one of the few ROIs that can be guaranteed, especially when considering the cost and risk of more conventional advertising campaigns. After the upfront expenses of designing and developing your website, the actual day to day maintenance shouldn’t break the bank.
Your website is a sales tool. If you factor the cost of maintenance and compare that to the salary or commission of a potential salesperson, then investing the right amount of money for a good website is a no brainer.
A Well-Designed Site Is Important For Visibility
To a brick-and-mortar business, location is everything. Opening your store in a place where lots of potential customers see you can provide a huge boost to the success of your business as it increases traffic and exposure. That said, today many businesses offer goods and services to people who’ve never set foot in their physical location, owing to an established online presence utilizing a responsive website.
The Internet provides the potential for you to market to many millions of people by setting up an online store. However, it’s not possible to reach those customers in your desired audience if they don’t know you exist. Studies show that 70 to 80 percent of consumers research businesses online when deciding whether to buy their goods or services. If they search for your business and can’t find a website, it’s almost as if you don’t exist.
A Great Website Provides Accessibility 24/7
A great website is accessible, not only for you to make any changes or updates, but for your customers as well. Unlike a brick-and-mortar location, your website operates at all hours of the day. This means you’re not locked into the traditional 9-5 workday for potential new customers to find and seek you out. It seems obvious, but it’s important to think about your digital presence in these terms, which will in turn help illustrate exactly why it’s so important to have a good website for business.
Your Competitors Are Already Online
If you are attempting to establish yourself in an industry, no matter what it is, then you should assume that your biggest competitors already have a web presence. Take a moment — think of the biggest name in any given industry. Chances are, they have a website and so do their competitors.
If your business doesn’t have a website, you’re operating at the back of the pack. However, simply building a website isn’t necessarily all it takes to make you competitive. You have to proactively design it to offer better content and convince customers that what you’re selling is infinitely better than other companies.
Communicate Instantly
If your site is accessible to your customers, that means your customers are more accessible to you. A good landing page can help you make direct contact with visitors, improving your overall customer service. Great web designs offer easy to use email forms and make other means of contact readily available. Furthermore, potentially adding features like live chats or 24/7 coverage can ensure you’re always there to answer a customer’s question.
Establish Credibility
Not even the most hipster-centric businesses can get away with not having a website in today’s world. Just having an active online presence that looks like it’s regularly kept up, modern and helps accurately communicate your message, products, and services immensely adds to your credibility.
Furthermore, a solid web presence also means your business will be available for online reviews. Taking an active role in building a positive brand reputation through Google reviews will only help you more in the long run. Additionally, the best website designs utilize some form of real customer testimonials. It’s an organic way to establish your credibility as a business all based on your past customers. Any new visitors to your site will see those testimonials, which will, in turn, help build trust and brand loyalty.
Strong SEO and Local Reach
Speaking of Google searches, wouldn’t it be nice to find your website on the first page of results when researching your industry. Great website designs that are backed by strong search engine optimization will help you get there.
Having a strong website that ranks well in local and national searches is important. It’ll give you an edge over your competitors and help you establish yourself over a long period. Plus, it further increases your credibility as the best in your industry. Cast a wide net and give yourself a real chance to connect with your audience.
Makes Marketing Efforts Easier
A good website is a jumping-off point for the rest of your digital efforts. You need a central place to connect all of your social media accounts. Housed your original videos, photos, blogs, or other engaging content in one centralized hub, helping to build a strong, cohesive vision for your growing brand. It stands to reason that your overall marketing efforts will be that much easier with everything under one roof. Great website designs make it easy to track what works well on your site. Not sure about that call to action button? Test it and come up with a better plan of attack.
Generate Leads, Drive Conversions
At the end of the day, the importance of a good website for business comes down to one thing: growth. Great design, fully fleshed out content, creating avenues of communication, building trust – they should all lead to generating more business for you. A great website will make it easier for you to generate new leads, and in turn, drive more conversions. More conversions mean more growth for your business and the opportunity to continually improve.
At Strategic Digital Media, we build and maintain beautiful websites every day that help our clients grow. Our full-time job is working at a marketing agency developing web experiences that only use modern strategies and techniques to better position our clients for the future. We know how confusing and frustrating it can be for small businesses to navigate a competitive digital landscape.
The websites we design lead to more conversions. Not only will you rank better than your competition, but you’ll have the opportunity to gain more leads, which means better growth for you and your business over time. Contact us today at [email protected] or call us at (209) 502-9563 and get started with your new website. Whether you’re starting from scratch or just looking for a redesign, we’re here to help.
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