Does my business really need a website?
This million dollar question is not only one of the most often asked questions in the digital age of business, it is also at the core of all that matters. And this isn’t one of those questions carrying a complicated answer either.
If you have a business, you need a website.
It doesn’t matter what your business is selling, you need a website if you want it to reach its potential. There is little that can’t be sold via online commerce, and with more than 20 million shoppers presently buying everything from books to buildings online, if you don’t make your product available online, someone else will.
We’re not suggesting that brick-and-mortar businesses should suddenly start pouring all their efforts into the Internet. However, if your company’s product in any way lends itself to simple online sales, you are only shorting yourself by not establishing a strong online component. These days a web presence is necessary If for no other reason then to strengthen the name of your brand and add to the character of your corporate image.
Every business can benefit from a place to gather clients and partners, employees or investors; a place where the casual passer-by can quickly turn to avid fan or die hard client.
Here are the 10 reasons every business needs a website.
1) Can you imagine being able to count every customer that peeks into your store? With a website, you will be able to measure every click and page view. The data is simple to gather and easy to read. With just a few minutes each day, you can see how long people spent on your site, what pages they viewed, and how they got there. This fundamentally alters the methods in which you are able to market to your audience. By continually tweaking your site, you will be constantly increasing your chances for success by concentrating on the things which work best.
2) For the average small business, the Internet has an audience so massive it can never be truly tapped. Small businesses without any sort of web presence are most often restricted to a market within their region. By just dipping their finger into the proper stream, a small business can reap the benefits to an infinitely wider base.
3) Running an online business is practically free when compared to the startup costs for brick and mortar locations. Depending on your resourcefulness, abilities or access to people who have some web design and site creation talent, costs can be kept very low for a high quality site running on the popular WordPress platform. With a premium theme and custom design, establishing a laudable online fingerprint has never been easier or more affordable.
4) Learn what many traditional media clients are just now figuring out. Advertising is both more cost effective and easier to quantify on the web. Advertising on conventional media such as television, radio and print is difficult, if not impossible, to track the results. On the web you can track views, clicks and conversions while using banners, links, and affiliate referrals. Done right, there has never been more yield available for lower cost when it comes to marketing.
5) Fact: your competitors have a website. Fact: Your competitors are profiting from the Internet. Fact: You will never beat them if you don’t join them.
6) Having a website is not only like having a business that is open to your clients 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it is also like having an employee who will work for next to nothing. A friendly employee who stays in the shop to show people around and answer their questions. Not only that, but his cousin Billy is standing out on the SEO corner directing people right to your shop.
7) A website can offer an endless showcase for all a business’s goods and services. Printing is expensive, in both creation and distribution. Why commit countless dollars to brochures and catalogues when every page is pulling from your profit? The only thing it costs to publish to your website (besides the time spent on content creation and layout) is the single second it takes to press publish. Not only that, but an online catalogue enables you to update or modify it at any time. Try adjusting information on the fly in a batch of 80,000 flyers you just had printed.
8) One word – streamlining. People are busy. Their time is valuable. The easier it is to find and order your product online, the less hassle for them and the happier they are with you. This is a benefit to both you and your customer. You can spend your time focusing on your products and improving customer service. Your customer doesn’t have to get in the car and take a trip to a store and hope that the store has what they’re looking for. The whole process from ordering to payment is all automated, saving time and expenses and increasing your profits and multiplying your customer satisfaction.
9) Increases and strengthens brand awareness. By using a well developed website, your business can solidify its brand image and spread it to new audiences. By using blogging platforms such as WordPress (we mention it again because it is our favorite), your business can keep current customers informed while also publishing regular content that allows new people who are searching for (and often ready to buy) exactly what you’re selling.
10) A website is a conduit to connect with your customers. Social media has exploded and if you‘re not utilizing it, your competitors may leave you in the dust. The best websites are merely launching pads for your business to engage in low cost, high yield investments with social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, just to name the big three. The proper foothold in social media allows your business to increase its level of customer communication while also revealing your authenticity. The best part about a good social media strategy is that if done right (meaning you are continually developing authentic relationships), your customers will help you spread your brand. It’s the whole “tell a friend” thing taken to a new millennium level.
It is essential that every business have a website, but it is not enough to register the domain and let your dotcom sit in silence. If you allow your website to sit idle, it will act as little more than an online business card when what you really need is an online outlet.
The Internet has leveled the playing field and Goliath is getting wobbly. No one knows how big your business is but you. A good website can help you cast the reflection and professionalism of a much larger company. The opposite is also true. How many large corporations have you seen with horribly designed websites? You wouldn’t open up shop on a run down shack when you can get a nice, beautiful new storefront in a high traffic area for similar costs, would you?
Whether you’ve been reluctant to wade into the online business world or if you’re new or have only made half hearted efforts, the time is now to develop your online identity. Designing the perfect online store, creating customer friendly content, and developing a social media strategy can all help to ensure your business has a fighting chance to both succeed and soar in this new economy.
Email us at Ghostwriter Dad today for help taking your business online.
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A great summary of what a website can and should do for any business.
Of course many people who read blogs already know this, but I can think of several people I will be emailing or dropping a print copy off to ;)
Good summary! Very concise, clear, and convincing.
Continuing along the lines of #9, having a website increases your credibility. If you’re a smaller business, you need to establish exactly what you are doing and how people can benefit. There are a lot of people who Google a business before they buy, and if they don’t find your website, they might be turned off.
Michael@iGoMogul