It’s time to get out of that old school mentality and hop on the modern day bandwagon of showcasing your business in the online world. The importance of having a website for your business and online marketing is totally underestimated. Unfortunately, this is hindering a lot of business professionals aspiring to maximize their business potential. Building a website is one of the best investments that you can make in your business nowadays. Having a brand that stands out against the competition is crucial to the success of your business.
According to Statista, there are expected to be 2.71 billion smartphone users worldwide. You know what this means… 2.71 billion people have access to the entire online world at the tip of their fingertips. If someone is looking for a local restaurant, dealership, body shop, boutique, shops, etc. the first thing they are going to do is look up places and information on their mobile devices. If you are not available to be discovered your competition easily steals your business.
Here is why your business needs a website like yesterday!
1. It gives your business credibility
Having a website builds trusts with potential customers proving to them that you are legit. As I previously stated a mass majority of people nowadays are using mobile devices. The first thing people do when they are need services, looking for a restaurant, shopping, etc. they do their research online. If your business doesn’t have a website potential customers will simply move onto one of your competitors who does because they were more accessible. The information they were looking for was there for them to find allowing them to do their research and gain trust in the company.
To put into perspective- say you’re planning a trip. You search for the best hotels in the area and there are pages upon pages of results that pop up. The first hotels that you are going to look into are the first ones that pop up with the most reviews, information, and images. If you come across a hotel that has no website, pictures, or information you’re just going to move to the next. This is simply because their website lacks credibility. Therefore, you are automatically going to trust the website that provides you with the most information and pops up towards the top of search results. You are not going to choose the hotel on page 10 of the search results with no credibility.
This is the same perspective you have to have when it comes to your own business. Think like a potential customer shopping around for products or services. Businesses who have a website are the first ones who will grow their client base over ones who don’t.
2. It’s your first impression
This topic sort of stems off of number one building your credibility. But it is also important to understand more in-depth that with technology being a leading industry your website is the first impression for your business. Majority of the world uses the internet. The internet is the first thing people are going to resort to when looking for information on anything. Chances are when people come across the field of your business or want to know about your particular business the first thing they are going to do is research online. They are going to look at your website, social media accounts, reviews, etc. This is where you want to make the best lasting impression for potential customers. If your website is not professional, interactive, informative, responsive, and user-friendly chances are that potential client will overlook your business. Making an excellent first impression is just as important online as it is face to face.
3. Marketing to reach the mass majority
Having a business website gives you an automatic online presence. In modern society, marketing as drastically improved. You have the ability to market your business on social media, through email, ads/campaigns, press releases, social media influencers, etc. According to Skyword, over 3 billion people use social media each month which is 42% of the entire world. Therefore, you can automatically reach a mass majority of the population simply by having a business website and marketing it online. Whereas, older marketing tactics such as billboards and newspaper ads only target the local population that visually see the billboard or ads. The ROI (return of investment) is extremely low for these types of marketing as there is no way to tell if a customer found out about your business through your marketing, word of mouth, simply driving past, or online. Whereas, online marketing you have the ability to completely track your ROI. This gives you the ability to learn what is improving your business and what isn’t. Which in turn will help you target your marketing in the best way possible.
4. Lead generation
When your business has a website you have the ability to implement email marketing into your website. This happens when someone visits your website by having a form for them to sign up for a newsletter or a valuable freebie. When you capture user email addresses this creates the opportunity for lead generation. You can send them ongoing emails that provide them with useful content, freebies, coupons, and products that will, in turn, send subscribers back to your website.
5. E-commerce
According to disruptive advertising, there was 2.3 trillion in e-commerce sales. What this means for your business is a vast majority of the population is shopping online and will be more likely to order from your website than physically shopping in person. You can sell products and services on your website very easily while giving shoppers the ability to shop online in the comfort of their own home. The awesome thing about e-commerce is your business will be making sales 24/7 without you having to physically be working.
6. It will save you time
Running a business can be really exhausting and stressful with all of the tasks needed to keep your business successful. Whether you’re trading emails, taking calls, or sending out proposals – communicating with potential customers takes time. Your website can save you that time by providing valuable information and answers to common customer questions and inquiries. What does this mean for you? You have the ability to have more free time.
7. You’re in control
A website gives you full control over your business. You have the ability to control your presence online, growing your customer base, sales, marketing, etc. Every aspect that makes your business run successfully is all in your hands. If you are resourceful or hire professionals to manage your website it will enhance your website to its greatest potential.
8. It will save you money
The development, maintenance, and marketing for your website can be much cheaper than the costs of physically running a business. Lead generation is the best way to increase your consumer base completely for free with the greatest reach! Once the initial development of your website is completed, your ads are running, and consumers are visiting your website- there are plenty of services that set up automations for your website. You know all of those awesome coupons you get from your favorite retailers sent right to your email inbox every week? Those are automations that have been set up. You can set automations up for the future and have your business running behind the scenes while you are at home relaxing with your family.