Why Every Small Business Needs a Website
Whether you’ve got five employees – or fifty – a website can be a critical business tool for small business. While the scope of your site will depend on your specific needs, there are some big benefits to establishing an online presence.
Here are 10 important ones to consider:
1. Be where your customers are
With a few exceptions, chances are that your customers spend a significant portion of their day – or at least their week – on the internet. Here are a few stats to keep in mind:
- The internet is the world’s second most commonly used medium after television (Internet Statistics Compendium, 2006).
- Worldwide, approximately 1.5 billion people use the internet (Internet World Stats, 2008).
- Most importantly: search engines are the way most people (85%) find new sites, and the way most businesses find new sources for products and services (Direct Marketing Association).
2. Speed to market
Unlike other forms of marketing, your website has the potential to be a living, breathing thing. Provided you have content management capabilities built into your site, you can update it any time. This can enable you to be extremely current and respond to changes in the market as they happen. For this reason, it’s essential that you choose an experienced web design agency who can design this capability for you.
3. Price
Your website is one of the best investments you will ever make – and can be extremely cost effective. While you do pay for quality web design, web development and SEO consulting services, a website certainly doesn’t require the same enormous investment as TV or radio advertising, and it also has the potential to deliver very low cost leads over time.
Plus, websites are flexible. You can start out small – and expand your website as your budget expands. And by investing in strategic initiatives like SEO and online advertising – or by registering with the right online directories – you can very easily and cost effectively drive users to your site.
4. Measurable
Importantly, your website is completely measurable. By integrating proprietary analysis tools, or free software like Google Analytics into your site, you can determine who is going to your URL, how long they’re staying for, which pages they’re visiting, and what they do while they are there. This enables you to discover quite in-depth information about your target audience, and determine how they are relating to you. You can also take advantage of this information to optimise your website over time.
5. Independent
Provided your website is well designed and structured in the first place – you should be able to manage it independently, in house. This makes you don’t need to be tied to an advertising or marketing agency for ongoing updates or promotions. Instead, you can assign ongoing marketing duties to your team. As well as reducing costs, this can make things more efficient and fast-paced – very important for a small business.
6. Credibility
A website provides credibility and certainty for your customers. You’re not just a random contractor or an anonymous voice on the end of a telephone. With a professionally designed and built website, you appear as an established and credible business.
7. Competition
Chances are that your competitors are already online. If they’re not, it’s a fantastic opportunity for you to seize market share. If you’re thinking of building a website, make sure you do your research and find out what your competitors are doing. Think about what you would do differently – and why a potential customer would choose your website over theirs.
8. 24/7 client service
A website can enable you to service the needs of your customers – any time of the day or night. People can easily find out about your products and services – without having to call you or request more information. You can also publish regular updates to your site, and can also set-up members-only areas, where existing customers can get exclusive updates that make them feel valued.
9. Pre-qualified leads
Importantly, your website can function as an effective way to qualify customers as part of the sales process. Once customers have visited your website and reviewed your information, they will know whether or not your business is right for their needs. This means that when they contact you, they are already pre-qualified sales opportunities – reducing the strain on your sales teams.
In addition, by encouraging users to submit their details into online forms or tools, you can capture their information for ongoing marketing.
10. Convert customers online
If appropriate, your website can even become a self-functioning sales tool. By integrating online purchasing tools, you can easily close the loop on the sales cycle – without any of your staff having to be directly or immediately involved. This can significantly reduce the burden on your sales or customer service teams.
If you’re thinking of building or updating your website, make sure you get the right help. Speak to Big Click Studios about our website design, website development and SEO services.
