Many small and medium business owners still do not believe that they will be able to earn more money if they have own website, or they consider the cost of creating it to be too large for the budget of a small company. However, according to the survey Small Business website in 2018, 64% of small businesses do have their websites, and here are 11 reasons why.
1. Business promotion
The competent and informative content about your products, services, and your organization on the business website helps you gain customers’ respect and attention. Your web resource demonstrates to your target audience why your business is better than other similar businesses and promotes your company, ideas, products, and services.
By adding a short company overview to the website, you can tell the world about who you are, what merits and experience you have in the field of your expertise. In addition, you will have an e-mail address connected with your domain, which will be much more solid than a regular mail account. You can share your ideas through a blog, it will lead to more confidence in your business.
Frequently asked questions section, as well as reviews of your satisfied customers, are usually very helpful to the potential and existing customers. Users pay attention to the recommendations and opinions of other people and on this basis decide whether they should trust the seller or not.
2. The website saves your money
Small business owners often doubt if they can afford to have their own website created by a web development company, but in fact, they lose more if they miss that chance.
The cost of creating a website may be different, but after launching, you will spend not so much on its support. Compared with writing and placing an advertisement in the press or, for example, on a billboard, given the potential market reach of the website, the economic benefit of it is more than obvious.
3. The website works 24/7
View your website as an online brochure or catalog. The difference is that, firstly, the professional website informs users about your company 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; secondly, it is much easier to change or add any information on the website than in the printed press. You can publish current news, invitations to events, announcements of new products and services without any problems and at any time.
Your own business website also can help you to take care of your customers and provide support 24/7 to keep your customers loyal to your company. By promoting the website, you attract new customers, and thereby promote your business.
4. Communication and Feedback
Feedback form, e-mailing to customers, voting are one of the most important tools for interactive communication that a website can give to you. While brochures, flyers, audio and video materials only inform your customers about goods and services, a feedback form lets you know exactly what potential buyers want. You can invite website visitors to vote for increasing their activity. This action can generate a chain of rumors favorable for you and your business and thus attract new customers.
5. New markets
Regardless of what you sell, your professional website will become an alternative platform for selling your products. In retail, the website has long been one of the main sales channels, due to the possibility of entering new markets, including international ones. Doubt that you can sell your product via the Internet? Look around, now they sell everything on the Internet – from clothes and dentures to cars and real estate!
6. Exhibition area
Whatever business you do, you have the opportunity to demonstrate your achievements and the best projects on your own website. Show that your business is unique with a portfolio and real customer reviews, and your sales will instantly increase. If you want your website to gain more customers, then it is better to hire a professional SEO specialist, as their knowledge and experience is not something that can be gained in a short time.
7. Create a community
Built-in forums or blogs, where people with the same interests can communicate and share their opinions, is the best tool to bring a website the popularity. Ideally, your site should form a community. This will help create a connection between offline and online media. If you add images, audio or video files, you will make the website even closer to users and, accordingly, will draw attention to your business.
8. Branding
In the process of gaining consumer confidence, you can use mailing and other branding tools that will help you stand out among the competitors. Tell not only about discounts and various “super offers”, as users also need helpful content: give thematic pieces of advice, touch on the topic of success, give exciting quotes, etc. Positive reaction to the mailing will form a positive attitude to the brand. The professional website, which contains all of what we talked about above, helps businesses in conquering the current market.
9. Education
If your goal is to educate or express your point of view on certain social or economic issues, then the website is a great way to share your ideas with people. You can organize workshops, seminars, online training, as these are the best ways for busy people to get the information they need. Newspapers and television are gradually losing their popularity as sources of information, while the number of Internet visitors is increasing every day. Take advantage of this and create your own website where you can post information in real time.
10. New Products, Service, Online Exclusivity
The advantage of the website for retailers is the ability to test sales of a new product without spending huge amounts of money on it. If you have a new product that you plan to sell to a wide audience, do not rush to produce a huge batch — test its sales through the professional website. If sales do not go to a small group of people, most likely, they will not go at all, and vice versa.
11. Make it easier
The main task of the website is to simplify the life of the user. With a website, all operations, starting with Internet banking and ending with the search for new employees, are much easier to implement. Today, successful people are moving to the online space to grow their business.
In the 21st century, the professional website becomes crucial for any business. The website advertises, sells and promotes your ideas, so if you still do not have it, then you risk getting behind your competitors in the near future.
In fact, the advantages of creating a professional website for any company are much greater than described in this article. And there is no doubt, that after you have your own website developed and put into business properly, you will discover all of them sooner or later.