“Why does my business need a website”?
Obviously, as a digital marketing agency, we get asked this question a lot and, to be honest, it should be obvious why you need a website in this digital age. However, we still get this question regularly so we have decided to break it down for you. Here are 10 main reasons to have a website.
Identity
People like branding and knowing who they are doing business with. Your website allows you to express yourself and let the customer know why you are in your line of business. It also helps promote your brand, product or services. You can give yourself an image online that can attract and appeal to the right people.
Credibility
Having an online presence via a website gives your customers the satisfaction of your credibility. They know that you have invested in yourself to be found online and that means you’re more reliable and trustworthy.
If you think you are worth investing in then they will think the same. Looking after your business means people will be happy that they will be looked after by your business. In Fact, Smart Company reported that 62% of customers will stop considering a small business if they don’t have a website.
Window(s) shopping
The high street is nearly all but dead. Research suggests that nearly 90% of people pre-research their shopping before buying online or in-store. So even if you are on the high street, people are less likely to shop from you if you don’t have an online presence. If they can’t research you beforehand they cannot find you. People are literally windows shopping online rather than on the high street.
Social Media
Facebook wants people to give recommendations on facebook pages and share page content. It thrusts it on you every minute your on their site or app. As a business, YOU NEED THIS! You can put a lot of your information on social media. But there is still more information that can be put on a website. People may be looking for specific information and an easy to navigate website will allow people to find it quickly. This is better than having to scroll through all your posts to find it.
So you have an Instagram account, Facebook page and a Twitter account. That’s great, in fact, that is fantastic. Facebook alone has over 2.38 billion monthly active users (as of July 2019). So yes, it is important to be on social media.
We have people tell us that they get a lot of business through their Facebook page. That’s expected and we know that this happens. Especially since social media is the new word of mouth.
As previously stated, a Facebook page is free. Your website isn’t. This shows more credibility and trustworthiness compared to just having a Facebook page. Also, Google likes it when your website is linked to social media accounts. It can even improve your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO, meaning being found easier through, for example, google search).
24/7 access
With a website, people can access information about your business at any time. It also means that they can get a lot of information about your services/products without taking up your time. It also opens doors to potential worldwide sales. Or even means people can get your number in the middle of the night. If you provide an emergency call-out service (such as broken window repairs or locksmith services), this is a must.
Cost-effective
Let’s compare your website to an imaginary employee who has to do exactly the same job as your website.
If you had to pay someone to be available to answer questions about your business 24/7 it would be expensive. In fact, if you paid someone minimum wage (currently £8.72) to work 24/7, 365 days a year it would cost you £76,387.20 a year. Not to mention holiday, sick pay, national insurance and pension contributions.
An employee can only make or answer one phone at a time, they would occasionally be available to do conferences with many people.
Your employee is unlikely to know many languages.
As expected your employee has their own purpose and agenda in life.
Your employee needs to go on training courses to learn new things and still have the potential of error.
A websites costs would include domain (£10 a year approx), build (varies but would be a one-off cost our average 5-page website costs around £500 + VAT) and hosting and management (currently, £30 + VAT a month). Already you can see you will be paying considerably less for a website that can work 24/7 without needing a break.
Your website can answer questions to many people at the same time, day or night. It’s already beating your one employee.
A website can be translated online so is accessible by everyone worldwide without additional costs.
Your website is built for one purpose… To promote you and your business.
A website can be updated as and when you like with the correct information, once! And it will remember it.
We are not disputing that speaking to a real person is nice and probably prefered by customers. We are arguing that for your basic information and questions, your website will be more cost-effective than hiring someone to do that for you.
Marketing
Your website is a major part of your online marketing. But what about offline/traditional marketing. You might want to do leaflets, business cards, billboards radio or even TV ads. With traditional marketing, you’ll find it difficult to come across any advert, leaflet, etc that do not have further information on a website.
Traditional marketing techniques only offer a snippet of what you have to offer. You still need a place where you can put most or all your information for them to read further. With the current digital age, most people prefer to read at their leisure online rather than through a phone call or even walking to your place of business.
Improves customer service
With your website, you have the ability to be found easily. This means people can find your contact information quickly and get the service they need promptly. Your website is also useful for actual or potential customers to get FAQs answered without waiting for a response from your service. You can also provide downloads and other aftercare services on your website meaning your new customers feel valued for using your services.
Mobile living
People literally live with their mobile phones and use them for anything and everything. With Siri, Alexa and Google all having the ability to just speak and respond, the world is more online than ever. In fact, more and more people aren’t storing phone numbers for businesses in their contacts as it is so simple to just ask your phone to find it. As previously stated nearly 90% of people start their purchase by doing research online.
The mobile phone is now the predominant searcher online, followed by desktop, followed by the tablet. Around 58% of searches are carried out on mobiles. For restaurants and takeaways, this number is significantly higher. So if your website isn’t mobile responsive then you’re missing over 50% of searches by potential customers. Thankfully most web design companies do provide mobile responsive sites.
Google is still the highest used Search engine. You need to be found. If you have a business then you should be trying to get found on google. Having a website helps with this but you should be signing up to Google my Business too. Also, Google has changed its algorithm to be more about mobile responsive websites (This change is officially called “Mobile-First Indexing”). So your website is less likely to rank if it is designed for desktop only.
Growth
The only people we’ve heard say they are happy with their small clientele are people who are ready to retire or people who just work for a company and are not interested in improving their business. Most young business owners and entrepreneurs want their shop of business busting at the gills. They are expanding their business by hiring or buying new premises to cope with the demand.
If you have a particular product that works and sells locally, then you should be considering why people in the next town aren’t buying it. Then why aren’t people in your country, the continent then the world buying it? Your website can help you achieve this. Even if you don’t have an eCommerce website, as we’ve said, your website gives you the branding and credibility to reach around the globe and become a real name in the world of business.
So that’s our ten reasons for any small business having a website. But to be honest, if we were going to give you one reason to have a website it is as simple as this. If you want to be in business then you need to be found! And with most people using online first to find you then it should be your first place to start.
Have any more questions? feel free to leave a comment and we will answer the best we can.
Pink Square Media is a marketing company that specialises in online marketing. The information provided is correct on the date of publishing.