Nowadays it seems like every business has a website, but this isn’t always the case. Some sole traders and small businesses attract new customers mainly by word of mouth and recommendations. A website can open the door to a whole new set of customers and can help you to build a fantastic, trustworthy brand that encourages loyal customers to keep using your services. Here are a few of the top reasons why your business needs a website in order to survive in the current economic climate:
First impressions count
When your business is recommended to someone by a friend, it’s highly likely that person will go online to look for your website. For many consumers, a website is a sign of credibility. Without a website it can be difficult to know whether your business is legitimate, and in some cases it can make you look unprofessional. An added bonus of having a website is that you can include customer reviews and testimonials, which provide a form of social proof that helps the customer to trust your business even more.
Brand awareness
A website is a fantastic tool for demonstrating what your brand stands for, what your company ideals are, and what you can offer your customers that is different from competitors. It helps to show off a unique brand ‘personality’ to potential customers, and you can choose a tone of voice, colour scheme and images/content that are unique to your business. You can also address customer pain points and explain to the website visitor what your business’s unique selling points are.
Take a look at some of our recent web builds to get an idea of how a shiny new website allows our clients to showcase their brand and offering.
Be discoverable
Even if you run a local brick and mortar store or you are a sole trader and don’t offer online services, a website is a great way to be discovered. Nowadays, people don’t check the yellow pages for a tradesperson near them, they Google it. A massive 81% of shoppers research a product online before purchasing. If you don’t have a website, you’re not even going to come up in the results for searches that are highly relevant to your business. A website is the perfect way to make sure you don’t lose out on customers to your competitors.
Once you have your new website up and running, it’s time to start thinking about SEO to ensure you pip the competition to the post when it comes to search engine rankings.
Generate more leads
An increase in search engine visibility and overall online presence will inevitably generate more leads and, in turn, more sales. A website will open the door to a whole new target market in the form of people who would otherwise not know about you. While websites do come at a cost, they are also guaranteed to provide a positive ROI.
eCommerce
The pandemic has changed the way people shop. By February 2021, 75% more people were shopping online as opposed to prior to the pandemic. If you run a retail business, even having a basic website with an eCommerce plug-in such as WooCommerce will make a huge difference to your sales.
Ease of customer service
At Cariad Web Design, we like to think of your website as your 24/7 shop front. A website provides you with the opportunity to answer any questions your potential customers may have without taking too many calls or emails. It’s a great way to streamline your customer service process. Add FAQs to each key page and product, and consider integrating a live chat feature so that you can respond promptly to users who are currently on your website and are considering making a purchase but have a few questions.
Include a contact form that forwards to a company email address so that people can make enquiries quickly and receive a response within 24 hours. A contact information page that links to Google Maps ensures that potential customers can easily find your brick and mortar store if needed.
Digital marketing
In our humble opinion, the best thing about having a great website is that it provides you with a base from which to start running digital marketing campaigns, which should be an essential part of any marketing strategy. A website means that you have somewhere to direct any social media or pay-per-click advertising that you run, and enables you to track where your leads are coming in from through Google Analytics.
If you have a small business or brick and mortar store and now understand why your business needs a website sooner rather than later, get in touch and our expert team will help you through the process.
