You're in business!
Congratulations!, you started a business! This alone is a journey that not many people are willing to embark on so good for you! You've got a service or product and a market and can't wait to get out there and start selling in order to grow your enterprise. It should come to no surprise that a properly designed website is almost mandatory for businesses in todays market. But why?
Credibility
84% of today’s consumers think a website makes your business more credible than companies who only have social media profiles. Your website is also the perfect place to show off any professional certifications or awards your business has. Beyond that, having your own website lets you create a branded email address (e.g. yourname@yoursite.com) which adds a level of professionalism to all of your correspondence, especially if you’ve used a personal email address to conduct business up until now.
Think about it. You've seen small business owners who will have a personal gmail account as their contact email address or a self made WIX website for example. This comes across as "cheap" to the average consumer. I get that being resourceful is part of the entrepreneurs journey, but you also have to think about how you or your brand comes across to your potential customers. If you don't invest in your own business by making your online presence as professional looking as possible, how can you expect your customers to think that you are a reputable brand that they might want to engage with? A cheap DIY website might actually be hurting your business more than helping it. And when it really comes down to it, you wouldn't build your own house, or your own car...you let professionals do that for you...so why would you try to build your own website without knowing what you are doing? Feel free to contact me for a professional business website if you don't already have one.
Search. Engine. Optimization.
I've seen it time and time again. Business owners tell me that they have a Facebook or Instagram page for their business, so they aren't really in the market for a website. There are several problems with this approach. First, social media is really meant for people that already know about your product or service. Search engines allow people who don't know you exist to find you. Second, Google is the most powerful and used platform on the planet for finding products or services...shouldn't you be on there to get a piece of the action? Third, again...it looks cheap to the customer. Just having social media for your business screams "I'm a new and inexperienced business!" and doesn't allow you to scale a marketing strategy through search engine optimization (SEO). Small and large companies alike pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into their SEO. For example, NIKE spends about $39 million in their digital marketing strategy...they know the power of SEO, and so should you.
Branding
Showcasing your brand to your prospective customers is one of the most important things that you can do. By clearly establishing who you are, what you represent and what you stand for, you increase the chances of your customers buying from you.
This is also something that can set you apart from your competitors. Without a website, it can be incredibly challenging to do this because people can't easily find quality and reliable information on your business.
Leads
Perhaps one of the most intriguing reasons to have a website for your business is because it can increase your chances of getting leads.
Once people find you online, become interested in your product or service and want to know more, they'll know how to contact you thanks to the information on your website, which gives you the opportunity to increase your sales. Even though websites have a cost, when used correctly, they have a positive ROI.
Saving You Time + Sending Updates
Many businesses get calls from prospects or existing customers asking simple questions about location and hours of operation. If you miss a call, the customer is left unhappy. Calls can also distract your staff from focusing on the most important parts of your business. A website can reduce these calls and increase internal productivity. At the same time, it helps customers find useful information without needing to call, which ultimately provides an all-around better user experience.
While we're talking about the topic of saving you time..Since your website is on 24/7, it's easy to post updates and announcements to your customers. It's a way to keep them up to date on everything that you're doing. When something is particularly relevant to them, it increases the chance of you being able to upsell them. This will save your business tons of time in marketing efforts.
So...does your business need a professional website? The answer is a resounding YES!
In closing, I hope that you can see the value of having a professional website done for your business. Not only can it increase your return on marketing dollars spent and get you found on search engines, but it also makes you or your business look more reputable and professional.
If you are interested in making money online, check out these books!
YouTube Secrets: The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Following and Making Money as a Video Influencer
I hope you found this article interesting and informative.
Until next time my friends!
-David
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