Why small businesses should have websites
Having a website is quite important for small business owners, startups and entrepreneurs as it is the quickest and easier way for potential customers to learn more about what anyone is offering, services or products.
A business website is an opportunity to state who you are, what are you believing in and why you do what you do. Proving information about your business online contributes to your overall presence and adds up to trustworthiness for whoever can be interested in services or products like yours.
Even if you have no plans to sell online, a business website is a professional way to present yourself as a provider of anything which can be in service of anyone.
Furthermore, customers and future business partners can find you on Google or other search engines and contact you.
Do you need a website?
In a recent research, the marketing software company Clutch has asked small business owners some questions related to online presence. The responses to the question why your company does not have a website, 32% of the business owners state that it is either not relevant to the business or industry and 30% state the cost as a reason.
12% but are sure that any social media profile can serve as good as a website.
The ongoing maintenance and lack of technical knowledge are the reasons for respectively 12% and 10% of the owners asked.
How a business website would make your business grow?
There is always space for improvement, no matter how long you’ve been in the business.
Oscar De La Hoya
You should not expect miracles here but having a business website is truly beneficial for business owners. How?
Know it or not, people like taking decisions after they are completely sure that the decision is the right one. With so many companies offering different services and products the consumer could not help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
People make purchase decisions only when they are completely sure that what you are offering them is the best one for them.
At least most of the time. Sometimes people take sudden, overbold decisions without much thought which are likely to be regretted after a while.
Consumers also do like to be informed when it comes to purchasing services or products. They also like to compare them.
Imagine the following situation:
A person called John is looking for a beautiful ring for his girlfriend to propose marriage. He wants to be sure that he chooses the best one for the girl of his life. He decides to do some research on the Internet before going straight and buying one.
He also has a budget as he cannot afford to buy a super expensive ring. He looks for a shop in the area he works and live in. He would like to see the ring himself but does not have time to wonder around the city in search for one.
Perhaps he reads through women forums, looks at jewellery websites online to get the idea of what his girlfriend would like. He may also ask some colleagues and friends. He wants to make sure that he purchases the best ring. After all, it will mark such an important event in his life.
Let’s leave John searching for evidence and proof to take his decision.
On the other side is you and your business. You have a small shop selling unique (maybe handmade) jewelry and only the people in your area are aware of your beautiful products.
But you do not have a website.
How likely is someone from John’s friends and family to recommend you as a potential supplier of the unique ring he is looking for? How likely is John to come to your shop and buy from you?
Well, you know the answer, it is pure luck… Do you leave your business and livelihood on pure luck?
If you have a well-presented website where you state that you take unique approach in creating your jewellery pieces. You can also show your work and perhaps tell some stories from other people’s important life events where your creations contributed to the happiness of the people. If you tell the happy story that John would like to experience, it very likely John to enter your shop today or tomorrow to buy the desired ring for his girlfriend.
This is what websites do. They tell stories to people. These stories convince people to get decisions. No matter if you make custom jewelry, you provide accounting services or a hearty lawyer helping people.
Businesses grow when they are known and people trust them. You may offer a great services or amazing products but if the people cannot find you and know about what are you offering, it goes without saying that your business would not grow.
Responding to consumers
Relentless improvement of the product and upgrading of consumer tastes are the heart of mass merchandising.
Christopher Lasch
People are constantly looking for information. Google serves to give them answers while they are commuting, working or having coffee with friends.
Another situation:
You are in city center in your city or town drinking coffee with your phone in your hand and suddenly remember that you have been invited to a party tomorrow and you promised to bring the cake.
Well, you might know a couple of good pastry shops in the area but you are not sure which one to choose and whether they offer cakes right away. You quickly type in “pastry shops” in Google and may use the map to see which one is closest and the best.
A list with some shops appear and you start exploring them. How do you explore them?
Google has this feature, when a place is on the map, you can see reviews, website and business information.
So, there are two pastry shops quite close to your location both have good reviews in Google, one has website which you can see right away to see the offerings and other does not have one.
You browse through the website of the one that has one and find that they offer cakes and they can do one for tomorrow. Perfect. You drink up your coffee and head straight there. Actually, do you consider a trip to the other pastry shop?
Well, the situation can go like that. You go to the first one and you absolutely hate the cakes there and start marching to the second one. You go to the pastry-shop-without-a-website, absolutely love the cakes, order one for tomorrow and on your way out you ask: Why don’t you have a website?
This is a hypothetical situation and it aims to illustrate that consumers need to compare and find proof for their actions and decisions. They need to justify themselves in their choices and convince their brains that they make the right judgement.
Having a website for your business contributes to this decision. Having a great website where you present honestly your business, your beliefs and products/services, in all probability, can serve to convince them take a particular decision.
Searching for the right website solution
The options here are endless in terms of design and platform. It is a must from technical perspective to have a mobile-friendly responsive website which looks good on small, medium and large devices.
You also should ask yourself some questions:
- What I want to say with my website?
- How much money I can set aside for it?
- How much time I can dedicate to maintain it?
- Do I want to consult/sell online?
- Do I want to set up a blog where I can share advise or present new products?
These are some of the important questions that will help you starting your business website. Consulting web specialists will help you answer them and opt for the best solution for you.
Websites are not costly
Depending on your budget, time and ideas building a business website should not be expensive. It is an investment for a long time and it is an extension to your business aiming to return the expenses.
A new website should be also kind of future proof and done in way that it can be extended if you decide to offer services or sell online.
Talking to professionals will help you get the idea about cost, look and feel and the technical details.
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Even though you feel that having a website is not relevant to your business or industry, you might want reconsider this notion. Check if your competitors are having their website presence. Do a search in Google (or another favourite search engine) to see how your niche is presented.
It is very hard managing small business and may be harder to address your online appearance but it only can help you out in the long run. Especially, if you are good at what you do. You should make people aware of your services or your products.
The team @ WebAdviser.io helps businesses and individuals in establishing engaging online image by building modern websites that reflect their very own brand values and integrity. Talk to us!
The article originally published at webadviser.io
