If you are a small business owner, you may wonder if you really need a website. The answer is a definite “yes.” No matter what business you are in, such as selling physical products or offering a service, your business will benefit from having a website. Here are five reasons why your business needs a website:
- Reach Potential Customers – Your prospects start their search for companies like yours online. If you don’t have a website, those internet searchers will never know you exist and prospects who have already heard of you will wonder why you don’t have a website. Perhaps you don’t take your business seriously.
- 24/7 Selling – Your website is always available for prospects to visit at their convenience. They can browse your site, read your content, and view your media files even if it’s 3:00AM.
- Build Your Brand – Branding has many definitions, but one of the simplest definitions is that a brand is a unique promise of value. Therefore, every aspect of your website – from how professional it looks, to the value of the content, to how well articles are written, to how well the site works – contributes to your corporate image. Your brand is how prospects and clients view you, your expertise, your (or your company’s) personality, and your trustworthiness. Your website helps to build that positive image in your visitors’ minds so when they click away, they’ll remember you.
- Generate Qualified Leads – If you sell a service, your website will not close the sale. It can, however, provide prospects with your best sales pitch for your products and services and ask them to contact you for a consultation. For those who aren’t yet ready to buy, it can capture leads through your email newsletter subscription form so you can follow up regularly with people who have raised their hands and told you they want more information.
- Save Money on Sales Literature – You can have numerous articles, case studies, brochures, and other content that could cost a small fortune if you were to print them all. For a few bucks a month (usually $10 or less), you can keep your website up and running for as long as you want. If you were to buy advertising, you would spend a considerable amount more to keep your ad running.
- Post Sales Support – This may be as simple as a frequently asked questions section or as complex as an online client area where clients can log in to pay their bill, find copies of legal documents, and check the status of their project 24/7.
You don’t need to spend a fortune to create a new website. In face, sites like Weebly.com allow you to create a professional-looking site for free (though I encourage you to purchase your own domain name, which will run you about $10/year through GoDaddy.com) with their easy-to-use drag-and-drop site creation software. If you can spend more money, consider hiring a web designer to create a customized website for your business. Regardless of how you set up your website, chances are, it will be a more cost-effective way to advertise your services than most offline promotional strategies.
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