Do I need a website for my business?
” If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business ” – Bill Gates.
2020 proved to us that digital transformation is here to stay. As a business owner, regardless of what industry, service, or product you offer, you must have noticed the importance of having an online presence for your business.
Many small businesses were forced to shut down and some, unfortunately, went out of business because they didn’t have the infrastructure to cope with the change that COVID-19 accelerated. As we witnessed during the pandemic without looking at actual stats, businesses who have a strong online presence, particularly a website and/or an app, are more likely to survive and several actually thrived.
On the other hand, think about, for example, restaurants that didn’t have a website/app to help their customers to order online for delivery or side curb pick up. Another example is home improvement businesses. According to many research firms, home improvement has grown during the lockdown because homeowners are now working from home so they work on projects that have been put on hold. Think about your own business and the businesses that don’t have a website or online presence, how many opportunities they have missed? are they even in business still?
During my career, I have helped hundreds of companies from SMB to large enterprises to build and enhance their online presence. I remember about 8 years ago when I worked for YP; the digital version of the Yellow Pages. I had daily conversations with my customers back then about the importance of online presence and I had a lot of resistance from small business owners.
Most of the pushback was because they believed they weren’t tech-savvy to manage their website or don’t really see the value of getting their business online because they are comfortable with the way it has always been the past 10-20-30 years and didn’t see a strong reason to change.
3 reasons why you need a website
1- Build credibility
I’m sure when you first started your business, the first marketing move you made was designing and printing your business card. Ask yourself WHY did you do that? The answer could be, to give it to every person you interact with to tell them about your business and hopefully one day they remember you when they need your service or product. Another reason is to build credibility with your potential customer/client. You wanted to tell the whole world that you mean business and you are legit.
The same goes for having a website. The first step of building your business online presence is to build a slick and engaging website that showcases the value that your business provides. Keep in mind, the first impression lasts.
Fun stat: 75% of a website’s credibility comes from the design.
2- Building your brand
Building your brand is a long journey that takes time. You must identify who you are, build value, embrace what you stand for as a business, and earn your customer’s trust. Having a website is your brand foundation, without it, it can be very challenging for your customers to find quality and important information about your brand.
3- Generate online leads
I like to think about websites as your 24/7 sales team who are ready to answer any question that your potential customer may have. There are many ways your website can generate high-quality leads for your business while you are sleeping. Potential customers can schedule appointments on your website, request a quote, buy products, pay their bills and call you within 1 touch.
In order to generate leads, you need to drive traffic to your website. You can drive traffic to your website from several sources and techniques like Search Engine Optimization, Google Ads, Social Media Marketing, YouTube, TV, Outdoor Billboards, Radio Commercials, and so many other ways.
If you are ready to talk with us about your business goals or need a website design consultation, click on the button below to schedule a call with me.
