Why is a website so important?
Customers are looking for you. Are you available online? They want to know about your products and services, they want to see images, they want contact information, and they want it 24 hours a day 7 days a week. A good website should be your best employee, giving an honest and in-depth description of your business and driving customers to take that next step. If your business doesn't have a professional website that functions properly on their , there is a good chance those customers will keep searching for someone who does.
Everyone has a Facebook fan page, and that can be a useful tool, but the top 50% of successful small businesses share something else in common: a professional website. If you want to expand the potential of your business and provide your customers with the single most useful tool in their quest to know and recommend you, you need a real website. It is the first impression some people will receive, and your business deserves to look good. A poor web presence is like coming to the world's largest business expo dressed in rags. If you actually do get noticed, make sure they are laughing for the right reasons. Look good for your customers.
Your website is the hub for driving customers to your social network, your blog, or your physical address. Nothing says "professional" in the online world like a real website, and with prices to fit the budget of a new business, why would you deprive your customers?
5 benefits of a good website
Instant contact
When you plaster your web address on those business cards and advertisements it gives your customers an instant connection to your business. In a world of smart phones and mobile devices, there are good odds that they can be on your website within minutes of seeing your information. That immediate access increases the chances that the customer will remember your business, and we all know that the world is full of advertisements, so the odds they will take action "later" is significantly lower than the instant gratification option.
24 hour availability
Do you take customer calls after midnight? Do you have sales associates who are willing to and field questions all day for pennies an hour? Maybe you do, but chances are you take some time off. Websites don't take time off. They never ask for vacation, and they don't close in the evening when you go home. They provide important information for your customers 24 hours a day, and that may make the difference between a sale and a missed possibility.
Referrals
Let's face it, no one remembers phone numbers anymore. You can rattle off your business number all day, but a web address is much easier for a customer to recall and use at their convenience. The truth is, most customers will view your website before contacting you directly, and what they find (or don't find) will either prompt them to take the next step or put them off. Business is about getting people to buy your product or service. Websites increase referrals. Simply put, websites will make it easier for customers to find you and buy from you. That's really the point, right?
Credibility
Everyone has a Facebook fan page, and that can be a useful tool, but the top 50% of successful small businesses share something else in common: a professional website. Of course, the large businesses are almost without exception. If you want to expand the potential of your business and provide your customers with the single most useful tool in their quest to know and recommend you, you need a real website. It is the first impression some people will receive, and your business deserves to look good. A poor web presence is like coming to the world's largest business expo dressed in rags. If you actually do get noticed, make sure they are laughing for the right reasons. Look good for your customers.
Productivity
You have important things to do, so why spend your time performing tasks that a website could do for you? A website can answer questions, take information, and point your customers in the right direction. Consider your website as an online front desk secretary who can intercept customers and make sure they legitimate leads before directing them on to you. Your website can help you keep track of your customers and keep them informed about your business. Most consumers will check a website long before they personally call the business or walk through the doors, and a good website will save both you and the customer time. And time is money!
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