Why are websites are important for business? Call me biased, but marketing your business online in this day and age is essential for it to grow and for your customers to work with you. Without one you are not only missing out on sales, but leads and a significant amount of trust from those who WANT to work with you.
Overview
Being a small business owner and not having a specific nline space that you can promote yourself and share your brand, services and resources means you are missing out on A LOT of potential clients finding your business! And limiting your visibility, when you could have a website that does some of the marketing work for you (one less thing to think about right?).
But don’t worry, I’m here to share with you on why you should have a website, and why it’s such an important marketing tool for your business. At the end of this blog, you will have the knowledge to choose the right strategies that work for you and your business!
Where to start?
I know what you’re thinking, there are 101 different things that business experts advise you to be doing, and I understand, learning how to market your business online can be super confusing.
These days there are so many ways to do it! There are books, blogs, podcasts and influencers who tell you to use this platform or that platform, but not actually telling you why to use that particular platform for your business.
Because I want your business to thrive, I have made it my mission to give you easy-to-read online marketing advice. This advice will breakdown what each tool does so you can decide which platform or tool is right for you and your business.
I’ve put together some key points on why websites are a great online marketing tool! So, why is it important to have a website? Let me tell you…
Establish Trust with your Audience
A website creates trust between your customers and your business. When a customer first comes in contact with your business, via Google search, an advertisement or your physical store, their next step is to research your brand.
Your customers will research your brand before they decide to buy from you. Research by Google shows that 51% of consumers do thorough research before they make a purchase.
This research stage is crucial for your business because this is when customers want to learn more about your business and what it can do to solve their problems.
This interaction with your business is where customers gain trust and decide whether to purchase your product or service.
If a customer researches your brand and finds no online presence, they will be less likely to purchase a product or service (KPMG, 2019).
Creating a Professional Platform
Just like you dressing and presenting yourself in a certain way for client meetings, your website should do the same to represent your brand authentically.
A website is seen as a professional platform where customers are able to gain a detailed understanding of your products or services online. They’re able to research your business, and learn more about you.
Your website is also a great way to show customers your values, styles and what your business brand is all about. You’re able to show your character, talk to your niche and tell them why your products or services differentiate from other businesses within your industry.
Allow your customers to connect with your business brand and establish a relationship with it. You want to create that lovely know, like and trust relationship with your customer.
Clarify your Online Marketing
Where there’s a website, there can be Google Analytics. This will be your business’s secret weapon! It can give you insights into who your customers are, how they found your business, what words they searched to find you and what device they used to find your business.
Knowing more information about how your clients and customers are finding you online will strengthen your online marketing strategy because you will begin to understand who your customers are and how to attract them to your business in other ways online.
From this you can also see what pages of your website they’re viewing the most. In other words, what it is about your business their most interested in. Is it your services? Is it your businesses origin and back story or are they only visiting your website (a.k.a doing the research on your brand), and perhaps they need a few more visits before they buy from you.
Once you have gained this knowledge about your customers, you can fuse their likes and interests into your marketing campaigns. Warning: You may fall in love with Google Analytics because of all this useful data! – I know I did.
Ability to Sell Online
Websites are a great place to sell your products or services. If you are a small business owner selling handmade jewellery, beauty products or an ebook, your business website is the best place to sell these items. Customers can easily purchase these items without leaving the comfort of their homes. Convenience is every!
And today it could not be easier, there are many website platforms that can assist you in selling without costing too much. Simply download a theme & start adding your content and then launch it live. It’s that easy to get started.
Then when you’re ready for some customisation, contact someone like me to get you noticed online whether that be via an SEO boost or a website redesign.
If after reading this I hope you are now super excited to get online and be a short google search away for your clients. Simple start gathering your relevant online content and take steps towards getting online and noticed.
I hope you have gained a better understanding of why websites are important for business. If you liked this blog and want to learn more great tips for getting your business online and all things websites and SEO. Check out my other blog posts or join me on Instagram for value packed posts of these subjects.
