Most of your competitors have websites. So you thought of having one too but you’re not sure how it would benefit your business. Should you just get a website because your competitors already have theirs? If that’s your sole reason for having a website, then you’re just about to make a bad business decision.
Read on as we present 10 solid reasons why you need a website for your business:
1. Expand your potential customer base to the entire nation and the world.
Gone are the days when you’re limited to selling your product and services to people within your locality. Gone are the days when all you can have as customers were people who read your adverts in the newspaper. Today, anyone with Internet access is a potential customer whether he lives in Lagos or New York.
2. You website is your 24/7 customer care agent.
With a professional website, you can answer questions and explain the benefits of your products and services 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week. Your website is always on, so your potential customers don’t have to wait until office hours to call you. By browsing through your website, they can find out exactly what services and products you offer them. They can get answers to their questions from the FAQ section of your website. They can email you or get access to your phone numbers so they can call you for more information. With a professional website, potential customers can take a ‘complete’ tour of your business in your absence.
3. Present a professional image and become the expert.
If you run a small business that competes with larger businesses, having a website is probably one of the best business decisions you can ever make. A well-designed website is one way to instil confidence in your potential customers and make your small business look bigger than it actually is. A professional website increases your credibility. And your credibility, in turn, makes you the expert. People go online to seek out businesses that know their onions. A professional website positions you and your business as such.
4. Create an interactive environment for your customers.
Everybody wants to have a say. Your customers want to share ideas on how to get the best out of your products and services. They want to ask questions and get response. Your site can have a place for such comments and questions or even a feedback forum where you ask your customers what feature they would like to see added to your products and services. Your business would grow when you provide just what your customers want.
5. Keep your information up-to-date.
How does it feel spending thousands of naira to print full-color brochures that become obsolete even before you finish distributing them? Awful, isn’t it? That’s because once you print and publish, you can’t easily update. A professional website is different. You can update content whenever you want and give your potential customers information that is up-to-date.
6. Sell your products and services while you sleep.
How good is that? You can make sales and have people order your products and services even while you gently snore away at night. Get a professional website and accept and process orders online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Nothing feels as good as getting up in the morning to find out you made sales or received orders while you were sleeping.
7. Kill competition.
Business in today’s world is a civilized version of war. No matter your industry or company, there is always a battle-ready competitor who is busy strategizing how to kill beat you. In your life-or-death quest to keep your business on top of the competition, you must make an informed decision and take timely action. One such decision is to get a website. However, you don’t kill competition with just about any website. A targeted, good-looking and well optimized website is a competition killer.
8. Show you understand and use technology.
Would you rather do business with a bank that still operates like it’s in the 19th century or with a bank that’s 21st century compliant? Yes, I know you would say you’re not operating a bank. But the truth is, to remain competitive, you must show your potential customers that you understand and make use of technology. A website not only brings your company up to speed with other companies, but it shows that you’re not afraid of using technology to improve the quality of your service.
9. Reach out to those who normally wouldn’t reach out to you.
In today’s world, many first contacts are made online. Think about it, you probably first heard of Alternative Adverts Medium on the Internet. And that’s because we reached out to you. In the same vein, people like you scan the web, and if your website is set up properly and optimized with the right content, you can pull in customers who weren’t even aware they needed your service. So get a professional website today and explain to them why they need you!
10. Learn more about your customer and make even more sales.
Do you know your ideal customer very well? I know you would be inclined to say something in the lines of, “Oh, I know them well. They’re mostly females between the ages of 25 and 40.” Honestly, that’s not a bad answer (but sadly, it’s also not a good one). You see, you actually need a little more detail about your potential customers. Details like why they purchase from you and what keeps them buying from you rather than from your competitors. With details such as these, you’re poised to serve them better and keep them coming back to you. No medium is better in capturing these details than with a survey or a feedback form on a professional website.
In conclusion, it doesn’t matter how big your business is. Whether you’re a one-man show or a 100,000-staff corporate company, you’re losing business to your competitors if you don’t have a website.
However, there’s one exception to this rule. It is better to have no website at all than to have one that makes your business look bad. Remember, your website is your 24/7 customer care agent. It is your online image. If it looks bad, it is like telling your potential customers, “Look, our cleaner designed this awful site. May God help you find anything on it!”