The ability to showcase the value of your business and services is an essential element that contributes to a successful enterprise. As technology has become integral to our daily lives, being able to find your company via the internet is an absolute necessity. In
this article, I will look at some important reasons why your business needs a website.
1.) Company Profile
A business website is an important source of information for customers. Sure, there is the typical listing of products, services and the business address. However, many websites provide a history of the company from its roots to where it is focused today. A website gives your company the space to include biographies and contact information for important people within the organization. Additionally, the company website can be a billboard for a company’s mission and values.
2.) Build Credibility
81% of customers research a business online prior to making a purchase decision. A website for your business allows you to show how your services and products help customers. An easy way to present this benefit is by including a web page for case studies that display problem solving and expertise related to a customer’s needs. Those customer challenges can be specific to a geographic region or focused within a specific industry.
3.) Cost Effective
Television advertising is still an expensive medium that can have a high dollar cost. Other advertising methods often require a commitment for multiple issues or a lengthy campaign in addition to the artwork creation. These costs can add up very quickly. There was time when website creation was an expensive project that took months to launch and required a level of technical expertise that few people understood. Today, there are a multitude of tools and platforms that will help you build and update a website within one evening at a cost that is pennies compared to other marketing channels. You can afford a decent website even if you are a small company with limited marketing budget.
4.) Open Everyday
A business website is marketing that never sleeps. It is open for business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (including Christmas!). It is a channel for prospective customers to review your products and services at any time and contact you immediately.
5.) Control the Story
A social media platform, like Facebook or LinkedIn, will give you an opportunity to create a page or listing for your business. However, you can only control certain aspects of that listing and they generally look the same for every company. What happens if the social media platform is sold to another tech company or falls out of favor with the public because it becomes associated with a negative message. Your own website gives you total control of the version of your business and the message that you want to present to the world. You can change anything from the layout, to color scheme, to the type of fonts used for the text. Also, your website can be updated immediately with new services or offerings.
6.) Measure your Audience
Creating a website for your business allows you to track your audience! As mentioned previously, most customers will use the internet to do research on a company which means they will use a search engine to find out information. When connected to your website, those search engines will provide reports that can show you:
• general customer location
• keywords used to find your website
• when customers visited
• what pages the customer spent the most time
• what parts of the website they clicked on for more information
• What devices where used by customer (desktop/mobile/tablet)
These metrics and others an excellent tools that will help you refine your business website.
7.) Level the Playing Field
What’s the difference between a website created for a small business and a large multinational corporation? Fundamentally, nothing. With a small investment of time and money, you can have a website that can provide all the same functionality and capabilities to capture interested visitors, engage them with meaningful content, and provide leads for your business. The internet provides a rare opportunity to “level the playing field” for all companies, how they find and communicate with their customers.
In the modern business environment, a website is the digital foundation to market your business online and remain competitive. Without it, you risk losing business and being left behind.
Editor’s Note: Glenn Meeks is an expert on marketing and sales for the pallet and recycling industries. He currently offers website design and online marketing services tailored to the pallet industry. He can be reached at admin@nimbledigit.com or by calling 856-394-3299.
