Do you run a small business?
Did you know that you actually might be short selling your company if you don’t have a small business website?
Many small business owners dream of taking their company to the next level. They spend hours pouring over their company’s plans, focusing on what they can improve, and investing what they can into its advancement.
Websites have many different advantages. When done well, they give millions of potential customers access to the company and bring it into the awareness of the general public.
But what is the importance of having a well-designed business website?
Keep reading to learn more!
The Advantages of Having a Small Business Website
So, what are some of the advantages of having a small business website?
In the era of the internet, many companies, from large corporations to small, one-person organizations, have a website. These online platforms become easy ways to inform potential customers of what the company does and gives them the ability to make purchases.
Below, let’s go into the some of the advantages of having a business website.
Expanded Audience
In the past, businesses had to market themselves to people living in or visiting local areas. They had to learn to make the most of the town’s population size and strategically tailor their services to the interests of the people in the vicinity.
Now, the internet offers you a significant advantage. Using websites, companies no longer have to only market to people who can step into their brick and mortar buildings. Instead, they can sell their products to people around the world.
This also gives you a unique marketing advantage. Today, you can use a website for small business to reach customers anywhere. at any time. This puts your company in front of other people who might have not ever heard of it otherwise.
When you create a website, you also increase the likelihood that someone will tell their friends about your services. Think about this way: in the past, people had to visit a shop, become impressed with its offerings and services, and then remember to mention it next time they talked to a friend.
Now, if you have a website, someone need only learn of your company before they share a link to it with one of their friends.
Targeted Marketing
Before the internet, marketing was a bit like a shot in the dark. Expert marketers had studied what causes people to go from casual viewers of an ad to loyal customers, but companies had to think carefully about where they displayed their ad. After all, there was no guarantee that at any given time, someone in their desired audience would see the advertisement.
Audiences are one of the most fundamental components of a marketing strategy. Think of your audience as the group of people most likely to buy your product or use your service, or at least express interest in it. Most agencies create a sales funnel that starts with introducing the audience to the brand and end with a new customer making a purchase.
If you don’t know your audience, you might be tempted to just think you’re trying to target everybody. And it’s fair: you should be willing and able to sell to all types of people, regardless of the demographics to which they belong.
Yet, very few companies sell products that appeal to all people equally. It might be more helpful for you to break your audience down into the average age, gender, or relevant background of your general customer. After all, young, single people in their 20s might be in the market for very different items than mid-life career people who have families.
Once you have a website, you can use different platforms, such as Google, to help you target and reach this audience. This should drive your sales up.
Make a Good First Impression
Picture your website as your chance to make a fantastic first impression on a potential new customer, without ever having to meet with them in person.
The truth is, those who come across your website will be subconsciously evaluating it. They’ll know if it engages them, piques their interests, or turns them away.
If you really invest in your small business website and learn what engages your audience and turns them into loyal customers, you’ll be on your way to having a thriving business.
Getting a Well-Designed Website
There’s one challenge, though; not every website design gives off equally good first impressions. Just as a well-built website gives your customers a positive first impression of your company, a poorly designed one might turn them away.
As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen.
But designing a business website can be difficult. To overcome this, you should hire someone to design and handle building your website. This could either be someone you take onto your staff or a company of qualified web designers. This ensures you get the best out of your website and maximize your ability to gain customers.
Promoting Your Website
Once you have your website, it’s time to promote it!
You shouldn’t just build a website and leave it be. You’ll need to come up with a plan to promote it and get it to reach other people.
You can do this through a variety of means. For instance, many companies optimize their websites to rank well in search engines via a process known as search engine optimization (SEO). Others may focus more on their social media presence or other aspects of digital marketing.
Want Help with Your Web Design?
Designing a small business website can be both necessary and difficult.
After all, businesses must have a website if they want to take advantage of its many benefits. With the right website, you can make a great first impression and attract the right crowd.
Not sure where to begin? We offer comprehensive web design and marketing, tailored specifically to suit your needs. All of our customers are different, so we invest in creating a website and marketing plan that will work for them. Contact us today for more information!