5 Reasons Every Small Business Needs a Website
Why does a typical brick and mortar, word-of-mouth small business need a website?
Many business owners ask themselves that exact question. After all, they have worked hard to please their customers and have developed an exemplary reputation. They may not even need to do a whole lot of traditional advertising or marketing since most of their new customers are referred by existing or previous clients. This speaks volumes about the quality of their work and their customer service.
I have worked for several companies that operated with a similar business model. We did excellent work and treated our clients well. As such, we did not have to do much advertising and we kept a fairly steady stream of new clients coming, and our old clients kept coming back. However, I have learned that virtually every small business has someting to gain from developing and online presence.
- Internet Search Engines are now the number one resource that consumers use to find local business information (WebVisible and Nielsen survey). That means that when someone is looking for relevant local businesses, trying to find your phone number, trying to find you address etc, they are using Internet search engines! In fact, 74% of users preferred using search engines over other methods such as traditional yellow pages, white pages, etc. In addition, 67% of those surveyed said they would rather use Internet yellow pages over the traditional printed yellow pages.
- Online Searches drive off-line word-of-mouth recommendations. You know those word-of-mouth clients who are so loyal to you? Well you will get even more of them by utilizing the internet. The survey showed that 54% of respondents referred a friend to a local business within 90 days of finding it online. Of those who recommended a business to a friend after finding it on a Google search, 59% of them verbally recommended the business, 38% of them emailed a link to their friend, and 3% wrote a favorable review on a website.
- A TON of people shop online. In fact, 72 million customers shopped online in 2007, up from 60.7 million the previous year. 11% of those customers will do 75% or more of their shopping online. So if you own a retail business or sell any kind of products, you are missing out in a huge potential customer population if you don’t have an online storefront.
- An online presence will improve the perception of your business. Customers view a business with an effective web presence favorably and assume that the business is keeping up with technology and current trends. We all know that perception is reality when it comes to marketing.
- Business websites offer an excellent cost-to-value ratio. The costs of developing and maintaining a website for your business are relatively low compared to other forms of advertising. The amount of information that can be provided online and accessed 24 hours a day is limitless and can provide a great service for your customers at a relatively low cost to you.
I think the following excerpt from the Carolina Chamber of Commerce sums it up best:
The bottom line for a local business is that their potential customers are increasingly going online to search for the same goods and services they offer, while they continue to spend their ad dollars on traditional, non-measurable, less effective media. Right now it’s a missed opportunity, with a decidedly attractive cost-benefit ratio for those willing to embrace it as a core component of their marketing strategy. And by harnessing the expertise of a professional who understands how to build an effective website and navigate their way through the constantly evolving world of search marketing, a real competitive advantage is there for the taking.
If you are interested in an effective website design and web presence, even if you are not in Shreveport or Bossier, please contact me. We can provide you with an affordable yet effective marketing tool through a customized business website.