Your website is your online business card. It’s your ideal employee, working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year. Now that’s loyalty!
Why have a website?
I’m not going to get into this too deeply, because I think you’re already reading this because you know your business needs one. I’m just going to support all of the other information out there that says you really should have one to expand your reach.
I think its safe to say you already know you can reach more than just your local community by having a website. But even if what you do is centered on your local community there are really good reasons for having a website for your local people.
First, some statistics. (I almost didn’t share these, I really don’t like statistics.) I think it’s important to look at how potential visitors are using the internet to show how important it is to have a website.
- 72% of consumers who did a local search visited a store within five miles. (WordStream, 2016) (Source: HubSpot)
- 30% of mobile searches are related to a location. (Google, 2016, supporting source: think with Google)
- 28% of searches for something nearby result in a purchase. (Google, 2016) (Source: HubSpot)
- 82% of smartphone users say they consult their phones on purchases they’re about to make in a store. (Google, 2016) (Source: 2017 think with Google)
If we rely on these statistics to show us how much people value websites, the above statistics reveal a lot about how much value you should place on having a website for your business. (Three out of four of these statistics are from 2016…imagine how many more are using websites now!)
Benefits of Having a Website
Now let’s look at just a few potential benefits to your business if you get your business online. There are so many more than the few I’m listing here. Remember, your website is something that’s continually working to reach customers, but it’s a tool in your wheelhouse. You can put it to work in more ways than it just serving as a calling card. But even as a calling card it:
Proves Credibility – Your business will be seen as more credible by having a website. Look at the number of people who check out a website before making a purchase (82% of Smartphone users!) This shows people see businesses with websites as more credible than those without.
Improves Customer Service – You can keep customers informed without them having to enter your store or view your online catalog. Using your tool as a means to provide answers to commonly asked questions, tell customers your hours, invite client inquiries and share information are ways to enhance your business’s Customer Service to your clients.
Extend Your Reach – A website can potentially extend your reach to the world. Very few places are now without the internet. At one time a business could really effectively only reach those local to it, but this is no longer true!
Always Be Accessible – It’s true you may continue to have office hours, however, a website can be a means to offer information all the time! A website doesn’t have open and closed hours, so a customer can access your shop or the information you provide at any time of the day.
The days of a website being a resource for store hours and phone numbers is over. Create a website for your business and put it to work reaching others: with information, providing customer service, answering your customer’s questions before they ask them, with an online store, with ways you can help them, and so much more!
Get Started
I’m here to help you get online with either a one-page website to get your most important information online and Just Get It Launched Now, or even a four or five-page website to start. You can always begin now and build it out later!
