“I need a website”. This usually crosses the mind of the small business owner weekly, so why have so many businesses done nothing about it, and do small businesses really need a website?
If your business does not have a web site you are missing out on sales and potential profits. Whats-more, if you have a web site that is not professionally designed, you run the risk of losing customers that do look at your site. If your competitors have a web site and you don’t, you WILL lose sales as more and more of your customers look to the web to do research on their buying decisions.
As far as web-literate consumers are concerned, internet search engines generally offer the best way to track down a local tradesmen or find out where the nearest supermarket is. With this in mind it is a shock to know that many small business still do not have a website! Of those that do many have a terribly designed one that will send potential customers running for the hills!
At the end of the day, the invention of the internet brought a new audience to the small business. Not only were small businesses able to communicate and advertise to their local area, but suddenly a whole new world of customers came within reach. As a business, big or small, if you are not already marketing your business on the internet, you are missing out on hundreds of new potential customers!
With all this in mind it staggers me that so many small business, especially in these hard times, are not taking advantage of such a fantastic marketing medium. It is becoming obvious in these tough times that many small businesses will face the ultimate scenario, keep up, or lose out!
Small Businesses need to make the most of their website
On the other hand, if you are going to begin promoting your business on the internet you have to make the effort to get the most out of your website. A website is not a miracle solution to falling sales and slowing business. A website is an addition to all your other marketing methods, it should compliment all your other business processes and advertising. Most importantly it will not work unless you put time and effort into running and promoting the site. Read our great articles on promoting your website and free advertising for the small business to help you make the most of your website in your marketing campaigns.
Small businesses do one thing well, and that is failing to maximise the potential of their website. Do not blame your web designer if your website is not generating business for you, it most probably is not your web designers fault, it is probably yours. If you are not actively promoting your website then your site will not be found and it will never find you a new customer!
Getting a Website
So you now realise what you are missing out on if you have not got a website, it’s time to decide what you want from your site, find a designer and get your business online.
As a novice you will make many mistakes on your internet mission. Unless you possess online marketing skills you will make a lot of poor decisions. You might want certain elements on your website just because you like the way they look, are convinced you have to have a certain pages just because every other site does and demand a certain colour because you think it “looks professional”. STOP now, take the time to think what your potential customer would want to see and read. Do you really need to list your services? Do you really need an about us page? Would you really get value for money from an online booking system – would your customers use it?
You may argue that your web designer should help you establish a successful online presence. That’s what you hired him/her for right? Unfortunately most web designers are not online marketers, but they will be very good technically and creatively. They may even know a lot more about the internet and online marketing than you, but that does NOT make them an expert, it makes them a help, but you should be the one who looks into your market and thinks about how you promote your website.
Research your Competitors Websites
Research your competitors websites, see what they have on their site. See what you like and what you don’t like, but DON’T copy. Why? Because most small businesses have not got a clue what they are doing with their website. They don’t know what they should have on their site, so copying them is probably not the best start. The best thing you can do is make your own decisions. Think about what will be useful for your customers, think about what your customers would want to see and read.
Of course some of your competitors will have great sites BUT don’t just copy, do your research. Copying other websites rarely works effectively. Most other small business website owners don’t know how to market online so you will repeat what doesn’t work.
Make a sale with your website
A website can convert prospects for you without you personally selling at all. When your potential customer finally contacts you they are pre-sold, you don’t have to do anything but take their money and provide your services or products. How can you get your website to work like this? By understanding online marketing! I will be writing some articles on this in the future so please browse my site for more information.
In conclusion, do small businesses need a website, hell yes, if they don’t want to be left behind their competition. It does not have to be a fancy all singing and dancing website, it can be simple with only a few pages so it can be added to business cards, BUT it need to look proffessional and contain information that your customers will want to see.
Contact us for a FREE web design consultation on 0113 2797731 or 07818 058158. You can also request a free web design quote using our online website quote form.
You may also like to read:
- Running A Small Business Website
- 10 Benefits of a Website
- Are you just following your competitors?
- Small Business Advertising
- The About Us Page for Small Business Websites
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