A website for a business means creating a version of your business online. With over 5.65 billion internet users, there has never been a time in human history when people feel connected to others despite the physical distance. This technological advancement has allowed businesses to tap into the vast numbers and serve their customers while they [customers] surf the net. But must every business own a website? Our answer to this question is an emphatic YES and we explain in detail in this blog.
Now let’s begin to unravel the power of websites for businesses…
Visibility and Credibility
Businesses attract customers by making themselves visible to prospects and communicating their products or services. So, before a prospect becomes a customer, they might have seen your brand somewhere and interacted with it before. As of 2019, 45% of consumers searched online for a product they intend to purchase before purchasing according to Google consumer insights. Also, 77% of consumers use Google to look for local business information. These statistics point to how important your presence online is. You might ask how your website relates to Google, that is a valid question. But the answer is simple, of the 8.5 billion searches per day, Google accounts for 91.54% of the global search engine market. This means it is very likely that the people looking for your business are searching using the Google search engine. That is how the numbers relate to your business’s online presence. At least 84% of consumers believe a business that has a website is credible. With that notion, you would be doing your brand a big favour with a professionally designed website that has information about your brand and the services you offer.
Source of Data and Insights
A website is a primary source of data that could offer valuable insights to guide business decisions. While the majority of people see websites as simply representing information reservoirs or shopping centres, a website serves more. Visitors leave tons of information on the websites they visit. This information can be gold for businesses that are intentional or have the expertise to mine such data. The data gathered from a business website can be used to study customer behaviour, their buying pattern and interests. This is vital in helping improve customer engagement and communication. With data in your hands, you can transform your marketing and advertising strategies to deliver optimum results.
Enhance Customer Service and Communication
Websites have moved beyond the age of being static and serving stale information. They have effectively become part of brands’ communication process and play an important role in customer service and communication. Modern websites are capable of integrating various communication tools such as Chatbots, social media messaging and frequently asked questions (FAQs). These added to the traditional contact forms available on most websites, have become a comprehensive communication tool to engage customers and get immediate feedback. Ratings, surveys and comment options available under blog posts provide channels to receive user feedback which could be valuable for business decisions such as understanding the audience perception of your brand and give you insights on how to improve.
Sales and Lead Generations
Aside from providing information about the business to customers, websites have also become very useful in lead generation and sales. Businesses can list their products or services on sale on their websites, allowing customers to pay directly for goods and services. Additionally, businesses can generate leads via forms or through the use of lead magnets to attract leads.
Reach More Audience
With technology increasingly bringing the world together than before, businesses have no option but to embrace the global village concept. As a result, owning a website offers a business the opportunity to reach an audience beyond its geographical location. This is especially crucial for businesses seeking to expand and serve locations other than their physical locations.
Conclusion
While these are not all the key reasons why businesses must acquire websites, we hope this list has given you an idea of what you are missing out on if your business does not own a website. A simple Google/Bing search would flood your device screen with tons of information about the positives of having a website. Having a website is no guarantee that you will stand out better among competitors as you will still need an effective marketing strategy to even promote the website. However, it gives you a shot at fairly staking a claim to your place in the digital market space.
