It’s surprising how many business owners still don’t recognize the importance of having an engaging website. Those same business owners may use the internet to research for information or communicate with customers or business associates, but they don’t make the same connection between their customers’ internet habits and their business website.
There are also some entrepreneurs out there who believe they no longer need a website, as they rely more on social media to interact with customers. After all, social media platforms are free to set up and easy to post updates about sales or product launches in a matter of minutes.
Then there are the small sole-operators who think they can throw together a basic, static page containing little more than contact information and believe that will be enough. Yet companies such as Appiloque.com make the web design and development process so simple that there’s no excuse for tacky pages.
No matter what size your business might be or how active your social media platforms are, it’s important that your enterprise has an engaging website as well. Here are some of the key reasons why every business should have a website.
Build Credibility
Having a highly-visible website branded with your corporate image and information is an opportunity to build trust and credibility in the minds of your clients. People may be able to interact with you on social media, but when it comes to buying from a company, customers want to work with businesses they can trust. Having a company website where they can view more about your products or services is the ideal way to let them know you’re a serious business and not just a fly-by-night online operation.
24-Hour Marketing Tool
Traditional marketing strategies can be expensive, especially if you incorporate TV, radio or print advertising campaigns to attract new customers to your business. By comparison, your website acts as your online marketing tool that never sleeps.
Customers are able to view your business information and check out your products or services at any time of the day or night by browsing through your website. They can compare your offerings with those of your competitors and make a purchasing decision even after business hours while you’re at home relaxing.
Lead Generation
A recent report published by Statista in 2016 says that when people search for products or services, they tend to type their inquiry into a search engine first to determine what options are available.
Your social media accounts won’t appear in those search results, so prospective customers won’t know you exist. Likewise, if your website doesn’t show up in those search results, chances are you’re losing potential customers as they click over to your competitor’s website instead.
Of course, if you do have an engaging website that appears in search engine results, you increase the chances of prospective customers landing on your website to learn more about what you can offer them.
Additional Sales Channel
Utilizing your website as your online sales channel gives you the opportunity to increase sales and boost profits. Integrating an e-commerce and marketing platform with a shopping cart and payment processing capabilities could provide an additional sales channel that operates around the clock, 7 days a week.
Increase Local Exposure
If your enterprise has always relied on local traffic and repeat customers, it can be easy to assume that locals will continue spreading the word about you to others in the area. However, any new people who move into the area from elsewhere have no way of knowing who you are or how to find you.
When those new residents need to find specific products or services in an area they’re still learning about, they’ll head straight for a mobile device to type a query into a search engine.
Expand Your Business Reach
Your business website also has the potential to reach out to a global audience. Anyone is able to find or stumble across your site while searching online. A website with quality content and strong on-site search engine optimization has the opportunity to reach a much broader potential audience than just relying on local business or trade.
Maintaining an engaging website should not be a ‘maybe’ consideration for any serious business owner. With so many benefits available, designing and developing your company website should be a priority.
Joey is a digital marketing strategist based in Singapore. He has spent the last 3 years building Appiloque to become his most successful business to date. With a team of 12 in Singapore and 5 in the US, Joey aims to be at the forefront of innovative technologies in the digital marketing realm. In his free time, Joey is a true-blue Singaporean foodie and enjoys exchanging ideas on the topics of innovation and investment.