Many small businesses have been operating lean operations for many years before lean start-up became a trendy buzzword. I have found many new and established SMBs have the most savvy business acumen. They are often asked if they require a website for their business. They often tend to prioritize urgent and essential matters and only spend money when necessary. Even though many would like to leverage digital tools more effectively, they are more focused on differentiation of their customer experience and technical expertise in their core offering, with little time for technology or digital tools. So when it comes to a fully functional website, these discerning entrepreneurs are asking many justified validating questions.
Many people may believe that a Google My Business listing, an Instagram business page, and/or Facebook page are enough to create an online presence. We have seen from our experience that a great website for small businesses is the best way you can showcase your venture and generate significant ROI from longtail leads.
I know many customers who do not want to go through the hassel of WordPress set up. While WordPress is open source, Setting up a professional website with WordPress can cost anywhere between USD 2000 to USD 5000 and also requires constant maintenance. Convertbloom offers a One click option to set up a website with custom domain, key sections, blog, vcard, pages etc. It provides multiple website and vcard templates and more are getting added.
In this article, I have outlined a few critical considerations why SMBs both in B2B and B2C space must consider acquiring a high quality website. The good news is high quality is not necessarily expensive. Bloom Sites is offering high quality mobile friendly customizable website with fully functional blog, SEO, and profile V-card for an incredible value of USD 2 PM. If you sign up for an annual plan you will be able to get a high quality fully functional website for as low as USD 15. Setting up the site is easy as ABC, and you can modularly scale up to add ecommerce, marketing automation and landing pages in a very simple way.
Consider these seven reasons why small business websites are necessary:
The best part is that it’s easy to set up and very affordable. A website builder that is simple and straightforward can be used to create a website. Convertbloom and other platforms allow you to easily scale your digital marketing abilities in an easy-to-scale way.
Let’s examine why each one of these factors is important to your success. Also, how can you build a small website for your business and reap the benefits.
We’ll then discuss what you should do before you create a website for your small business.
Your website is where your marketing efforts start and end. You might have heard about sales and marketing funnels, which is about shaping the customer journey from awareness to retention. Whether you trust the funnels or not, website is a fantastic central location for all of your business information, including your funnels. It’s the place where potential customers go to find out more about your company. You should also use this area to market your business and attract potential customers. A website is better than a business card.
These are just some of the ways that you can use your website to anchor your advertising efforts.
Take control over your digital brand: Your website gives you a lot more control. You have a website that gives you access to the internet. It also allows you to share information about your business with potential clients, such as what you do, why it is important, and who you work for. Instead of having someone else tell people about your company, you get to create the story and build a successful site. This is a crucial aspect of branding and communication.
Place all your important business information together: Create a website for local businesses that is a resource to customers. Customers can use your site as a guideline so they can find all the information they need about you enterprise. You can add information such as: Your address; Your phone number; Contact form; Menu or service list; Prices; seasonal and special promotions; Events
You should create a final destination to your marketing efforts. A small business website can be used as a starting point for all your marketing messages. There are manyways you can achieve this and link your marketing efforts to a place where anyone with an internet connection can reach virtually that is your website. Produce a radio commercial? End it by a call-to action to visit your website. To hand out flyers at an event, create them. You can add your website URL to allow people to visit your site and learn more about your products or services. Your brand’s website is the portal to it. It’s yours to control, own, and you can use it for all your marketing efforts.
Your brand is the most important thing you can do. You increase your chances of customers purchasing from you by clearly identifying who you are, how you represent, and what you stand behind.
This is something that will set you apart from your rivals. It can be very difficult to create a website without it because people won’t be able to find the quality and reliable information they need about your business. B2B buyers report that 75 percent believe digital website content is important in their buying decision. Sixty-two percent also say that they can base their purchase criteria solely on digital content.
Your website can be used as a digital brochure for your local business, providing up-to-date information and direct sales tools. See this as a 24 hour sales team that can make sales even if your company is technically closed. Furthermore, you can instantly update information without waiting for or having to pay for printed materials.
To start with you can add a product menu or menu to your site in order to increase sales and still take phone orders. There are some excellent tools to enable taking bookings on your website, you can explore some of those. You can provide a contact form using any of the free form builders to take contact requests or orders at the website.
Ecommerce store: You can extend your website to make it e-commerce enabled so that you can conduct business from your site. Unlike in past, ecommerce is much more accessible to non-techy business owners. Customers can access your website to make purchases directly from your brand. It can be used as both a marketing tool and a sales tool. Convertbloom provides a single click way to set up an ecommercce store and also link it to your facebook page to start selling.
Convertbloom offers many tools to integrate these functionalities easily with your website in a modular manner and scale full ecommerce functionality. In addition a website can support the following functions:
As per research, When faced with problems, more people are looking to the internet for answers. Your small business website will need to be there for customers searching for a solution, which you are uniquely equipped or competitive to provide.
Your small business website can be used to help customers find you. Google is the first place people go to when they need to find something. Google has become more of a gatekeeper to the world’s information than a search engine. Unfortunately, your ability to control how you appear in the search will be very limited without a website.
Your small business website can be used to keep customers informed, engaged, and well-served. You should also remember your hard-earned customers.
A website gives your customers a place to contact you at all times. You never know when someone might need your services. If you don’t have a website you risk losing potential business from people who already know you and support you. Your small business website can be used to generate leads: You can use your website to attract new customers as well as retain existing customers. It can also be used to help customers who are not in the top tier. A website can be a great way to get leads.
People will find you online and be interested in your products or services. They’ll also know how to get in touch with you through the information on your site. This allows you to increase your sales. Although websites can have a price, if they are used correctly, they can have a positive return on investment.
Your website can help to generate leads and convert prospects into paying customers.
You can generate leads by adding an opt-in offering such as a coupon code, free eBook or entry to a contest. For the offer to be valid, audiences must enter their content information. Once you have their contact details, nurture them with email marketing campaigns.
This is a way to use your website as a tool to establish a long-lasting relationship with site visitors who may not be ready to buy.
One misconception about websites, is that they are only for multinational corporations and companies with global audiences. Websites are just as useful for small businesses, if perhaps even more. They offer local businesses an excellent opportunity to reach out to local customers. Search engines place importance on local searches and often rank results by location. This is a benefit for local businesses. Google’s local search won’t give you results for shoe stores near you. It will use local searches to provide a list of shoe stores near you.
What is local searching?
Google’s local searsearch algorithm is designed to provide nearby results. It takes into account relevance, distance and prominence when delivering the results. It doesn’t show websites with the highest influence (like a large brand), but it does show relevant, local businesses that match the search. This process allows small businesses to stand out.
Your website should appear in local searches. There are some steps that you can take to ensure your small business appears in local searches.
Online presence is a huge benefit even for local small businesses. It doesn’t matter where your business is located, you can create an efficient website that brings in customers.
Your website should be a way for you to improve your business’ credibility. You are not the only one offering similar services. Your website can help you stand out and communicate quality information to your customers.
A website can make it difficult for people to verify your legitimacy as an entity. A website gives you the opportunity to make a first impression and convince people that your business is real. Small business websites make your brand credible, professional and trustworthy. Without it, customers won’t be capable of finding you or even learning to trust you. It is easy to lose credibility by not appearing in search engines, or even on the internet for that matter. It makes your company seem out-of-touch and untrustworthy.
Even if word-of-mouth marketing is a great tool, it could mean you are missing out on tons of potential referrals. While happy customers will often share what they think of your business, what about those who have not yet tried your services? They’ll turn to the internet. If they don’t come back empty-handed, then you will have lost your chance to find new customers.
A website makes businesses seem more professional. Visitors can visit your site to get a better idea of the type of business you have and may become customers. Additionally, you can include a range of elements on your site that will make your brand more credible.
Web elements that increase your credibility
For credibility, build a website. Make sure to include the following elements.
Website elements that are not credible
At the same time, You can also lose credibility quickly if you have certain elements on your site. If you are trying to build out your website in a hurry, keep it in mind to avoid these elements from your website.
Keep your website up to date and running smoothly to maintain customer trust.
Your website is yours to manage. You get two main benefits from having your own website. The story of your is in your hands. Your business is at the mercy of third-party platforms if it relies on them for its web presence. Yelp and other review sites can help customers find your business, but there are risks: poor reviews, inaccurate contact information, and inability to obtain more information.
It doesn’t convey your brand’s vision, energy or passion. Your site is your website. You can control who sees your business information. You have control over your brand story, and you can make sure that your customers only see the truth about your business.
With a website your platform is in your control. Many small businesses create a presence through another platform, such as Medium, YouTube or Facebook. This allows them to avoid having to set up a website. They believe that having a presence on another platform like Facebook, Medium or YouTube will give them the same visibility as if they had to build their own website. This could be a mistake.
If you build your brand using a third party platform, they will hold you responsible for their platform. You may already have a Facebook fan page with some positive reviews. Many business owners think that a business profile on social media is enough. You don’t own their platform.
The first is that you will always be dependent on which social media platform you choose. The rules and algorithms change over time, so what works one day may not work the next (as many businesses that relied on Facebook in recent years have discovered). They can also kick you out if they modify their guidelines, shut down or decide not to allow you on their platform. Without any input from you, your platform may be taken down. If you create a website for a small business, you have complete control. You are in control of your brand and your platform.
Websites belong to you. You control the content as well as the message. Trends change all the time. Customers who are currently on Instagram may be switching to another platform tomorrow. Your website acts as an anchor, allowing people to switch from one platform to another. Whatever social media service your customers use, they will always be able to find your website at the same location, accessible to everyone.
Many small business owners turn to third-party platforms for their website creation.
However, it is much easier to create and maintain websites than ever before. Even if your skills are not in the technical or creative realm, you can use web publishing tools to quickly create a website.
You have no excuses, fellow entrepreneurs.
Your business will suffer if you delay building a website. It’s time for you to get started. These tips can help you get started building your site.
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