A well maintained website helps establish your small business as being trustful, making it more appealing to potential customers. Also, it allows you to showcase your products, services, and the story of your business to a wider audience, increasing awareness and recognition.
Why does your small business need a well maintained website?
Are you a small business that already has a website (but it has been neglected), or are you considering to get one?
If you're unsure is it worth your time and money to invest into having a well built and maintained website, here are the 5 main benefits for your small business:
1/5 Improved visibility and recognition:
2/5 Expanded reach and accessibility:
A website is accessible 24/7, allowing potential customers to find and learn about your small business anytime, anywhere. It's also a direct channel for communication with your customers - you can share updates, news, and promotions, and customers can easily contact you with inquiries or feedback. This fosters stronger customer relationships.
3/5 Increased sales and revenue:
Wether your small business website serves as a storefront (allowing you to sell products/services directly), or as a lead generation tool (nurturing leads into paying customers), it can definitely increase your revenue. On top of that, it can help reduce operational costs by providing self-service options for customers, freeing up staff time and resources.
4/5 Effective marketing and promotion:
A small business website can be a powerful marketing tool, allowing you to implement various marketing strategies, such as search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, and social media integration. This helps attract more visitors to your website and generate leads.
5/5 Competitive advantage:
In today's digital age, having a website is essential for small business to remain competitive. Many consumers now start their search for products or services online, even for local businesses. That's why any business without a well maintained website may miss out on potential sales.
Now, you may think it's enough to invest only in social media when it comes to your small business marketing. But there are serious downsides to this approach. Here are the 5 biggest downsides:
1/5 Limited control over visuals and communication:
Social media platforms have their own branding and design that limits the options for visual presentation of your small business. Also, social media algorithms dictate how your small business content is seen by its audience, making it difficult to maintain consistent communication.
2/5 Dependence on third-party platforms:
Small business that relies only on social media for marketing is at the mercy of the platform's rules and policies, which can change at any time. If a social media platform decides to restrict or ban your account, you could lose your entire online presence overnight.
3/5 Limited analytics and data ownership:
Social media platforms provide some analytics data, but your small business has limited control over how your data is collected and used. This makes it difficult to track the true impact of marketing efforts and make informed decisions about future actions.
4/5 Difficulty capturing leads and converting sales:
Social media is primarily designed for engagement and community building, not for direct sales. While it can be an effective tool for generating leads, it's challenging to convert those leads into paying customers. Your small business website helps to guide them through the sales process.
5/5 Missed opportunities for search engine optimization (SEO):
Website plays a crucial role to rank your small business higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Without a website, you miss out on the opportunity to attract organic traffic from potential customers who are actively searching for products or services.