One of the most important factors of a successful business in the 21st century is to run a website.
Millions of consumers have found the web to be one of the essential steps in the process of purchasing goods.
Sure, a business can still survive without a website but the average business will not stand a chance to the power of the net.
The internet has opened an unlimited opportunity for businesses to build their brand, reach out to new customers and to sell a wide range of products and services.
This article will take you through the importance of why every business needs a website if it’s to be successful.
A WEBSITE BUILDS YOUR BRAND
How many businesses have you seen that are still stuck to the local scene? According to many reports, more than half of all businesses still don’t have a website. This figure is alarming especially due to the ease of implementation and cost of building a business website.
First and foremost, a website will help build the brand of a business.
Local mom and pop stores may be well known within their respected areas but when a business owns and runs a website they are open to billions of web users from around the world.
A brand, unlike the actual business, can often be more powerful in conveying the ideals, products and services behind the business. Want a perfect example of the power of branding? Just take a look at Coca Cola.
Coke has done such a great job at branding that they essential “own” the red can. Anytime you see a bright red can you can only think of one thing: Coca Cola.
With a website, a business will be able to build and expand its brand all across the web.
Through a great display of logo, customer experience and their products, web users will talk about the business on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
This extended reach through social media and various websites will do a greater good than any local marketing campaign – you’re reaching the world!
ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS
Let’s face it business owners, marketing is cut-throat and downright expensive.
A large portion of the businesses revenue will undoubtedly go toward the marketing department to bring in new customers while keeping the old.
Through old marketing efforts such as radio and television, your business may reach a wide audience but the obtrusive marketing message will often go unheard.
With a website, a business will be able to market themselves through a variety of inexpensive advertising platforms, social media, content and promotions.
A website becomes very important to utilize as an online base. When marketing, a business will need to drive their demographic to a landing page which will (hopefully) convert to sales.
With billions of web users and countless marketing platforms, businesses will be able to use their website and revenue to reach further than any offline method at a much lower rate than what’s offered elsewhere.
THE END OF BRICK AND MORTAR
When a business makes the jump online it opens a new world of opportunities; one of the greatest being the ability to sell a wider range of products and services.
With brick and mortar locations, a business is limited to the space they are currently located at. A website, being data, holds no restrictions so business will be able to list literally thousands of products and services in one location.
This reason alone for being able to house an unlimited amount of products and services should place a high importance toward building a business website.
HOW TO CREATE A BUSINESS WEBSITE
With the previous three important reasons for owning a business website in mind, many business owners will want to know how to get started.
Luckily, website design and implementation is rather affordable and is only limited to the amount of functionality the business needs.
When determining what the most important factor for a business is, no doubt the website should be of the expenses that should be seen as a “no-brainer”.
Many businesses want to skimp out on the quality of websites, paying the lowest possible designer – cheap work creates cheap websites.
For every business owner, consider the previous three reasons but also factor in the increase in business that will be generated through the business website. The return on investment will be very high if a reasonable budget is set for the design process.
With this concerns addressed, here is a quick and dirty way to build a website for your business.
1. Determine the purpose of your website: will it sell items? Services? Be used for promotions or needs to continually keep customers up to date?
2. Browse various web designer portfolios on the web or visit sites like eLance, oDesk or Freelancer.com to place a bid for your web design and development.
3. Create the website, add great information and test everything before it goes live.
4. Begin marketing the business through a variety of platforms such as Google Adwords or social media.
5. Generate sales, but never forget that business is still business – the customer experience is what matters so place as much effort as you would at a brick and mortar location.
CONCLUSION
Throughout this article, it should have become apparent why a website is very important for a business.
Websites used in a great fashion to build the brand, reach out to new customers and provide additional products and services will be able to create a new level of success for small and big businesses.
The web is ever evolving and the competition is very tough but without a lot of work and passion, any business that makes the jump to the online world through building a website will gain the cutting edge against its competitors.
