Ten Reasons Why You Need To Have A Website
“Websites promote you 24-7: No employee will do that.” Paul Cookson
Our world today never sleeps. Stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can get food at 24 hour diners, you can watch TV at all hours of the day and night and you can go shopping at whatever time you want. Our world never sleeps, and as a result, businesses never sleep. Time zones do not matter now to business. Your shop is always open, or at least your shop should be always open and you need to have your shop window visible on the internet and open to the world. Being open all hours is one of the main reasons for having a website.
Here is my list of ten reasons why your business should have a website.
Open all hours
As I mentioned earlier, the world never sleeps and our world is no longer divided by the restrictions of time zones, therefore by having a website, you are able to show the world who you are, what you do and how you do it, and as a result your customers are able to access your website to avail themselves of your products or services, any time they want or need.
Visibility
Leading on from the “Open All Hours” point, is visibility. You and your company are easily found. Your customers can see you and access your website at minimal cost to you. There are no physical shops to pay for and there are no staffing costs to cover and you are not restricted by location. The internet is your location and the world is your market place.
24/7 Customer Service
Customer Service and customer support are difficult jobs the provision of said jobs is tough for any business. That said, providing customer service and support on a website is easier and more cost-efficient than hiring an individual. Having a website can offer customer service and support in various ways:
FAQs - this is most commonly used and the frequently asked question section of a website is a good place to offer support to your customers whilst saving time and money for your business.
Chatbots - the chatbots are there to mimic human interaction and make the customer feel they are talking with a person. They offer a similar function as the frequently asked questions, but the customer doesn’t have to scroll through many questions to get answer, chatbots are quicker and more convenient. A chatbot can also offer help and advice on signing up procedures, provide information about products or services etc.
“Your website is the center of your digital eco-system, like a brick and mortar location, the experience matters once a customer enters, just as much as the perception they have of you before they walk through the door.” Leland Dieno
Information Exchange
With more than 50% of customers expecting a brand or business to have a presence online, not having a website puts you at an immediate disadvantage. A website can make it extremely easy to get information about you, your company, your products or services and your customers. As Lelan Dieno said, the website acts as a brick and mortar store and the customer experience is similar.
Establish Credibility & Build Trust
Many years ago a store would have advertised their business and products or services through a brochure, and the brochure, aside from highlighting the products and services, also showed who the company was and set a base point in defining the company’s ethos and identity. Today, you can use the internet and your website to do that very same thing. You can establish yourself and your brand through the website whilst also building credibility and trust.
Marketing
Marketing is a foundation stone of any business, and in today’s electronic world having a website makes it relatively easy and cheap to spread the word about your brand. In the past you would have had to print flyers or brochures and send them out, do a mail-shot, or you could take out advertising space in the media to generate a buzz around your brand. All of which were, and still are, expensive, but today through SEO (search engine optimisation), your marketing budget can be reduced considerably. Other ways to market yourself is to tie your website to social media platforms and social media ad campaigns. Your marketing strategy can be as wide or as focussed as you want it to be and utilise social media accordingly.
A social media marketing agency can assist in the creation and execution of your strategy and helps drive traffic to your website.
“A successful website does three things: It attracts the right kinds of visitors, Guides them to the main services or product you offer, and Collect Contact details for future ongoing relation.” Mohamed Saad
Sales
The world is 24-7. People buy goods and services at all hours of the day and night and there is also no time zones hindering the sales of goods or services. Your website offers that point of sale at all hours across all time zones, therefore providing you with an ability to increase sales and revenue.
Revenue
As your sales increase, your revenue will naturally increase and you must remember that your revenue could be limitless due to the reach of your website. If you optimise the website the sky is the limit. There are other ways to generate revenue through your website. One way is to allow for other companies to advertise on your site and pay for that service.
Cost-efficiency
Having the bricks and mortar store has a cost to you. The cost of maintenance, running costs, staffing costs etc., but with a website, you have reduced costs. A website is relatively easy and cost-effective to set up and maintain. The cost of setting up a website is dictated by the functionality of the site and whether you can do it yourself or you need to hire a designer, but, these costs are still going to be less than the physical store and the costs associated with running the store.
Portfolio
The website is not just the shelves that stock your products. The website is the shop window where your prospects can look in see the products but also see who you are as a person and as a brand. Create a portfolio to showcase your brand in action, use video and photographs to highlight this. These videos and photos can then be shared in your social media and you can start to spread the word about your product and create a buzz around your brand. These portfolio help to build trust and confidence in your brand and bring people to purchasing your brand.
In today’s always-open world, not having a website leaves you at a disadvantage. A business with no website loses countless opportunities to educate, engage, extol and empower.
Can you afford not to have a website?
Accent on Training can help you with the design, implementation and maintenance of your website and your social media strategy through our four-fold approach; educate the customer of who you are, what you do, how you do it and who does it for you, engage through the website and social media, with the customer, on the benefits of your brand over the competition, extol your brand and the customer for their choice and empower the customer to make a well-informed choice to their betterment, and encourage them to share their choices with their network.
If you have any questions or would like some more information about who we are and what we can do for you, contact us for a chat. You can follow us on your favourite social media platforms. Register today to receive regular updates about Accent on Training and our industry.
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