In this digital age where people are spending more and more time on the Internet, having a website for a business is no longer a question, but a necessity. However, there is still a certain percentage of businesses that do not yet have a website, although this is almost as essential as having a telephone number. Often, it is either a lack of time, or lack of information, or that the domain of the Web is not the cup of tea of the business owners.
In this blog, we are going to give the 10 best reasons why any business should have a website, whether it is starting up or long-established.
10 Benefits having a website for small and medium-size companies
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 1. Marketing and visibility
- 2. Scalable and modifiable online brochure, active 24/7
- 3. Customer service platform to offer support and interact with your customers
- 4. Automation of business management features with web applications
- 5. Accumulation of information and statistics on the habits, needs and perceptions of your customers
- 6. Tell your customers the right story about your products/services and respond to their comments
- 7. Instantly reflect a professional corporate image
- 8. Stand out from the competition with a unique web concept
- 9. Economic: Much more profitable investment than other advertising mediums
- 10. Long-term asset for your business, which grows in value with web traffic and time
1. Marketing and visibility: Attract more customers interested in your products and services
A business website is a marketing tool that can be extremely effective if you know how to profit from it. More and more consumers are using the Web to find services and products.
A website can act both as a platform to attract new customers who are browsing the web and as a platform that helps convert people who shop and are reluctant to choose you. With a well-calculated promotion strategy and a good long-term vision, your business website can become a magnet for constantly attracting a new stream of customers.
Here are some examples of techniques to attract more customers through your website:
π Natural referencing in search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo
π Promotion via social media like Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus and Twitter
π Local referencing in Google Maps and Google Places
π Paid SEO with Google AdWords, Bing PPC and Facebook
π External links on business directories and directories
π External links on websites related to your industry
2. Scalable and modifiable online brochure, active 24/7
A business website is like an online brochure available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and accessible from anywhere in the world. It is a door of communication and presentation for you, for who you are and what you do. The great flexibility of the Web allows it to evolve and develop over time, at the same time as your business evolves and progresses.
The big difference between a website and a brochure or business card is that the website is always there, that it can be changed in a few clicks and that it has a lot more possibilities in terms of its design, its features and its content.
3. Customer service platform to offer support and interact with your customers
A website can also become a communication platform between you and your customers. It is an interactive tool that is made for you, but also for users and your customers.
Here are some examples of things you can integrate to communicate with your customers:
π Frequently asked questions and answers section that your customers may have
π Section with promotions or complementary services and products for your customers
π Section to view your availability and schedules
π Member area for monitoring customer files or invoicing
π Communication via chat
π Contact area via a form or by email
π News section to keep your customers informed of your development projects
4. Automation of business management features with web applications
A website can be much more than a showcase: it can be a logistical tool in running your business. It can save you time and do some of the management and administration. Here are some examples of features that a corporate website can have:
π Online reservation system (restaurant, activities, event, accommodation, etc.)
π Appointment booking system (service company)
π Online store (eCommerce)
π Event calendar system (organizations, activities, etc.)
π Registration system with a complex form (training, administration, schools, etc.)
π Online quote request system (contract work)
5. Accumulation of information and statistics on the habits, needs and perceptions of your customers
With a website and a good statistics tool like Google Analytics, you can accumulate a lot of relevant information and statistics about your visitors. This information lets you know what they like and what they like least about your website, and therefore change your approach to have a better conversion rate from your visitors to customers. An in-depth analysis of your website statistics can provide you with a lot of information about your market and its demand.
Here are some examples of information you can get by analyzing your website statistics:
π What are the most popular and most visited pages
π How long do people stay on each of the different pages
π From which page did people contact you
π What was the gateway to your website
π What is their navigation path among the different pages on your website
π Where are your visitors located
π What percentage of visitors leave your website after a few seconds
π What percentage of visitors accessed your website via a phone or tablet
π For what terms and in what position you rank in Google
π The precise return on investment of advertising campaigns for your website
6. Tell your customers the right story about your products/services and respond to their comments
More and more consumers are commenting and evaluating on the Internet about their personal experiences and their appreciation of the products they have purchased or the professional services they have used. On the other hand, more and more people, before using the services of a company, will read the reviews and feedbacks of the previous consumers on the Web. With a website, you can highlight positive testimonials and respond to negative reviews.
Your website will be the first in Google for your business name (unless you choose a name that is used by another business); you will be able to bury negative comments below and give the correct time on your prices and timetables. Sometimes, there are intermediary sites that send erroneous information about your company and its activities. With a website, it becomes the reference and reduces potential confusion.
7. Instantly reflect a professional corporate image
Website, by design, user experience and content, reflects who you are as a business. All it takes is a few seconds on your website for a visitor to get an idea and a vision of your business. This is when the first impression you leave on your customers will be determined. A professional-looking, beautiful, and well-made website can instantly make the Internet user feel that you are a company that offers quality service or products.
The image is something important for a company, and a website can represent the image that we want the customer to have of the company. An ergonomic website with a professional design can give the impression that you are a bigger and more established company than you really are.
8. Stand out from the competition with a unique web concept
A website is part of your business identity. You can have a unique concept or design that sets you apart from the competition in your industry. If you have something better, unique and different from your competition on your website, you will stand out and attract more customers through it. This can be the design of your site, its functionality, its ergonomics, its concept. The goal is to be different and to have a concept that is associated with the identity of your company.
A website allows you to reflect who you are in the world of the Web and make your own place there.
9. Economic: Much more profitable investment than other advertising mediums
A website, unlike print, radio or television advertising, is economical. You can even accurately measure the ROI of everything you do there. And you have something left in your hands: it’s not like a promotion that is distributed, which ends and which must be started again to attract new customers.
A website, if it is well done and well-referenced, offers a very advantageous price-quality ratio compared to other advertising mediums.
10. Long-term assets for your business that grow in value with web traffic and time
A website is part of your business assets; it has a certain value. And the more time passes, the more valuable a website becomes. Over time, with a good development strategy, it can only improve. It is an investment, not an expense because a website must earn more than it costs.
If you sell your business with a well-made website that generates a lot of traffic, this can only increase the value of your business.
Last word
We hope that this article has helped you understand some of the benefits that a website can bring to your business and that it has also allowed you to think about this question from another point of view. What do you think? Are you using the full potential of your business website? Send us your view through the comment box or message.