Quite a few people have been asking me whether they still need a website for their business in today’s age. Well today I am going to give you 7 reasons why you need a website for your business to succeed.
1. Credibility
In a digital age if you do not have a digital presence you don’t exist. You need a digital presence and nothing is better than a comprehensive website that showcases who you are, what you have to offer and how to contact you. As great as social media is, it will never be as great as a professionally built website. Why? Because your website is all about you and social media is all about everyone else!
I know I don’t trust a business unless they have a professional website. I also judge one business to the next by how good their website is. If I am looking for a service and I don’t know your business, am I going to trust the business that has an outdated unresponsive broken website or the one that looks modern and professional? Exactly. Websites give you credibility.
2. Gives you a platform to speak to your audience
Now some of you might jump up and say social media is the place to do this. You’re not wrong. But is my Facebook feed the place I want to be reading about your services? Not particularly. It is also highly limited in the sense that you can get lost in the noise that is social media.
Your own business website offers you a place to speak about your business as much as you want and people will only appreciate you more for it. Add a blog to your site and really start adding value to peoples lives by providing interesting and relevant information! Share this everywhere and then you really will be reaching a wide audience, one that you can hopefully convert to customers over time.
3. Lead generator
Every website should be built to fulfil a purpose. While that purpose might differ from one website to the next, producing leads in one form or another is normally the name of the game. Your website is your online brochure for all the services and products you have to offer.
Without a website it can be hard for your prospects to find you and understand what your business has to offer.
4. Increases your business’ value
If built properly and linked with the right technology your website will actually add value to your business as you now have an online presence. Link your website to a CRM and then you can start building a database that could be worth thousands if you ever decided to sell your business.
Better yet, make your website an eCommerce site and start to monetise your website and get a Return on Investment!
5. Your 24/7 salesman
No matter what superhero powers you might have, unless you have an army of salesmen you won’t be able to sell all the time everyday. Enter your 24 hours 7 days a week hero. Your website. It never sleeps and is always looking for work to do and most of the time doesn’t give you trouble.
Capturing prospects details or selling online is the name of the game and what your website was built to do.
6. Cornerstone of your digital marketing
People often tell me they don’t need a website but would rather use landing pages and social media. Great in theory but how do I find your business if I can’t remember it’s name and you don;’t want to spend money on AdWords? Creating a great website ensures long term success as over time and with the right application you can rank higher in organic results saving you money and time in trying to promote your business.
It’s also a whole lot easier to refer people to your website than a social media page as with social media people tend to get distracted…
7. Competitive Advantage
It doesn’t matter if you are a one man band or a huge corporate. If you have a really great website that provides value to peoples lives and they can see the value in your services who are potential customers going to pick? Going digital starts to level the playing fields. No longer do you need a massive office with lots of employees to look impressive. Get an immediate competitive advantage.
A stunning modern website and a sound strategy can topple even the highest skyscrapers that might be our competitors!
So why you need a website?
Because without one you will simply struggle to compete. You will be hard to find, hard to get hold of and you will struggle to grow your brand. In today’s age you still need a modern website and if you don’t already have one you are way behind the curve.
Give yourself a competitive advantage and ensure your website is modern, up-to-date and achieves a purpose.
James Pettitt
James is the Co-Founder of Adarna and works with a number of different businesses across various industries assisting them to overcome their challenges with innovative solutions and enable them to grow through education.