According to a recent study published last February by Clutch, it states that 54% of Small Businesses have a website. This means that a staggering 46% of Small Businesses are functioning in today's environment without a website. Further in the study, it shows that 24% of businesses are planning on getting a website in the near future, 12% are likely to get a website for their Business and 10% are unsure whether they will build a website in the near future.
Not having a website is like not having a mobile device, not having a front door to your storefront and not having a work truck if you are in a service based business. I think you get my point! Frankly, I am stunned by these statistics and being in the marketing industry, I've seen first hand the many benefits of businesses having a website. So, in a day and age where businesses are starting to use sales funnels, drip pages or landing pages...why should a business still have a website? I've even heard Business Owners say, "I have a Facebook page...I don't need a website!" Really?
Let's dive into why a business needs to have a website.
Reflection Of Your Reputation
Growing up, everyone establishes a reputation whether it's good or bad. Reputations are started by what your peers see, what they hear, what they assume and what is being shared about you. Once you've established a reputation, they stay with you and follow you through the years. To this day, I run into people that went to the same school as me and they always seem to remember me as being a trouble-maker and most of the times are amazed that I am doing well today.
Your website serves as a reflection of your reputation that you want to portray online as well as the reputation you've built offline through the years. Now, the difference between what you worked so hard at establishing offline is not what online consumers see or perceive. If you don't have a website, then to an online consumer-you don't exist. No one ever conducts a search for a product or service and wonders if there are other businesses that offer the same products or services...it just doesn't happen. On the other hand, if you're website does show up as an option to a search query and it's outdated, slow or broken then like the saying goes if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...it's a duck. You are perceived as an unprofessional business that no online consumer wants to take a chance with so it's off to your competitors! Reputation is everything in the online space...it's either a blessing or like some businesses can vouch too, it's a curse.
Your "Dream" Sales Professional
Your #1 priority is to run your business from the moment the alarm goes off in the morning until you lay your head on your pillow and turn off the lights. Before the internet came along and consumers still had a concept of time, it was fine opening the doors of your business at 8 o' clock and closing shop down at 6 pm. Life was so much easier back then. Gas was cheaper, a pack of cigarettes weren't $10 a pack and you saw people on pay phones thumbing through the yellow pages calling on a taxi.That was then and this is now.
Today, online consumers are searching online during all hours of the day and night and they are looking for some answers to their questions and they want it when they want it, not when you are open during business hours. Imagine for one moment, you could hire a "dream" sales professional that would work for you 24/7, never take vacation, wouldn't call in sick and they knew all the right things to say to your potential clients. What would a salesperson like that be worth to you? Well, the good news is you don't have to hire that high caliber sales professional! Your website can do that for you during and after business hours. Your website can even take someone from the interest stage of a sales cycle to the buying stage. Knowing this, why would you not have a website?
Vitamins For Your Business
I've been in the advertising and marketing industry for 16 years now and one of the most misunderstood beliefs or views that I've heard hundreds of times is when business is slow that's when you advertise but when business is good, advertising is put on hold. Do you know how many business owners told me that in 2006 before the big recession and then again in 2009? Unfortunately, those businesses are no longer there and some of those same business owners are now working regular 9 to 5 jobs.A website should never be considered "marketing!" It is the vitamins to your business. Majority of the population takes vitamins when they are well to prevent themselves from getting sick. Once your sick, vitamins do little to no good whatsoever. The same rule applies with a website and even marketing. By the time you realize your in a bad spot, you're already too far gone. Preventative is the key!
Stop Being A Non-Profit Business
This in no way is a poke at Non-Profit organizations. I'm stepping on the ledge and assuming that one of the main reasons you started your own business was the ability to make what you're worth. If you knew there were a 1.000 searches conducted a month for products and services you offer in your target market...would you want a piece of your market share? Of course you would, just like the hundreds of other businesses in your industry. The name of the game is online visibility. The more visibility you have, the greater chances of a potential client landing on the front steps of your website.Without a website, your chances of being found are non-existent. These are just 4 benefits of having a website. If you are one of the 46% of business owners without a website, you need to take action today. Don't go another day not being an option to potential clients that are looking online. For more information visit my website www.brandonkuramoto.com or contact me today.
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This post first appeared on Branding Builds A Beast-Mode Business, please read the originial post: here
