It’s a question that runs through every start up business owner’s head when they are planning their business launch. It is an investment of time and cash when you are starting up and there are so many things you need to invest both your time and money in, on top of a website, so is it worth it?
According to a recent study, only 47.1 percent of Australian businesses have an online presence – despite the pandemic and the move to online shopping and remote working pushing people online more and more.
Over 85% of people go to the internet when they are looking to secure goods or services. Without a website you are more difficult for people to find.
Over 60% of businesses with four staff or less don’t have a web presence. It is estimated that one in three new small businesses will fail in their first year of operation, two out of four by the end of the second year and three out of four by the fifth year. Sales and Marketing is listed as one of the top five reasons businesses fail. With the likelihood of failure so high, shouldn’t you be doing everything within your power to succeed?
Here’s 6 more reasons why you should consider a website as critical to your business success:
1. Internet Presence
A website gives you an entry into the digital space and helps grow your business in the real world too. Who do you know that has a Yellow Pages presence anymore?
A website is an easy way for people to find out the basics: how to call you, your business hours, what exactly you offer or how to ask for a quote. Most people do a little research before contacting a company to progress further and your website is the perfect platform to give them that information.
A social media account can only go so far – they are growing in popularity all the time and you can include things like your hours, products or services and how to contact you. However, for those people who are not on social media (and yes, they do still exist) they will not be able to find your details. So have you considered that you may be excluding those people from accessing your products or services?
A good business website gives people an opportunity to learn about your business, get a feel for your brand, read your tory, schedule an appointment, book a quote or get in touch with you via a contact form or email. The more they learn and like your business, the more likely they are to get in touch.
A website forms the foundation of all your other online listings, you can link to it from your social media accounts, add a Google My Business account, create content which is helpful to your target audience and send emails promoting specials that won’t get missed by the social media algorithms or whims of the moment.
2. An Online Assistant
A website can help by answering all those initial questions before a prospect even picks up the phone. By creating a Frequently Asked Questions section, a blog or simply answering the most obvious questions up front, a lot of the initial lifting is done for you.
If you are a service provider, you can create helpful, evergreen content which is used to onboard new clients and link to it for each new starter, saving you precious time when starting a new contract.
3. Get to Know Your Target Audience
With great analytics tools available you can also see where site visitors are spending their time – which gives you more information about what interests your target audience.
Got a blog that no-one has ever read? Perhaps it’s time to change it up. Are particular pages of your site especially popular? Make sure you keep those up to date and relevant by keeping content fresh.
4. Reach the Right People
Without geographical limitations and with the help of great Search Engine Optimisation, people all over the world can find your site.
And if you’re a service provider you can work remotely via Zoom, Slack or Teams then it simply doesn’t matter anymore where someone is based. If you have products which can be shipped, why wouldn’t you ship all over the world?
Your target audience could be anywhere in the world. If they resonate with your brand, your story and your website then they could be a good fit for your business.
If your business is geographically restricted for in-person services or products then your website can target those in your local area – why waste others’ time enticing them with something they can’t have? Good Search Engine Optimisation will help you more effectively reach local people within your geographical area.
5. Credibility
I don’t know about you but when I am researching a business or product, if they don’t have a website I begin to wonder if they are a legitimate business. In Australia you need to have an ABN to purchase a .com.au domain name. An ABN is a registered Australian Business Name. It gives your business legitimacy. By having a website with a .com.au it gives visitors a sense of security that they are dealing with a legitimate business.
While it is not compulsory for businesses to have an ABN, it is free to register and makes running your business easier, particularly if you have to register for other taxes.
Without an ABN, other businesses must withhold 47% from payments they make to you for tax purposes – that’s going to severely diminish your profits!
Aside from the tax issues, having a website helps build trust with your target audience, helps them get to know you a little, enables you to provide contact details, share your latest business news and get listed on search engines. All of which help to build your credibility as a viable solution to a customer’s needs.
6. Growth
Business for web-only retailers is growing faster than for retail chains or direct marketers like small main street stores. This is not expected to change any time soon, pandemic or no pandemic. People have become accustomed to this way of shopping in the last two years and found it to be convenient and easy.
Your business website gives visitors an introduction to your business, can be used to generate new leads for your business, can help people self-select in or out of your offerings, which means you are dealing with more of your ideal clients and spending less time on qualifying them in person.
A well-designed website will complement your off-line marketing efforts too by giving you a place to direct your target audience after they have had initial contact with you.
If you’ve been thinking about a website, but don’t know how to get started, then use the big orange button below to book a free 60-minute Discovery Session and let’s get you on the road to becoming one of those business success statistics.