Having an up to date, engaging and easy-to-use website has never been more important. Read on for 8 reasons why your website is critical to your business.
#1 Online Presence 24/7
Having a website means customers are always able to find you – anytime, anywhere. Even outside of business hours, your website continues to find and secure new customers. It offers the user convenience as they can access the information they need in the comfort of their own home, with no added pressure to buy.
#2 Information Exchange
At its simplest, a website provides a quick and easy way of communicating information between buyers and sellers. You can list your opening hours, contact information, show images of your location or products and use contact forms to facilitate enquiries from potential customers or feedback from existing ones. This is also a good way to promote your social media channels and build up a community with your customers.
#3 Credibility
In today’s modern world, there is an expectation for any reputable company to have a positive online presence. Having a good quality, easy-to-use website makes customers feel comfortable using your services, as they will assume they can expect the same positive experience in all areas of your business.
#4 It Cuts Costs
As well as simply displaying information, you can also use your website to sell goods & services directly to consumers. We now see many businesses moving online, in some cases removing the need to use “brick-and-mortar” which involves large operating costs.
#5 Market Expansion
As your site is accessible to anyone all over the world, the ability to break through geographical barriers has never been easier. Anyone, from any country, will be able to find your company and as such, is now a potential customer.
#6 Consumer Insights
Analytic tools allow you to identify who your typical customer is, how they found you, what they like, and adapt your business to maximise purchases through your site. The diverse range of data available can also help you better understand how your social media channels affect your brand, and can even highlight opportunities to change the offline aspects of your business such as branch opening times, promotions and product ranges
#7 Advertising
Tools like Google AdWords or advertising on Facebook give you the power to reach customers with much more accuracy and reliability than with traditional offline advertising methods. SEO and online advertising are a great way to help build up awareness and if done correctly, can increase traffic to your website.
#8 Customer Service Online
Websites provide an easier way to handle customer service. Offering answers to regularly asked questions in a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section, you can reduce customer service costs and save yourself time and money, as well as providing much more information. This also means that customers can receive a reply instantly and saves time, which helps to encourage positive customer relations in the long run.
If you feel like your website could do with an upgrade, please contact the IT & WEB Partner Team.
