The web has become something so common that people of all ages, from all walks of life have become almost dependant on it. Yet amazingly enough, the majority of small businesses either don’t have websites, or have outdated or poorly optimized sites that aren’t really delivering them anything and might as well not exist. If your business fits into either of those categories, then here are the top reasons your small business needs a well optimized, up to date website.
1) New customers are looking for exactly what you provide, in exactly where you provide it.
Whatever your product or service might be, and wherever you may be located, there are people looking for you. Without a website optimized for search, you’re hiding your business from these potential customers.
For instance, according to the Google Keyword tool, the term “Toronto movers” and it’s related terms receive over 40,000 searches per month on average. That means each month, 40,000 people turn to the internet to search for a moving company in Toronto. Imagine being a mover in Toronto without a website? It seems crazy, yet so many small businesses are missing out on huge numbers of potential customers by not having a website, or by having a poorly done website.
2) A web presence gives you a way to keep in contact with existing customers.
Having a good website gives you a way to keep in constant contact with your existing customers. Building relationships with customers is the best way to ensure repeat business, and the lifetime value of a customer is so great, that you can’t afford to ignore the ones you’ve already got.
A good web presence gives you the means to build that relationship, through newsletters, online promotions, and up to date information about your products or services. Leaving your customers in the dark gives them a reason to switch to someone that will keep them updated. Your existing customer base is your most important asset. Don’t risk alienating them!
3) A website is one of the most flexible and effective promotional materials.
You spend money printing up brochures, fliers and catalogs, so why wouldn’t you want a strong promotional material on the web? The beauty of a website is that it can be changed constantly to keep up to date with changes in your companies offerings. If you decide to drop a product or service, or change your address or business hours, the cost to reprint all of your promotional materials is absolutely enormous. On the flip side, a website can be quickly and easily changed at very little cost (or no cost if you’re up to doing it yourself!).
By centering your marketing efforts around the web, you gain a degree of control and flexibility that doesn’t exist in any other marketing medium. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to make a change to your business and have it refelcted in your marketing campaigns immediately and at very little cost? The benefits of making your website your number one marketing material are immense.
Any way you look at it, you can’t afford to deprive your business of a good web presence. There is simply too much advantage to bringing your company online that it would be almost irresponsible not to. You want the best for your business, so don’t ignore the web. The benefits a good site to your marketing and your customer relations are just too great.
