In present century, internet’s popularity and utility cannot be over-emphasized. Its overwhelming growth in the past two decades can be assessed by the sheer numbers. Data suggest that, in December 1995, when the world was trying to understand how to put the World Wide Web (website) to the best use, there were only 16 million internet users (0.4% of 1995 world population).
In the two decades since, the Internet has grown at an incredibly fast speed, reaching 3.36 billion users (46% of world’s population) by December 2015. Today, it is almost criminal for a business to not be online.
Why should your business have a website?
The answer is simple. Your business should be where the consumers are. Several businesses have suffered the ill fate of neglecting the importance of having a website and going online – only to see their competitors make that crucial first move and surge ahead of them. As already stated through numbers, almost half the world’s population is online already. You don’t want to lose out on unlocking the immense business potential that the internet holds.
Website plays an important role in the success of a business. If we deeply think about a website, then we come to realize that website is one of the forms of marketing. Earlier, marketing means distributing pamphlets, advertisement at TV and FM, and more. Now, trend gets changed and marketing becomes digital.
Website is best known as a platform where business provide all the information about it and the services offered by it. Through the website, business try to build a trust relationship with the brand audience so that they can prove fruitful for the business by enhancing the profitability and returns on the investment.
If you are still having doubts about spending that extra bit on getting a website for your business, here are a few reasons that would convince you:
Cost Effectiveness
A well-defined website is the cost-effective solution for promoting a business and its products all over the world. If the website and its elements are effectively presented in front of the audience, then there is no need to hire any marketing company for promoting the business.
Website design is a one – time capital investment. Once done, you only need to renew your domain name and storage, which would cost a fraction of your overall revenue. Once the website is designed and developed, it would be accessible to billions of users and devices worldwide at the click of a button. Compare that, with the traditional marketing and sales channels, where you either depend upon word of mouth publicity or regularly invest substantial amounts in advertising through print and electronic media. It may not produce instant results, as it will take time for traffic to build up, but it costs next to nothing and the results are worth every penny.
Visibility of a Website
In a well-defined website, everything is described in more effective manner mainly website elements like website content, graphics, and more. In case of content, website content is well defined so that it answers all the queries rises in the mind of visitors. Thus, website helps business to gain the trust of its customers and ensure higher conversion rate.
To put it straight – no advertising channel can match the reach of a website. When people hear about your company and are willing to do business, there is every chance they would first like to do their research online before they avail your services or buy your product. Furnishing basic information (corporate address, directions, map, product catalogue, etc.) on your website would go a long way in establishing your credibility as well as converting leads to customers.
Communication
In this age of Google, people often rely on its search powers to dig out information they want. Potential customers who want to connect with you might not have your contact details handy, having a website will give them your contact details and they can initiate a communication via e-mail, phone or chat. A proper online communication channel thus gives you the power to draw customers towards you rather than reaching out to them all the time.
On the other hand, if your business does not have online presence, the customer is more likely to look out for the next guy rather than fret about wasting time digging your contact information.
Convenient and always accessible
Having online presence enables you to carry out business or provide information to potential customers, round the clock. Someone can look up your business at 2 am and submit an enquiry form at your business’s website, from the comfort of his living room. This is not possible through traditional promotion.
Modern day businesses have tweaked their business models so much in favour of online channels that many of them operate completely from the virtual world, i.e. they do not have a physical outlet at all. This saves up on infrastructure, salaries and utility expenses. At the same time, they operate in the “always on” mode, where they can communicate with the customers any time.
Online is a “Pull” strategy rather than traditional “Push”
Conventional businesses pitch their products to customers through available advertising channels such as print advertising, electronic media and word of mouth publicity. These are localized approaches that seldom cross a particular geography (without significant spending).
Having a website for your small business, gives you the power to pull customers towards your product/service rather than push your business to them. Imagine a customer looking for web designing companies in Barcelona area. He is likely to type “web designing companies Barcelona” and shortlist from the first few matches. If your business doesn’t feature online, you have lost not only a potential customer but any future business, he might have generated for you through positive word of mouth.
Always Something New or Fresh to present
Business website is always effectively and efficiently managed as well as organized by the web service providers. Thus, the targeted audience always get something new and fresh to read or know. In this way, website gets huge quality traffic for business with higher conversion rate.
Enhance Sales
If a business website is well designed and structured, then it ensures higher quality web traffic which greater conversion rate. In this way, business profitability gets increased and business gets more opportunity for growing.
Long Term Business Goals and Objectives
Website offers several long-term benefits for the business. If a website is created for the business, then after waiting for some time it starts getting attention of targeted audience. Once, the website is in the reach of the targeted audience then the business starts earning its benefits like higher web traffic, greater profitability, increase in conversion rate, and more. All these benefits are the long-term goal and objective of our business.
We hope that this article will help you in understanding the importance of a website for a business. Please do let us know, what you think about it. Your valuable feedback is a great encouragement for us.
