10 reasons your business needs a website

Having a website is the most effective way to promote a business.

Having a presence online is a necessity these days, because your customers are more than likely using the internet instead of reading ads in newspapers or thumbing through the Yellow Pages. They use their phones, tablets and laptops to go to Google and ask questions, then they scan through the options given, click on a few websites and choose the company that meets the requirements they have.

A well built, maintained and marketed website will give your business 24-hour exposure, 365 days a year for as many years as you want it too. No other marketing medium gets close to the continuous reach of a website. If you sell something, or have a service or advice to offer, you need to be online and in front of your potential customers, if you're not, they will use their phones, tablets, laptops and Google and go elsewhere.

A website is the very best way to get your company in front of the people looking for the services you provide. To make our point, here's 10 quick reasons your business should have an online presence:

1. It's your businesses best asset.

If you struggle to see the value of a website, perhaps consider it in terms of a member of staff, one who works all day and night, every day and night. It will never go on holiday or ask for a pay rise, and it will always have your business interests at heart. It makes money, it delivers customers, it's route one for pr, and it costs a fraction of the return it delivers.

2. It will make and save money.

No other form of marketing can guarantee you the continuous reach of a website for the equivalent cost. In terms of making a profit, a professionally built and maintained website will generate a return far beyond its initial cost of purchase.

If your website costs £5,000 and has a 3 year lifespan, that's roughly £4.57 a day you need to earn to recoup the investment. When compared to advertising in a local paper which would be at least £200 for a quarter page ad, an ad equals 24 hours of potential business exposure, a website equals 26,280 hours of potential business exposure. If you ran an ad every day for 3 years it would cost £219,000 less any discount, that's almost 44 times the cost of a £5,000 website.

3. It will be where your customers are.

These days your potential customers will look online before they do anything, so if you offer a service, sell a product or just want to inform and advise, a search engine optimised and marketed website will put you front and centre.

4. It will broaden your market.

Why limit your company's prospects. A well designed website that has a committed company managing and marketing it will broaden the customer base of any business from a local, national, to a possible international level.

5. It will grow with your business.

Modern content management systems (CMS) such as Joomla and Wordpress have the capacity to manage hundreds of thousands of pages. As your company grows, so will your website.

6. It adds legitimacy.

When looking for a product or service, we invariably end up searching online for the website of the company behind it. If your company has a website, it will help with the decision making process. Not having a website can significantly reduce your opportunities to get new customers.

7. It will maintain awareness and help build ‘brand’ loyalty.

A website gives you the opportunity to interact long term with your current customers and generate new ones through the use of email updates and newsletters. No other form of marketing media has this level of reach, or returns this level of direct contact with the public.

8. It's instant information for the wary.

Many potential customers will want to know more about a product, service or company before they commit to any form of interaction. There is no better way to put their mind at ease than by offering information at the click of a button.

9. It gives you complete control of your marketing, branding and customer interaction.

If you have a website, the only limits are set by you; and not dictated by advertising costs, office hours or anything that can be seen as a barrier between you and your customers.

10. It can react in real time.

Have an offer in mind? Need to get a service known quickly? Then a website is the answer! No other form of promotion lets you adapt to business needs so fast.

For more information on finding the right website for your business, please call us on 01970 626035.