Your website is like a pristine, storefront window for your business. It allows potential and existing customers to peer inside to learn more about your products or services. It also serves as your most important marketing tool. You read that right . . . the most important tool in your marketing arsenal!
Having a professionally designed and branded, user-friendly, intuitive, and informative website fully helps to validate your business to customers.
- Tells your story
- Visually showcases your vision, brand, and tagline
- Illustrates the problems you solve
- Explains what your business represents
- Incites what existing customers think of you
- Tells customers where you are located and how to reach you
Simply put. It does not matter if you are a B2B, B2C, wholesale, professional services, auto repair, hair salon, food industry, retail, nonprofit, or ecommerce business. Your website is just as important to your customers as Amazon is to its customers.
First impressions matter!
Your website serves as your virtual receptionist and welcomes guests to your business. It is the tool that helps people to find your business.
It should engage and entice people to use your services or purchase your products. It is important you have a call to action to turn prospective customers into profitable ones.
Search engines
What is the first thing most people do when looking for a solution? The majority consult Google, Bing, or Safari.
Online search results will not bring up your latest Facebook posts or tweets that you have worked so hard to create. However, if you have a well-designed website that ranks at the top of the results, you have a much higher chance of gaining that searcher’s business.
Importance of branding, engagement, user experience
Two tenths of a second! Did you know when a first-time user arrives at your website, it takes under two tenths of a second (that’s 0.2!) for the visitor to form an opinion of your business? [Source: Missouri Institute of Science and Technology].
No business is without its competitors. Not having a website or a poorly designed website is cause for business loss. These factors will drive prospective customers away to the competition that boasts a polished website. However, if you have an intuitive, user-friendly, and updated website this better legitimizes you as a serious and savvy business player.
Downfall of packaged websites
Let’s talk about using ‘easywebsitecreator.com’ type platforms. Nothing weakens your business credibility more than a prepackaged website builder. In addition to be mundane and duplicated, they carry a footer that cheapens your business. And, you might ask, why does that matter? People will wonder what other corners you cut to run your business. Words of advice. Don’t come off looking cheap!! Just don’t do it.
SEO and analytics
Your website must be SEO (search engine optimized) to give you higher search rankings than your competition. Otherwise, you may not make the cut of the popular first page results. Did you know most people do not click to read page two search results? Think about it. Do you click further than page one?
Analytics will provide you key metrics so you can assess demographics, geography, conversion rates, traffic patterns, engaged reading time, new and return visits, bounce rates, and sales (if applicable). These data are very helpful in goal setting and business growth.
Marketing hub or nucleus
All methods of marketing should point to your website. This includes your business card, brochures and other print media, and social media channels.
Data collector
Another useful tool for your website is a collector for visitor names and emails. This can be a sign up for your newsletter, a $10 off purchase coupon, or a helpful how-to download. The database you build with this information is very useful to position your business ahead of competitors.
Field of Dreams?
If you build it they will come, right? Not exactly. Websites need to be dynamic. The addition of fresh content, blog posts, and videos are good ways to ensure your website will be found in a search before your competition.
All of the above can be most overwhelming to the most go-getter businesses. We always say, “Stick with what you know and turn to the experts for what consumes you.”
Are you overwhelmed by the formula of all things marketing and websites? We get it and can help! Let’s connect. Just give us a call or drop us a line for a free consultation.