Introduction
In this article, we will discuss the importance of having a website for small businesses. We will outline several reasons that make it essential for small businesses to have a website. We will talk about how having a website can enhance your small business and how it can contribute to increasing your profits. We will also delve into six other reasons why it is necessary to have a website for your small business. So let’s get started!
Reason One: Potential Customers Use the Internet
The first reason for the necessity of having a website for small businesses is that many of your potential customers spend a lot of their time online. According to a study conducted by comScore in Canada, Canadians spend an average of 36.3 hours browsing online in a month, while Americans spend 35.2 hours online each month. In a report by Nielsen for the first quarter of 2016, it was found that about 81% of adults in the United States own smartphones and use them for an average of 1 hour and 39 minutes daily browsing content. In both countries, the number of internet users is 88.5%. This means there are many eyes that could visit and interact with your small business’s website – if you have one.
Reason Two: A Business Website Gives Your Company Credibility
People expect businesses to have their own websites, just as they expect businesses to have a physical address. The absence of a website raises questions in customers’ minds. Are you technologically challenged? Or have you not found the time to do it? Or perhaps you are a startup struggling with financial resources to make it happen? All these things are not what you want people to think when it comes to your business.
Reason Three: A Business Website Provides You with an Additional Marketing Channel
Having a website for your business gives you an automatic online presence. Think of it like a billboard on the internet. You have another opportunity to introduce people to your products and services and other ways to find you. Of course, the amount of attention your advertisement attracts will depend on the conscious marketing efforts you make to catch people’s attention, such as search engine optimization, blogging, social media usage, and online advertising.
Reason Four: A Business Website Gives You Another Opportunity to Collect Data and Generate Leads
For example, it’s hard to get people to write down their email addresses on paper and hand them in at a physical store. But getting people to write their email address in a box on a website is much easier – especially if they believe they will get something in return, like a newsletter, a special report, or an eBook. Once you have their email address, you have another way to reach potential customers.
Reason Five: E-commerce Spending Increases Every Year
In the United States, consumers spent $453.46 billion online purchasing retail products in 2017, a 16.0% increase from $390.99 billion in 2016. E-commerce sales are expected to continue growing rapidly in the coming years, projected to exceed $684 billion by 2020. In Canada, e-commerce spending reached $27 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach nearly $40 billion by 2018. Canadians shop abroad more than they shop domestically, with 67% of purchases going to other countries. It is clear that consumers desire online options.
The Reason
Sixth: Online Research Can Lead Customers to Your Store
Another reason to have a website for your small business is that if you have a physical store, investing in building an online presence like an e-commerce site can increase your real-world store’s profits due to the rising popularity of online searches, where customers look for products online before purchasing them in-store. More than 90% of global purchases still happen in the real world, proving that online research remains the preference of most people when shopping.
What Is the Reason for Not Being Online?
A small business owner I spoke to said he does not have a website because he is not looking for any additional business. He’s an electrician and is as busy as he wants to be for the foreseeable future.
But if you truly want more business, your business’s website now serves as a business card – it is a must for any business – and don’t think you need to provide e-commerce to have one. A website that acts as a digital business card, providing searchers with information about your business and what you can offer them is still worth it.
If you don’t already have a website, start by learning how to acquire and register a domain name, which is the first step to getting your business online.
Then explore different online business models and see what type of web presence will work best for your small business.
Was This Page Helpful?
Thank you for your feedback! Let us know why! Another
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/reasons-small-business-website-2948414
Leave a Reply