Before going into these questions, let’s understand why any business requires a website?
In this digital era, your website is the gateway to your business, whether you sell online or not.
In fact, studies show that most “online shopping” is actually online researching, why? Here is the reason, about 81% of consumers research on the internet before making a purchasing decision.
Not having an effective, engaging and professional website is a major obstacle to your business growth and success. Even if you have a traditional business, potential consumers will look for you online first and try to find their answers on your website. If they do not find answers to their questions about your product & services on your website, they look for your competitors for sure,
Is that really what you want? Definitely not.
Here are the following ways in which a great website impacts your business:
- Establish credibility
- Building trust among potential customers
- Engage visitors
- Generate leads
- Support your customers 24/7
- Close more sales
- Increases visibility & reach of your business
The key to building a website is how to utilize your website for lead generation and customer acquisition. Building a website with a clear goal and strategy will help you to increase leads and sales, ultimately helping you grow your business which means revenue and profits.
Now, look at a few Website Statistics, which could directly affect your sales. These stats are taken from the Espresso.Digital, have a thoughtful look.
Websites Provide Online Presence to Small Businesses (or any business):
- 91% of customers have visited a store because of an online presence
- 37% use the internet search engine to find a store at least once per month
- According to Google’s 2015 data, 50% of consumers who conduct local searches on their mobile phones, go to a store within 24 hours, and nearly 20% make a purchase within 24 hours
Your Business Website Needs to be Optimized for Mobile Devices as well:
It’s easier & faster to access information on mobile, so optimizing your website for mobiles is very-very crucial for any business website. Let’s look at the stats.
- According to Google, the majority of searches come from mobile devices, even if a desktop is available
- 94% of all small business websites are NOT mobile-friendly and will not render successfully on mobile devices or smartphones
- Google’s 2015 data shows, that 50% of consumers who conduct local searches on their mobile phones, go to a store within 24 hours, and nearly 20% make a purchase within 24 hours (mentioned earlier)
- 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience
It’s “Not Enough” to Just Have a Website for a Small Business:
The data shows these statistics for the websites of a small business,
- 82% of small business websites don’t have social media accounts
- 70% of small business websites have no call to action
- 68% don’t have an email address on the homepage
- About 23% of small business websites get updated less than once a year
- 97% of all small business websites are ineffective in terms of lead generation and conversions.
These stats speak for themselves. These are the points to think, about why you ‘Must’ have an effective, engaging and professional website.
Finally, to answer the main question of the article.
Small business owners who follow the above tips and use their website as a tool to connect with customers online see an average growth of 15-50% (as per Rain Retail study in 2015). (Source)
So, why not have an effective, engaging and professional website fully optimized for mobile phones as well.
Thanks for reading.
