Why Do I Need a Website? 5 Real Benefits for Small Business
Websites are fast becoming the in-home treadmills of the digital age - everyone has one, most of us don’t really use them, but gawd they make us look fit & trendy when someone comes over.
So it’s easy to fall into the mindset of “well, does my business even need a website?”
You’re doing fine from word-of-mouth, right? Maybe you do a flyer drop once a month that has ok results. Perhaps your directory listing is producing good stats (according to them).
The truth is, a website has the potential to blow all these other marketing pursuits out of the water.
Here’s the top 5 reasons your small business needs a website.
#1 The Customer AHA Moment + Copy + Paste.
I had a great Customer AHA moment recently. Except I was the customer.
We had a financial planner come to our house to help us get all the boring super/income protection/insurance stuff sorted. He was incredibly knowledgeable and really took the time to explain everything in a way my anti-numbers brain could understand.
At the end of his visit, he summed up by saying “ok, now I like to check in at least once a year with my clients, and if you like we can review your policies and make any tweaks.”
Huh?
We have to do this again?
I genuinely thought this was a set-and-forget thing. (Not that I didn’t enjoy chatting to him). Once you’re insured, you’re insured - right?
As he explained, our financial situation will change as we do - buying and selling houses, a growing family, changing jobs, etc. So his aim is to become like our financial GP - available to bounce ideas off, ask questions, and tweak policies as the circumstances they relate to change.
Wow.
Lightbulb moment.
That makes perfect sense.
What a great idea, having someone around to give advice on big decisions, just like you’d see a doctor for advice when you need it.
The only problem?
It was just my husband and I in the room.
And we were already clients.
We were converted leads. In the bag. He was preaching to the converted.
Wouldn’t it be great if he could share that nugget of gold with 100 people who were still thinking about seeing a financial planner? Who were still looking for someone to help?
That’s where a website comes into play.
By having content that offers valuable insights, advice & tips on your website, you have the potential to:
- Appear in search results relevant to that topic
- Connect with potential customers in a way that is more helpful, less salesy and
- Get people on the phone or emailing you for more.
You may not realise it, but you are brimming with valuable information that potential clients are hungry for. So use a website to get it out there, and have that AHA moment with hundreds of people at once.
#2 Become a 24/7 business and stay in the game.
We all get a lot of the same questions popping up throughout the day:
- when are you open?
- do you stock this?
- how does this work?
We don’t mind, because that’s why we went into business (apart from the cashola that’s apparently supposed to be making it rain right now). We love what we do, and we’re happy to help.
But what if this question was being asked at, say 7pm? Long after your doors have closed, from a dad who’s doing a bit of research while supervising bathtime? Or by a mum at 11pm who’s comparing products before this week’s shop?
And the next big question - what if your business isn’t there to help at times like this...
… but your biggest competitor is?
A website let’s you keep your customer service hat on day & night. By having a website that ranks well (so it pops up in a search) is well designed (so they can find what they’re after easily) and is jam packed with useful articles, videos and explainers, not only will you grab their attention, but you’ll have won them over with your vast knowledge and eagerness to assist.
Make no mistake, these are qualities we love to see in businesses online and much as we do in person.
#3 Here’s one I prepared earlier.
Let’s dive deeper into those articles, videos and explainers I just mentioned. There is a new saying in the digital marketing game now that content is king.
This means that the hard sell is dead.
People know which listings in Google Search Results are ads. Banner ads are largely ignored. We can fast forward through ads on TV shows we’ve recorded.
The advertising that wins eyes, ears & hearts now must go the extra mile to:
- Educate
- Entertain or
- Enlighten.
Now, you might be sitting in your commercial plumbing van, or on the way to your real estate agency office thinking “that’s all well and good, but how on earth do I come up with content? What I do is pretty straightforward.”
This is bubble thinking: you’re inside the bubble, you know everything that needs knowing - that’s why you’re the expert - but you need to take a step back and think from the client’s perspective.
Pro Tip: The 5W Method
A trick I love using to better understand a target market and how to best approach them is the 5W Method:
- Who: who is your target audience? Get a good sense of the kinds of people you’re talking to.
- What: What do they want/need? What are their objectives? What are their concerns & problems?
- Where: Where are they based? Where do they look for information & advice?
- When: Based on assumptions you can make about their daily lives, when are they likely to be doing research? When do they need your products & services? (fancy-pants terminology here is “When do they enter the buying cycle?”)
- Why: Why would they need your help? Why are you a good fit for their needs?
This will get the ball rolling on fleshing out your customer’s position, and will allow you wider perspective to start creating some answers to the questions they’ll be asking.
This blog post is a classic example - so many small business owners we deal with ask the almighty “What are the benefits of having a website?” question, so I put this post together to answer them!
#4 Tell your story.
We’ve all had life experiences - professional & personal - that brought us to this crazy place of small business ownership. For me, it’s the people. I love to help, I love using my skills to bring joy, or relief, or success, or all three. And I have very clear values I want to project through my products & services.
And so will you, so use your website to tell everyone. Do not mistake this for bragging! This isn’t about saying “Look at me, I’m amazing.” This is about acknowledging your strengths and sharing with your target market exactly how you want to use those skills to provide a service.
You need to get a firm grip on your brand values & voice, as these should shine through in not only the written content, but the graphics as well. Use your website to give a visitor a crystal clear understanding of who you are, how you’re different and why you’re the perfect solution to their problems.
#5 Walk this way.
This is where a well-designed website really shines, and is a crucial step in converting browsers into buyers.
And it’s actually super straightforward.
Give them a reason to give you a go.
What does that mean?
It means you can offer a website visitor something of value - just your way of saying thank you for stopping by.
BUT this little something is specifically designed to give them a taste of what it might be like to do business with you, leaving them wanting more.
For example:
1. A retail business (that doesn’t sell online) may offer a downloadable voucher for $10 to be redeemed in store. All you need is their email address so you can email it to them.
$10 for just my email? Sure!
2. A cafe might offer a 2-for-1 lunch voucher emailed straight to your inbox.
2-for-1 food? I love food!
3. A service provider (like a hairdresser, or a lawn mower, or a arborist) might offer a free guide full of maintenance tips, seasonal advice and industry trends. Sent straight to your inbox.
By exchanging something of educational or physical value for their contact details, you can keep them in your marketing loop.
If they buy straight away, you can keep them updated so you’re top of mind the next time they need your help. And if they don’t immediately become a customer, they’re exposed to your ongoing marketing until they are ready to commit.
This process requires constant marketing through other channels in order to reach full effect.
But your website is the point of initial impact.
So, is a website really worth it?
A website allows you to do everything any other piece of marketing does in the one place, whilst still allowing the visitor to find exactly what they need. You can run an offer like a mailout, answer questions like a radio interview, list prices like a menu, and engage like a casual conversation. And yet, a website visitor can locate the exact content they need.
A website is also hugely beneficial to growth. If you want to attract more customers, expand into different areas, educate and convert leads into paying clients, a website is the most comprehensive way to enable that.
Of course, it should be a key part of a larger marketing plan, but my advice is to get a solid, well-structured website as a foundation from which you can leap into each marketing adventure.
Now get that website-treadmill pumping! *scoffs Doritos*
Thinking about your website? Here's a FREE GIFT to get you started:
It’s hard to know where to start with a website. It’s easy to get distracted by colours, themes & moving images, and forget about the more important aspects: who you’re talking to, what they want & need, what you want to say, how you want to say it.
We’ve developed a workbook to help you define exactly who your target market is - this will help you create text for your new website, content for your blog (or start one!) or create high-impact marketing material that will help turn browsers into buyers.
About the Author: Meredith Heeley is the Lead Designer, Web & Marketing Strategist for UpBound. Need a hand with your website & marketing strategy? Get in touch & let's get started.