As you already know, long gone are the days when people only get their information from TV ads, telephone books and shop sales people. Consumers look for information 24/7 and the easiest way possible these days is through the internet. And this is at the core why you need a website for your business.
Your website is like your shop or a store – that’s where visitors are converted to clients.
Did You Know?
In 2021, retail e-commerce sales amounted to approximately US$ 4.9 trillion worldwide.
This figure is forecast to grow by 50 percent over the next four years, reaching about 7.4 trillion dollars by 2025.
It is evident from this rising trend, that it is paramount now more than ever to start building your online presence and an online store/shop.
Yes, your business can and should have presence on social media platforms.
But you are building a business that will be here in 5, 10, 20 or even 50 years from today and you are focusing all of your efforts on being on social media platforms, it is like building your house on a rented plot of land.
It does not make sense to do that, does it?
So here are our other five reasons to build your online presence through a website.
1. People Are Looking For You Online
Ever wondered what dinner recipe you could use for dinner planning and then found yourself on Google looking it up?
Or wanted to know what is the latest model of a Samsung or iPhone?
Maybe you even Googled the fastest way to get somewhere or the best place to live on a different continent.
There are 8.5 billion searches on Google per day, and at this very moment, there is someone in your area possibly searching for your product or service and they are not using their social media accounts.
Bottom line is, no matter what industry you are in, people are using Google extensively and are most probably already searching for your services or products. Therefor having your own website ensures that your business shows up when your client is already looking for you.
2. Consumers Use Your Website As Their Main Tool To Contact & Find You
According to Google, back in 2018, 63 percent of consumers primarily used a company’s website to find and engage with the businesses. This percentage is even higher since the COVID 19 epidemic
This makes the decision of having or not having the website very simple! If your competitor has a website then you most definitely need to have a website as well. If your competitor does not have one, you will have an advantage over them by having one for your business!
3. Inform & Educate People About Your Brand
Because your website is your shop, this is your tool to inform and educate consumers about your brand and what you stand for.
Adding a blog or vlog to your website not only improves your SEO but places your business in a unique position to give your clients more value and solidify your position as a thought leader in your field.
Having a website also improves your credibility in the eye of the public that should be coupled with a great social media presence where you amplify your messages for brand visibility.
Additionally, having specific landing pages on your website that include details on all your latest promotions, special offers and sales of particular products and services, helps to move customer’s further down the sales funnel.
4. Wide & Global Reach
Not only is your website available 24/7, your website is available to a wide global village, which offers you the unique opportunity to increase and widen your customer reach.
By including a customer support page or FAQ you are able to improve customer interaction with your business and ensure that your customers queries are easily solved despite where they are from.
5. Reduced Costs
How much would it cost you these days to set up a physical shop filled with stock? Probably not less than a US$ 100,000 or much, much more.
Starting your online shop is far cheaper and with easily accessible tools like WordPress and WIX you can begin creating your website free of charge, earn some money and save up to invest into growing the site.
This also gives you the leverage to learn and test out different features and ideas for your website for a relatively low cost until you find out what works best for your business and your clients.
Conclusion
We hope we persuaded about the necessity of your online or e-commerce presence of your business in today’s Digital World.
If you wish to learn more on this topic, consider to enrol ion one of our short, foundation courses available to your at the tip of your fingertips.
