7 Things: Reasons to Have a Business Website

  1. Credibility

    You have a business card don’t you? Can you image introducing yourself and your business without one? You have a business phone, right? Can you image trying to gain new customers without one? The same is now true of websites. Without a professional website you look small; you look temporary.

  2. Save Time & Money

    The cost of getting a website can be a little overwhelming sometimes. Dirt cheap websites start at $500; the best move quickly into 6 figures. Once you have it, though, it costs very little. A website built on a current CMS (Code Management System) like WordPress, allows you to update the site, adding your news, coupons, whitepapers, product pages, without calling in expensive professionals. You should rarely pay more than hosting costs, and those should be cheaper than your monthly phone line.

  3. Find a Wider Audience

    There are people looking for you. And in your wildest dreams, you would never think to look for many of them. Your website lets them find you. It lets them find out about you, without being invasive. They can begin to familiarize themselves with your business offerings in a way they feel comfortable. Once you make a real sales or marketing contact with them, you already have the beginning or a relationship. Now a site optimized for the search engines will do better at this than others, but all sites offer outreach to potential customers that previously eluded you.

  4. Be Available

    Websites ushered in the “24/7” world. Your customers can look up product information on their schedule, not just during your business hours. Your website doesn’t take breaks, it doesn’t sleep, its there. A contact form allows visitors to send you a message anytime, opening up a new communication channel. Posting news provides a mechanism to get product announcements and news out to your customers with minimal cost.

  5. Support Your Customers

    Let your web visitors find the product information they want with photos, graphics, videos and text. Allow them to find out the place and times of events without having to call and ask. Give them photos and images so they can understand your business and its advantages.

  6. Interact with Your Customers

    Provide a contact form so you customers can comprehensively communicate with you, even allow them to upload RFPs, their images, documents, and bid requirements directly in a way that you and your staff can easily find and share.

  7. Measurable Marketing

    What other marketing medium allows you to know exactly what people looked at, how long they took to look? No other marketing medium allows such immediacy in learning what people found appealing and to what they responded. Website marketing metrics are comprehensive and immediate, allowing you to quickly respond to the fluctuations in your market.