Who has a shop and doesn’t put all their range of goods on display?
The chances are your existing and new prospective customers don’t know all your products and services.
Having a website is a bit like posting a booklet through someone’s letter box, but there’s a big difference: they’ve come to you. Capitalise on this, they have reached out to you and want to know more.
Having a website not only allows you to explain why you’re the best at what you do, but opens up your full range of products and services.
Prevent opportunity costs
Did you know, far more people use a search engine compared to picking up yellow pages or ringing a directory enquiries telephone number. This is because a search engine gives people the information they need, without cost and with little effort and the best thing is people can do it from devices in their pockets.
Sarah works in a small village and is looking for a mobile hairdresser, as she needs her hair cut before her work’s night out at the end of the week. Her hairdresser closes shop before she finishes work and she can’t get time off work.
James is a mobile hairdresser who can help but unfortunately for him ,and her, he hasn’t got a website, so when she searched for a mobile hairdresser in her village, she missed out on his service.
James can’t see the benefits of having a website, and unbeknown to him, over the years he has missed out of lots of potential business.
Give people faith you’re a legitimate business
Having a website enhances people’s perception of you. It allows you to show how established you are and that you have happy customers who have given testimonials/reviews.
When someone is deciding where to buy their local product or service, to look for deciding factors such as price they will look at different companies websites – not having a website rules you out of their comparison.
It’s a digital age – not all communication is verbal
Information is freely available and easily accessible thanks to search engines.
Furthermore, mobile phones allow people to find services and products they are after within seconds.
Someone has found your website, but they don’t necessarily want to call you immediaitely, due to personal preferences or circumstances at the time.
So they use a handy contact form to ask a question about a product, happily knowing they will get an e-mail response back which suits them.
Increase awareness of your business and sales by capturing e-mail addresses
Your local supermarket probably has your address because you signed up to a clubcard.
From time to time they will post you vouchers to entice you to come in, and cleverly these vouchers will be for products usually related to products you have bought. Supermarkets increase sales because of returning footfall both in shop and online this way.
Having an online business gives you the same opportunity to gain repeat sales.
Capture someone who is browsing your websites e-mail address, and advise them of when you next have a sale.
This raises the chances of repeat business, and puts you in front of your competitors when it comes to your name being fresh in the readers’ mind.
