Why Small Businesses Need a Website
Do you run a small business but have no online presence? Perhaps you’ve relied on good old word-of-mouth up until now and have your regular clients. That’s amazing! However, if you are thinking of taking the next step in business, launching yourself into the world wide web might just be it.
In case you’re still on the fence, here are 8 reasons why it will be the best investment you will ever make.
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Showcase your services
What do you offer your clients? Are you a Pilates instructor that offers classes to groups, or a retailer selling products? Maybe you are a fashion or food stylist wanting to showcase your portfolio. Now you can break down your offerings, explain and put a price on everything, and add images for your clients to see exactly what they’re getting.
Let your clients get to know you
Your business website is the great way to express yourself. Clients love to know who the face is behind a business, what they’re all about, what is their background and motivation behind their small business. On your website you can add a section to explain all of this, then through social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook you can create a voice and give followers a sneak peek of what goes on daily in your business.
Share your expertise by blogging
Blogging is a great way to expand upon your services and give readers a little more insight into your brand. For example, you can explain WHY Pilates is so good for core strength or the workings behind how your product is brought to life. From a business perspective, think about blogging as answering your client's common questions. All the while you're also showing your experience and knowledge in your area of business.
Take bookings online
Gone are the days of phone or email bookings. I mean, think how long it takes going back and forth on email to lock down a customer appointment. Now you can book or buy whatever service you want all through your website. You can ask customers for the information you need from them straight up and they can book straight into your calendar for an appointment or session. And the time saved by you not doing back and forth communication can be spent doing other marketing jobs like blogging and social media!
Broaden your exposure
How many times do you google “Pilate studios Sydney” or “Food Stylists Sydney” for example? Through handy tools like SEO and tagging, you can make your business be top of the list on a google search, ultimately leading to more people seeing your brand, more traffic flow to your site, and more business.
Get customer reviews
Through your website, and setting up a Google My Business and/or Facebook page you can let new clients know what your existing clients have thought of the services you offer (hopefully all positive of course!) All you need is a few sentences of remarkable feedback that resonates with what someone is also needing to get them over the line.
Hold events and sell tickets
Do you run regular events, workshops or even retreats? Now you can add all of this to your website and allow for people to book and buy all online. There’s hardly need for event fliers anymore, saving paper, print time and drop-offs.
Sell your product
While not every business needs an e-commerce setup, the low cost and simplicity of having an online store these days is hard to pass up. Unlike a "bricks and mortar" store, you can reach a whole new group of customers, selling physical products, digital products (like an e-book) or even gift vouchers for your business.
Sarah Stevens is a former journalist, magazine editor and TV producer, and the director of Content Society. You can see more of her work here.