Welcome to 504 Media Mondays. This week’s installation is all about decoding what the big fuss is about websites, why you need one and the impact to your business if you choose to go without it. If you are a large corporation, chances are you already have a website and it is an integral part of your business marketing plan and operations. If your bottom line isn’t in the 6 or 7 figure range, you may wonder what’s the big deal if you don’t have a website? I’ll list a few good reasons why any business should strongly consider having a website if they do not have one already.
Marketing, Marketing, Marketing!
Even 10-15 years ago, it was advantageous if you had a website, but with the advancement of web based technologies, the web offers a business tons of opportunities to market your business. A few of those examples are:
- Search Engines
By simply having a web presence, you have the opportunity to have potential customers stumble upon your company when they are searching for products or services. You can set up your site with certain keywords and verbiage to hook into search engine results when people search for those particular words that are tightly aligned with your business. - Personal Social Media Sites
Social media site advertisement almost always require you to funnel potential customers back to a sales lead funnel of some sort via a “call to action” button so that you can then further engage with them to potentially convert them into true customers. - Magazine/Newspaper Online Advertisements
Again, you are advertising on some sort of platform that you feel has sufficient visibility to get your company some publicity. If they want to know more about you, most consumers wish to do so via the web as to avoid the old school sales pressure tactics that can be off putting. - Professional Networking Sites and B2B Organization Networks
Professional Networking Sites such as LinkedIn offer you the unique ability to reach individual consumers but also to engage in business to business networking. Depending on what your business entails, it may lend itself to dealing more directly with consumers or it may lend itself to dealing more with other businesses as your primary clientele. Proffesional networking sites give you the flexibility to market to both.
Marketing your business without a web presence severely limits your ability to reach your intended target audience without a substantial boots on the ground, more localized effort.
Customer Confidence
A few weeks ago, one of our first 504 Media Mondays posts made mention of customers losing confidence in businesses that utilize personal email services as their primary email. Without a website in place, many businesses meet the same skepticism among potential customers as most prefer to utilize a business’s website as their primary source of information before they decide to engage further about their products or services. In addition, remember that merely having a website does not get you in the clear on its own. The quality of the website is also of importance as a poor quality website will also steer customers away from your business and give them a sometimes unfair perception of your business and its integrity. Perception is reality. Hiring a professional design firm, such as 504 Media Solutions is always a good idea. There are many options out there to build your site on your own. However, there are so many nuances to web design and what is considered effective design, that it is very worthwhile to work with a design professional with the experience to take your business to the next level.
Telling Your Story
When it comes to engaging your customers, you want to be in control over how you come in contact with them. You also want to be in control of what information they receive on your business on any platform where you control the information source. Here are 3 ways you can tell your story via your website.
- The Why Behind Your Business
The why behind your business matters to some. Therefore, your “About Us” page really does serve to truly connect with some customers and cause them to want to support you because of what you are all about. You can utilize that “About Us” verbiage on your website and other marketing platforms, such as social media, newpaper ads and articles, interviews, etc, but you want your story to be consistent and the information that’s on your website is ground zero. - What is it That Your Business Does?
The home page of your website is your 30 second elevator pitch. That’s about how long you have to engage your potential customers before they hit the back button and search elsewhere. Therefore, if you have a means to tell them what it is you do and what products or services you offer, then they are more likely to stick around and purchase something and/or reach out to you. - Incentives to Do Business With You
You can also promote incentives, discounts and special offers to help convert potential customers into true paying customers. If your website is your primary sales channel, then linking to that website from other marketing platforms with “call to action” buttons works wonders.
Hopefully you have a better idea behind why your business is best suited to have a website. Let us know how we can help and as always 504 Media Solutions is here to meet any of your website, graphics and logo needs. Please comment below and provide feedback on today’s post.
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