If you are among 17% of small business owners without a website, you miss out on many things and leave money on the table.
Having a website and online presence for your business cannot be overlooked, especially in the 2020s, because it is a major growth factor for your brand.
In fact, according to statistics, 64% of small businesses have a website, and 70% of entrepreneurs with a website and a well-established online presence expect to grow by 25% in the next three to five years.
However, in this article, I will be walking you through the various reasons your offline business should go online.
One of the most important reasons why going online is necessary for small and big businesses is to build credibility, confidence & trust.
Customers are more inclined to trust your business when they come on your professional website if you have one.
Being online also provides your company with many options to strengthen this trust, such as online reviews and testimonials.
It is always easier and faster to reach and connect with your existing and prospective customers with an established online presence.
Now let's be a little bit realistic; for instance, anytime you want to buy an iPhone, you will have to go to Apple's physical company location in California to buy it would have been just unbearable.
But with the aid and power of an online presence, you can stay right in your house to view a product, read about it, and order it. Is that not incredible? Oh! Yes, it is.
Now think about your business (products & services) and your competitors; you will see that major brands have built an online presence and visibility in your space.
Your competitors almost certainly have an online presence, if not all of them. Customers looking for your products or services may end up on a competitor's website.
In a nutshell, this means that you are leaving money on the table if you don't beat your competition with an online presence.
You can see a website like you having a land online, in other words, a digital asset. This means you can build a brand and signature online.
Having your website means you have more control over your brand's online presence.
There are several interesting options to get creative and exhibit your business online, demonstrating to them why you're the best choice.
The internet gives you the leverage to answer queries, offer sales seminars, and address client problems without taking up any of your time.
You can create a video, a product spec sheet, or a FAQ (frequently asked question) section once, and you may drive clients to that material for years.
This will save time, but you will also provide better service. Your clients and prospects are seeking detailed information, such as:
The internet has made it possible for businesses to be available 24/7.
While some fast-food restaurants, grocery stores, and petrol stations provide 24-hour service, most companies cannot, that is if you don't have access to the internet.
One significant advantage of having an e-commerce website is that your customers and prospects may learn about your items and place orders on any day or night, during regular business hours, or on holidays.
Consider what is open 3-4 times longer may accomplish for your company.
Even if you run a typical offline service business, you may create leads and inquiries while you're closed and follow up with those prospects and clients when you reopen the next day.
Many individuals will want to do their research when your office or business is closed at the end of the day.
Still, your website will be available, and your 2/47 salesperson will be available to answer inquiries and create leads (or sales).
Clients are turning to search engines to locate local businesses or products and services, and you may be missing out on key customers if you are not online.
Having an online presence is the first step to ensuring clients can discover your business, whether working on SEO to push your business higher up the search results or making sure you show on Google Maps.
With a strong website, you may have hundreds, tens of thousands, or even millions of people accessing your online business simultaneously.
Consider the possibilities for your firm if you could expose your products and services to a potentially infinite number of interested individuals.
It's one thing to have thousands of visitors and quite another. The success of an internet business is dependent on the same factor as the success of any offline firm: marketing.
A single job can result in huge cost savings. For example, receiving purchases online minimizes the requirement for customer support personnel.
With detailed sales and product information online, you'll easily accept purchase orders and payments through email or your database.
Staff numbers can be decreased as office space and related office expenditures.
A great sales video, sales letter, or online webinar presentation may replace a full-time salesperson.
You can now take all parts of your business online, such as purchasing, billing, order fulfillment, and shipping, using numerous internet service providers.
Other duties may include proactive customer support, such as addressing consumer inquiries through FAQ or a customer forum.
Displaying client evaluations about your company is an efficient strategy to establish trust and get new consumers.
Although social media may provide valuable feedback, dedicating a page of your website to highlighting what your customers are saying about your items if you want to run an e-commerce shop – is a terrific way to boost sales and establish trust.
Starting a business online has relatively minimal initial expenses. You have no buildings to develop, no cars to purchase, and few (if any) employees to hire.
Create your website and begin selling. If you are already selling offline, the shift might be rather easy.
You continue to sell the same things you are familiar with and have a large stock.
Putting your business online provides you with a new stream of consumers.
You can outsource a lot of the technical tasks and things like social media marketing to a skilled team.
You can attend to customers and render services through your website or other means because of the remote nature of the internet.
Potential buyers won't have to come to your physical office to get your products and services.
So in this guide, we were able to establish that it is necessary for businesses, both new and old, to go online and dominate their space.
Not only does going online help you build rapport with your customers, but it also increases conversion, sales, and revenue.
