The rise of the internet was a revolution that changed the way we do business forever. Naturally, online shopping changed the way businesses interact with customers, but it goes much deeper than that. Instant messaging and mobile devices have altered business communication forever, so now team members can collaborate in real time from anywhere. Job hunt websites have streamlined the hiring process on both sides, and the global digital payments market is projected to have a compound annual growth rate of 13.7% between now and 2025.
These days, having your own website is basically a must for any successful business. Fortunately for startups and small business owners, websites offer a variety of advantages that didn’t exist beforehand. Here are some of the most important.
1) Increased Accessibility
If you lack a company website, or any sort of online presence, then customers are limited to your brick and mortar storefront. You may be able to build a base of local customers this way, but you’ll miss out on countless opportunities you could have had, and your business won’t be helping as many potential customers as it could. 24-hour access to your products and services means you can also attract impulse buyers before their desire to purchase your product is gone.
2) Convenience
Customers expect everything to be available online these days, and one of the best ways small businesses can compete with larger enterprises is by matching their convenience. If a customer is interested in a product, they’re certain to look it up online before doing anything else. By having a great website and following search engine optimization best practices, you can ensure users see what your business has to offer.
3) Easy Marketing
A website gives your business an incredible marketing opportunity. If you’re in the construction industry, for example, you could try spending money on newspaper ads and TV spots, and they may bring in some customers. These ads are temporary, however, whereas a website is a permanent resource that you can build from. A professional contractor website design company can handle website design, graphic design, and even help you with search engine marketing. Many customers will also feel more comfortable reading copy on a responsive website instead of having to speak to a salesman or feeling like they’re being sold to with a traditional ad.
4) Brand Building
A company website offers a great opportunity to build trust and rapport with your customers. With the right content marketing strategy, you can work with other websites to showcase what your company offers and engage more potential clients. Creating original content that establishes your business as an expert in your niche is an excellent way to build trust, and you can do this with things like video tutorials, blog posts, infographics, and more. You can even include a link to your website in each piece of content you distribute to increase your own web traffic.
5) Simplified Goal Setting
You can even use your website as a way to set new goals for your company. Consider the objectives and key results (OKRs) approach to management, for example. The OKR framework is credited to Andy Grove, co-founder of Intel, and it was further popularized by John Doerr when he brought the idea to Google. OKRs are considered a big part of Google’s growth from a comparatively small business to the tech giant we know today, and they can help your business too. Your website is a great way to get used to the system which can be broken down into two main components.
Objectives: These are the individual points that contribute to your company’s overall strategic plan. Objectives should be easily understandable, and it’s best to focus on just a few at a time. An example objective could be to increase your web traffic by 25% before the end of next quarter.
Key Results: These are the metrics by which you track progress toward your important objectives. By constantly monitoring your website’s traffic, you can determine if you’re on track to meet your objective and adjust your approach accordingly.
With reliable OKRs software, you can increase employee engagement, support company alignment, and easily keep track of employee data for performance reviews.