THE INDEPENDENT EDGE
14 Reasons Why Having a Website Is As Important As Ever
1. Your Business Will Look Professional.
84% of consumers think a website gives a business credibility online, versus companies with only Social profiles. You have more control over what you display and house on your website, and these days, they are easier than ever to manage! Nationwide Southwest has world-class vendor partners like Retailer Web Services (RWS) and Tailbase who offer our Members appealing, unique websites and a whole gamut of corresponding services, all geared toward enhancing your online presence and brand awareness!
2. Better Harness the Power of Google.
Google Analytics, Google My Business, Google AdWords, Google Maps – having a Google account to manage your website’s data, advertising performance, and even just basic business information like address, hours of operation, etc. will help your business stand out against businesses who haven’t spent the time you have curating their brand’s behind-the-scenes website experience.
3. Showcase Products and Services.
Display your real-time, up-to-date product catalog, complete with transactional cart for easy transactions! Change out products or manually add special closeout models to move your product faster.
4. Customers May Feel More Welcome to Contact You!
When customers trust you as an expert, they will feel more comfortable reaching out for information. Placing your contact information on each page, or having a hovering chatbot feature on each page makes customers feel you are more approachable, should questions arise.
5. Websites Are Easier Than Ever to Manage.
Whether you have a website built by one of our Vendor Partners, or create your own, the tools to manage sites are more and more user-friendly by the day.
6. Your Website Can Help Ensure Your Long-Term Success.
When 59% of the global population uses the Internet, businesses who don’t have a website are as good as invisible to the remaining 41%. The more people who get online, the less businesses will be found – UNLESS they have a website!
7. Amazing, Enticing Websites Are Affordable.
Social is as good as the amount of advertising dollars you pump into it. Once you stop, you are pretty much invisible. Your website will have solid content as long as it’s maintained. RWS and Tailbase not only create beautiful, fully-functional websites at competitive prices, they also offer Website Management services to their customers, who can benefit from utilizing their time more efficiently and less time maintaining the site themselves.
8. Find New Customers.
Businesses with a website report that their site made it easier for consumers to find them online. Use your site to tout yourself as the local, community-based expert with superior customer service to the big box down the street! As long as your site is transactional and user-friendly, you stand a great chance of engaging them long enough to ask for the sale!
9. Grow Your Business.
Build your brand and use the full complement of powerful brand development strategies to earn more market share!
10. Get Found Online.
When it comes to Lead Generation, remember that like in point number 8 above, your website is the best way to be found online!
11. Utilize Analytics to Improve and Grow.
Google Analytics is an unending fountain of data and information you can peruse. With just a little time investment, you can learn from Google how to read deeper into those Analytics and improve Bounce Rates, Click-Through-Rates, SEO Strategies, and ways to rank higher with Google!
12. Control Your Content.
Blogs, Sales, Promotions, Coupons, Events, Real-Time Updated Catalogs – it can all have an HQ, base of operations on your site – and YOU control it all! Targeted landing pages are a great, effective way to promote and clearly outline your services and promote them to the best target audience! Describe your services and how they alleviate your audience’s problems. Promote special offers to make it easier for them to ‘Buy Now!’
13. Communicate Directly with Customers.
Chat, Messages like Social but on platforms like Podium – transactions via text… can be more efficient than Social transactions. Chat integrations for your site can auto-answer during hours your physical store is closed and even answer some commonly-asked questions for you! It gives you a list of leads to follow-up the next morning and can help pre-qualify them for you. Platforms like Podium can even help you manage the customer journey from sale, to payment to delivery all from one common dashboard your whole team can access!
14. Content Marketing Strategy.
Blogs, Videos, Carts, Chat – it all plays together and using the links to each where they are housed on your site, gives customers one place where all your communication drives them. For example – a Facebook or Instagram post features a 30-second video you shot one afternoon in your store to showcase a new product you just got in. Link from that video to your website to drive customers to your online or physical store!
It just isn’t enough to only practice Social Media Content for your Small to Medium Business these days. You need to own your content, much like you need to own where that content ‘lives.’ Social platforms can change the way their platform behaves without your approval nor consent. Websites give you back the control. And with a Website Management System, the amount of time it takes to control your online ‘world’ can be minimal!
Contact Nationwide Southwest – America’s Marketing Group today for your FREE website Analysis provided by one of our highly-effective Digital Marketing Specialists.
By: Allicia Hendrix, Marketing Specialist – Nationwide Southwest, America’s Marketing Group