Why you need an online presence

Tips

Jun 18, 2018

In today’s business, leisure and retail environments, the internet is king. Whatever people want, whether it’s a product or a service, to find something or to buy something, they only need to pick up their mobile phone and hot Google.

The internet is the engine which powers billions of businesses worldwide and an incredible tool to gain more customers and make your business more visible to some of the 2.4 billion people that use the internet daily.

With that in mind, let’s run through a few reasons why it’s important to have a professional website and visible online presence.

Get Your Products to More People

In the pre-internet days, major and small businesses spent a fortune every year creating physical materials to showcase their wares, or investing in radio, print and TV ads. In the age of the internet, things are different.
Instead of creating a brochure or printing an expensive catalogue of products, the internet empowers you to do it all in one place. That place is also available 24/7 and customers can access and shop from it at their convenience. If you want to roll out new products, it’s a simple process that takes a few clicks of a mouse and, just like that, you’re open for business.
It’s important in the modern age to remain agile and flexible in business, and this is just what a website offers. It’s a single, focused point where visitors can see who you are and what you can provide. A website gives you a base from which to open up your products and services to a global audience. It levels the playing field, making it easier to compete against bigger rivals with a smaller budget and it also supports your sales funnel at every stage of the customer discovery and purchase journey.

Business Viability

Anyone running a business knows how hard it is to get finance in the current economic climate. Banks are still wary of any kind of outlay to smaller businesses and they will be especially reticent if you don’t have a quality website. Lacking a site or any kind of online presence will set off alarm bells for a lender, and they will wonder if you are truly equipped to do business in the modern age.
Likewise, potential customers are also likely to balk at the lack of a website. A well-designed, up-to-date site is a must for any business seriously looking to broaden its appeal and boost its bottom line. Besides, if you don’t have a website, how will customers find you at all?

It’s a Stage for Your Business

Any business that has worked hard to survive and prosper is confident and proud of what it’s selling. Whether it’s bathroom tiles or car parts, you should want to show the world how good you are at what you do. Your website is a showcase for everything you have worked so hard to achieve and should say so.
A good, well-designed website it the stage where you show potential customers the goods or services you have to offer and is also the place to outline what puts you above your competitors.

Always Online, Always Available

With the rise of online shopping, there’s no need for any downtime when it comes to your business. You aren’t handcuffed by opening hours when you have an online presence. You can provide what a customer wants any hour of the day. Even if you provide a service like plumbing or carpentry, a website still functions as a way for customers to assess your services and leave a query. You never lose out on a potential customer because you’re not open when you have a website. This of course makes your ROI greater and your operating costs fewer – there’s no need to have a physical store with an army of staff and the overheads that entails open all day long. A well designed e-commerce store can perform much of those same functions at a fraction of the day-to-day costs.

Marketing

For businesses looking to expand their reach, a website is a vital tool. There is a whole raft of different techniques to get your business’s name in front of an audience in the hundreds of millions. What’s more, you can adopt a local, targeted marketing campaign on platforms like Facebook, so your business is in front of local people needing a local solution to their issues or purchasing needs.
If you’re thinking about a website for your business, visit the web design section on our website. Happy2Host has years of experience and we will work with you to build the website your business needs.