Your website is the pathway to your brick-and-mortar store. Studies indicate that most “online shopping” is online researching, with 81% of consumers researching online before making a purchasing decision.
“Simply put, not having an effective and engaging small business website is a major obstacle for your business growth and success. Even if you have a brick-and-mortar business potential consumers will look for you online first. If they do not find your small business they will go to one of your competitors. Is that really what you want?”
Source: ESPRESSO.digital
Websites Give Small Businesses An Online Presence
Having a compelling online presence plays an essential role in small business marketing. This can be accomplished, in part, by maintaining a professional-looking, up-to-date, and mobile-friendly website. The following small business website statistics from ESPRESSO.digital indicate why:
- 91% of customers have visited a store because of an online experience
- 37% use an internet search engine to find a store at least once per month
- According to Google’s 2015 data, 50% of consumers who conduct local searches on their smartphone go to a store within 24 hours, and nearly 20% purchase within a day
- Of the small businesses that have websites, 69% of them are having annual sales of $1,000,000 – $2,490,000
A business website will help you connect to Internet users, establish credibility for your brand, and give you a place to showcase your products and services. Simply put, having a strong online presence is an essential part of your marketing strategy.
It’s Not Enough for Small Businesses to Just “Have” a Website
“It’s easy to have a website rather than have a great website,” says The Retail Doctor. But content goes out of date and consumers develop new demands, so unless you’re thinking like an up-to-the-minute shopper, your website will often be out of date, like many of the small business websites included in these ESPRESSO.digital statistics:
- 97% of all small business websites are ineffective
- 23% of small business websites get updated less than once a year
- 70% of small business websites have no call to action
- 68% don’t have an email address on the homepage
- 82% of small business websites don’t have social media accounts
Your website’s design should focus on the needs of your target customers. To achieve this, it must be easy to access, simple to navigate, and it must contain engaging content that consumers will find useful. Additionally, as online trends and shopping behaviors change, you’ll need to adapt your website accordingly to meet the needs of modern consumers.
Small Business Websites Need to Be Optimized for Mobile
In an age of Snapchats and Tweets, successful companies will need to build and maintain user-friendly and engaging websites that are mobile-friendly to attract and keep customers. That being said, many small businesses aren’t taking advantage of mobile. Check out these surprising statistics from ESPRESSO.digital:
- 94% of all small business websites are NOT mobile-friendly and will not render successfully on mobile devices or smartphones
- According to Google, the majority of searches come from mobile devices, even if a desktop is available
- According to Google’s 2015 data, 50% of consumers who conduct local searches on their smartphone go to a store within 24 hours, and nearly 20% purchase within a day
Today’s consumers rely on phones, tablets, or mobile broadband connections to access the internet. To ensure that you don’t lose out on traffic and sales, make sure you optimize your website with a responsive design that will properly display your content on mobile devices.
Choosing a Small Business Website Builder
There are several do-it-yourself website builders out there to create your site from scratch. Popular platforms for small business owners include WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix. If one of these options meets the simple needs of your business and you have the time and expertise to work on web design, these might be a good fit for you.
There are also other all-in-one solutions out there such as Rain Retail Software. In addition to building a custom website and providing web hosting with your custom domain, Rain can be used to build an online e-commerce store, run point-of-sale software, manage your in-store inventory, and send automated messages with a marketing tool to your customers. As a small business owner, going with a more comprehensive option can save you time and increase sales.
Conclusion
All small businesses, regardless of their industry, can benefit from a website. After all, the primary goal of your website is not to drive online sales but to increase overall revenue for your business by providing potential customers with a convenient way to find and connect with you online.
Modern retailers who use their small business website as a tool to connect with customers online achieve an average growth of 15-50%.
