Why small businesses need a website
Small businesses are the best business.
Whichever way you want to slice it, it is the tastiest piece of the pie. Businesses with a face you recognise, a local story and REAL people with good ideas making something awesome. It is what I. Am. Here. For!
Many of these small and locally based businesses rely on word of mouth for a lot of their custom. You heard of a great place to visit or buy from because a trusted mate has tipped you off. But, let’s look at this from the business’s side of things...
“Word of mouth is the most convincing recommendation any one can get but - What about the out-of-towners.”
Heck, if you have a product you can post then really, DHL is the limit. I just checked, they deliver everywhere. This means, yep, you have potential customers all around the world, but…. If you are relying on word of mouth only, how are these customers going to find YOU and your AWESOME business?
A WEBSITE FOR YOUR BUSINESS!
At the moment, if you are website-less (you’re in the right place by the way, I can help) you may be selling to remote customers in a more casual way EG. By email, organising it through mutual links or friends.
So, when customers do find you perhaps you are selling informally. Casual is okay but, selling via email is so time-consuming, a constant back and forth of items, payment details and enquiries. Confusing, long and boring - Not what a customer wants to be dealing with.
Long ordering & payment processes put customers off, simple as that.
Having a smooth online shop for your business is invaluable.
It takes down one more barrier between your customer and them paying you for your goods or service. Business owners, whether that is farmers, artists or growers, are busy people too. Having an online shop takes away so much of this admin. Happily, it makes the customers who have come to your site waaay more likely to impart with their cash because people know when they decide to purchase your goods they are just a few clicks away from making a safe and secure payment then getting their goods.
When a lucky person does find your amazing business and buy something through your online shop, instead of heaps of emails you, as a business owner, get a simple notification of an order made. The order is presented in a clear way, detailing addresses and items all in one place. No trawling through hundreds of individual email chains or sending people the wrong orders again.
The key to success is diversity.
For businesses, this means having different ways of selling. The corona pandemic was a (huge, global and tragic) example of how changing external circumstances can impact small businesses.
An online shop for your business, as well as an informative and beautiful website, is a perfect way to ensure you’re not putting your eggs all in one shop-shaped basket.
This is all sounding very physical-item-specific. If your business operates in the real world a website is a great way for people to find out all the specifics of coming to visit you - invaluable in this pandemic age where every shop seems to have a different system.
By having all your information in one place, like telling people where you are, when you are open, updates or business changes, customers know what's going on and what you’re all about!
With a website customers know exactly where to look for your latest info - Whether that is new stock, special classes or updates on your team and business. Aside from the information, a website is great for reinforcing the fact you are a reputable business, as well as an active one.
“Your website is the only part of the internet you can control. MAKE IT COUNT!”
In summary, word-of-mouth is great… For the locals. BUT, if you really want to blow up, make your business tick in all circumstances and gain remote customers then…
an online shop (and beautiful website to boot) is a must have!
Ottilie Xoxo