Do you have a business without a website?

• 5 Reasons Your Idea Needs A Website For A
• 5 Reasons Your Idea Needs A Website Idea
• 5 Reasons Your Idea Needs A Website Must

A good website acts as the main platform for your messaging and marketing strategy. It gives you unlimited opportunities to market your products and services and also interact with your customers on a central platform. A website provides the ability to target specific customers and improve your entire customer experience. Working with your designer will help you create a website that not only speaks your brand, but also boosts your online branding efforts. Your Business Needs a Website and Online Presence; Reasons You Need a Website. Your Business is Never Closed; 2. A website is a Tool That Sells Your Products and Services; 3. You Can Target A Bigger Market; 4. Your Business Can Now Do Business Globally; 5. Your Potential Clients Are Online; 6. Your Clients Expect You to Be Online; 7. Get New Clients For Your Business. A website is a powerful sales tool and one that allows you to address your customers’ concerns, give them the information they need to make a decision and create compelling calls to action. Sure, you can keep placing ads in the Yellow Pages and hope that word-of-mouth generates on its ownor you can build something that inspires it to happen. Having a website for your company instantly creates an official presence on the internet, so that you don’t have to depend on others speaking for you. And you can make it look exactly the way you want, with your own logo and company branding. Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Customizing Your Jimdo Website for more ideas! There are at least a dozen reasons why any business, regardless of industry, needs a website. For starters, your customers are online. According to Internet Live Stats, there are (at least) 3.5 billion Google searches made every day.

We understand the reasons why you might resist building one for your business: “I’m not tech savvy”, “they’re too expensive”, “I don’t have the time”, or the infamous “I have enough business and I don’t need one”. The reality is, you don’t need to be tech savvy, getting a professional website for your business can be cheap and easy, and to make it even simpler for you – not having a website is costing you time and money.

Check this out… 81% of people research a business or service on the internet prior to making a purchase decision. That’s 25.92 million people searching for businesses online. Yet, 46% of business owners listed “Business currently doesn’t need one” as their #1 reason for not having a website. We’re not statisticians, but we can see that there’s a glaring disconnect here.

Still unsure if your business needs a website? Keep reading…

1. Having a website will attract new customers to your business and make you more money.

We like this stat so much, we’re mentioning it twice: 81% of people research a business or service online prior to making a purchase decision. If you don’t have a website, you have no chance at capturing a share of this market.

Your website can be available 24/7/365 even when you’re not. A website acts as your “always-on” business advocate during and outside of office hours.

Websites help you convert more of your existing referrals, because most people still do their own research and stack you against your competitors.

2. Add instant credibility to your business simply by having a website.

The 21st century consumer is a skeptic; in fact, 56% of people stated that they won’t trust a business without a website. Having a good website instantly boosts your credibility as a legitimate business.

First impressions count, and websites allow you to make a very strong impression with a well designed introduction for your business.

A website can help showcase your expertise and better position your business. A website can be your number one tool for standing out in a crowd.

3. It’s not as hard, or as expensive, as you think.

You don’t need to be tech savvy to get a website. Many web development companies have very simple signup processes which make the process quick and painless for you.

It can be very cost effective. Websites offer a better return on investment than any other form of advertising. If you’re planning to market your business, a website should be your first priority.

Over time the relatively low investment of getting a business website will pay dividends by driving you new customers and building your brand. Plus, it’s a legitimate business expense and a tax write off.

4. Having a website will end up saving you time.

Whether you’re trading emails, taking calls, or sending out proposals – communicating with potential customers takes time. Your website can save you that time by providing answers to common customer questions and inquiries. What does this mean for you? You can spend your time doing more valuable things.

5. Position yourself and stay in control of your brand.

A website acts as a platform for your messaging and shapes the online perception of your business in a way that your social media channels cannot provide.

The platform allows you to position yourself in the market to get the exact type of customers you’re looking for.

Many business owners have been reviewed online, sometimes unknowingly and/or negatively. How does this affect you? 79% of users who read online reviews, believe them.Combat that negativity by posting your own positive testimonials.

To summarize… You need a website, and it’s easier than ever to get one.

So again, while we believe that not every person needs a website, we’ve shown you why every business needs a website. There’s a very small and inexpensive barrier to entry, and there is a massive opportunity to help grow your business.

If you’re going to do one thing today to help your business be more successful, it’s to make getting a website your top priority.

It’s easy to be a better business. Get a website.

Sources:

Adweek, 81% of Shoppers Conduct Online Research Before Buying [Infographic]
Behaviour and Information Technology Online, Attention web designers: You have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression!
Entrepreneur, It’s 2016, But Nearly Half of U.S. Small Businesses Still Don’t Have a Website
Inscribd, 19 Bill Gates Quotes about Business and the Real World
Salesforce, The Importance of Customer Reviews and How to Get Them
TurboTax, Computer Software and Website Development Costs
Verisign, Whitepaper: Benefits and Barriers of Bringing a Small Business Online…

Hey I’m Sam, the Marketing Coordinator here at Beam Local, where I work on helping my team make great marketing decisions. What do I love about my work? Helping small business owners find uncomplicated ways to grow their own businesses. I’m always on the lookout for businesses who are interested in applying innovative tech strategy to their marketing plans. I’ve worked with hundreds of small businesses, and write content to help business owners get better at running their businesses. When I’m not helping small businesses get better, you can find me on my couch with my cat watching Seinfeld.

Let an expert guide you.

Beam Local helps professionals launch better websites, outrank their competition on Google, and attract better customers for their businesses.

Not so long ago if you wanted to check when a movie was playing, you'd consult your local newspaper. If you wanted to find someone to remodel your bathroom, you'd open the yellow pages.

But for an increasing number of consumers, those habits are as dated as a pair of faded bell bottoms.

'Today, consumers across all age brackets use the Internet and, particularly for computer-savvy users, the Internet is the first place they'll turn for information about a vendor,' says Sadie Peterson, president of SDMarCom Inc., a San Diego-based marketing firm that specializes in working with small businesses.

'The Internet offers an opportunity to introduce yourself to consumers exactly when they are searching for your business-by appearing in the major search engines,' Peterson notes. 'For niche businesses, the Web presents an opportunity to reach the nationwide or global community, where geographic limitations might otherwise force you out of business.'

Nicci Blanke, who started a dance studio in southeast Michigan, is a believer. Her Viva! Dance Center site, created with Microsoft Office Live Small Business, had more than 1,000 hits in its first month.

'Everybody has the Web now,' Blanke says. 'And I think keeping up with technology is just like keeping up with dance steps. People appreciate that and our Web site allows us to do that.'

A Web site can be as much about customer service as it is about selling products and services. Blanke says she has limited office hours, but uses the site to stay connected her young dancers' parents. 'The Web site allows us to be available to them 24 hours a day, seven days a week,' she says. She posts paperwork, maps to dance competitions, even pictures.

Looking like a serious business
Paul Gryfakis, who runs Parking Padding Solutions out of his Chicago home, thinks a professional Web presence helps potential customers take his business seriously. 'Having a Web site does give me some credibility,' he says. 'I'm not just somebody on the phone or sending you a mailer about my product.'

When people go to his Web site, which was also created with Office Live Small Business, they can see pictures of his product, they can see specs, they can learn about the ordering process and they can find out how to get in touch with him.

For Gryfakis, that Web site is the core of his business since products are shipped directly from his supplier to his customers. 'I don't have a storefront. I don't need a storefront,' he says. 'I just need my Web presence.'

Clearly there are numerous reasons why even the smallest of businesses can benefit from a Web presence, but here are five key considerations:

1. Visibility: With more and more consumers logging onto the Web to research products and services, if they are going to find your business, your business needs to be on the Web.
2. Reach: With a Web site, you are no longer limited to a customer base that is in physical proximity to your shop. Your place of business may be in Boston, but your customers can be in Bangkok.
3. Customer service: When customers can log onto your Web site and easily find the information they want-when they want it-their satisfaction increases.
4. Competition: A professional looking Web site can level the playing field for smaller companies trying to compete against larger enterprises. It's also a way to stay in the game; even if people can't find you on the Web chances are they can find your competitors.
5. Credibility: When you can point customers, partners, even potential employees or investors to a Web site, it tells them you are a serious business.

Getting on the Web quickly
At one time having a Web site would have been out of reach for many small businesses, with the cost of hiring programmers, designers and writers and paying for hosting services and the time commitment involved in keeping the site updated.

But the time and expense once associated with having a Web site has been replaced with template-driven software services that make it a quick and relatively painless process to build a Web site.

Microsoft introduced Office Live Small Business specifically to meet the needs of small businesses eager for a Web presence but without the resources and skills to build one from scratch. Utilizing easy-to-use tools and a wide variety of pre-designed page templates, small business owners and managers with absolutely no technical or design skills are now able to create professional looking Web sites with minimal effort. And with the Office Live Small Business service-which includes a domain name, hosting, company-branded e-mail accounts, and project and contact mangement services-you can get started online for free.

5 Reasons Your Idea Needs A Website For A

Another concern that makes some small businesses reluctant to make the move to the Web is the need to put up a site with lots of different pages. But a Web site today can be a work in progress. At the very least you can start out with a 'business card' Web site that contains very basic information about your company:

5 Reasons Your Idea Needs A Website Idea

• Name
• Logo
• Location
• Contact information
• Brief description of products or services

As time and inspiration permit, you can expand the site.

There are plenty of compelling reasons why small businesses today should have a Web presence. But with the advent of free, easy-to-use services, it's difficult to come up with a reason not to.

5 Reasons Your Idea Needs A Website Must

Hear how more about the successes Nicci Blanc, Paul Gryfakis, and others have had using Office Live Small Business to create their Web sites on our Customer stories page.