Even today, 48% of businesses still lack the presence of a website online. Every small business should have a website targeted for prospects to help improve their bottom line.
Small businesses often overlook the amazing power that a website provides. As a business owner, you should already know that the majority of your business comes from referrals. So what is the first thing a referral does when someone tells them about your business? You guessed it, they look online to see what the face of your business looks like. Without a website you are losing a valuable opportunity to close those referrals.
For advertising, your website provides a valuable bridge between your business and your prospect. It creates a bond that allows that prospect to take themselves from the looking stage to the buying stage and keeps them from leaving to your competitor (who has a website).
For branding, having a website allows you to show the prospects everything that embodies your business. Things that words cannot express, your website layout can.
Now for a story, I once built a website for a 48 year old that had struggled for a while in the restoration industry, after building him a simple website he was able to use it as a bridge between himself and prospective employees, he was able to get more applicants than he every had before with a simple form submit page added to his website. This allowed him to find great salesmen, in one year he took his company from grossing $45,000 yearly to over $1,000,000 profit in one year.
Still thinking I’ll get a website later?
So how do you get a website? You have a few different options; you can either create your own by signing up for a site like hostgator by buying layout editing software and upload your own. This process is actually quite simple if you already have the editing software. You can find a layout and adapt it to your business by changing the key components of it to focus on your business.
The other option is that you can find someone to build a website for you. The problem with many of the website design companies is that most try to charge you a monthly fee just for “managing” your website. That is usually just a way for them to squeeze a little extra money out of you month after month. Either way, it’s important to always keep the focus of your website on the prospect you are trying to acquire.