Let me play a couple of scenarios common when an SMB owner meets a prospect or a customer these days. Let me play it out for you.
Scenario 1
SMB Owner: Hello There, How are you?
Prospect: I am good. So what do you do?
SMB Owner: I own Maria's Cupcakes. You should check us out sometime.
Prospect: Definitely.
Prospect opens his smartphone and googles for Maria's Cupcakes. And search results return no website.
Prospect thinks Maria's Cupcakes is not worth checking out as they do not even have a digital presence.
Scenario 2
SMB Owner: Hello There, How are you?
Prospect: I am good. So what do you do?
SMB Owner: I own Betty's Pets. As you own a pet, you should check us out sometime.
Prospect: I will.
Prospect unlocks her smartphone and hits Betty's Pet into Google. An aesthetic, information-filled website opens up.
All the necessary information for all types of pets is available which impresses the prospect, and she moves to the shop section for purchase.
Don't we all do this? The moment we hear about a brand, a business, or even a person, we open our phones and start googling, don't we? Yes, we do.
And if that search delivers a good website with all the correct information well presented, we are impressed most of the time. That is the reality for every SMB owner today.
So, in this blog post, let me present 7 reasons why a website is the most powerful marketing tool for every SMB owner.
1. A Good Website Creates a Solid First Impression
As in the scenarios above, imagine your customers googling you and finding your aesthetic website with all the necessary information. That will do the trick for you. A good website will always create a solid first impression in the minds of your prospects and customers.
A website that has all the correct information they are looking for is nirvana for your prospects. Whenever someone searches for a particular query, they will be doing the same for either finding information or support. If your website can address both, your job is half done.
2. A Well-Developed Website Finds You More Customers
You may be wondering what a well-developed website means. Right.
A well-developed website is one developed keeping search engine optimization in mind. Here is a quick primer on SEO for you.
A website developed the right way will start appearing for the queries searched by your prospects. That means more people will find your business, and you will earn more opportunities to sell. Imagine Betty's pet appearing in the search results from anyone searching for pet supplies in her locality. With the correct information presented, they might purchase products via the website or by visiting the store mentioned on the website.
3. A Website Works For You 24/7
Every SMB owner would love a genie working for them. A round-the-clock genie granting wishes to them. Well, you have one at your disposal - your website. Your website is available to your prospects 24/7 with all the information they need. Please ensure your website is answering all the questions your visitors might have.
A website is always available as your 24/7 worker for your customers. You can leverage it to answer queries, sell products/services, provide support, and more.
4. The Website Is The Best Place To Showcase Expertise
Every SMB owner today knows the importance of showcasing their expertise. As every business niche is getting highly competitive, expertise is the ONLY asset that can help a business. As an SMB owner, you need to leverage your expertise to stand out from the competition. And the best avenue to showcase your specialized knowledge is your website.
Be it via the blog, newsletter, product, or support sections, you can highlight your expertise using your website. Share your unique propositions, best offers, special initiatives, your origin story, etc., via your website. Trust me - your audience will love you for this.
5. A Website Can Become Your Best Salesperson
Hiring good sales personnel for your SMB can be a pain. How about a salesperson who works round the clock and is knowledgeable about closing deals easily? Every SMB owner would love that, and your website can be that salesperson. A store page with products with apt descriptions can do the trick for you.
Your website must have all the crucial information about your products/services. Your website should be able to answer all questions your buyers might have. That will make your website a high-performing sales machine.
6. A Website Is A Perfect Place To Build Your Community
If COVID-19 taught business owners something, it is this - Businesses with solid communities behind them can survive anything. Tough times make the communities rally behind their favorite businesses and help them keep their doors open. So, building a community is not a choice for SMBs anymore. It is an important focus area for business owners.
A good website can be the hub for community building for your small and medium business. You can utilize your website to build your community, provide support, serve better, provide the best offers, communicate well, and more. Your website can be the centralized hub for doing amazing things for your community.
7. A Website Is The Ideal Place To Provide The Right Information
As the famous Mathematician, Claude Shannon says, "Information is the resolution of uncertainty", providing the correct information can erase the uncertainty of your buyers. Whenever a buyer is looking for a solution that you can provide, you must address those via your website. Whenever a buyer lands on your website, you must present all the necessary information to them.
Your website is your repository of all the important information about your business. Make sure you have the correct address, phone number, email, and other relevant information on the website. With products and services, it is essential to provide the right images, specifications, delivery information, etc. Please ensure your website acts as an information hub for your small and medium business.
Conclusion
I hope I have helped you understand the relevance of a good website for your small and medium business. I want to drive this point home because some statistics say over 35% of small business owners believe they are small for a business website. No, YOU ARE NOT. It is not about the size or nature of your business.
Websites are a MUST for every small and medium business today. Invest time and energy into building a good one with all the necessary elements and information. You and your customers can thank me later.