I recently found out that only 53% of small businesses (SMB) have websites. Are you kidding me? Let me say it again: almost HALF of the small businesses out there don’t have a website.
Why?
Your small business needs a website {if you don’t want to fade into obscurity}.
Period. End of story. No debate here. If you believe that you don’t need one and never will, I have three simple questions for you.
1. Do you want to grow your business?
You may laugh at this one, but it is a legitimate question. Take a small cafe that is only open for breakfast and lunch. They always have a line out the door of people waiting to be seated. They literally may not be able to take on any more business. This isn’t the case for {mostly} everyone. Most SMB owners would like to grow their businesses. If you often wish you could communicate with a wider range of customers, attract new customers, or break in to new markets – then you need a small business website.
2. Do you have competitors in the area that have websites?
According to Forbes, 97% of consumers now search for local businesses online. Who are they finding? If it’s not you, you can be guaranteed they are finding your competitors and you’re missing out on the potential business.
3. Do you spend money on advertising?
If you do, why wouldn’t you spend some of that money to have an online presence that is always open and available to your customers, can usually answer most of their questions (what your business hours are, what brands you offer, the services you provide, etc) and can be the best possible first impression for your customers? Plus, unlike other forms of advertising, a website can be very easy to keep updated so that your customers are always seeing the most up-to-date information. Running a new special? Post that on your website. Have an awesome new product in stock? Post that on your website.
If you answered yes to even one of these questions – then you probably should look into getting a website for your small business.
I know what you’re thinking. We sell websites, of course we’re going to say your small business needs one. We don’t operate like that: we don’t just try to sell things to help our bottom line. We will only recommend a small business website if it truly is needed and will help YOUR bottom line.
So let’s chat if you don’t have a website. We’ll take an objective look at your needs and goals to figure out exactly what a website can do for you.
If you do have a small business website, you’ll want to check out our next post on how a bad website can do more harm than good.