All other marketing directs the customer ultimately to your website. Regardless of where and how a potential customer discovers your business; be it a blog, an ad, a referral, a tweet; that same customer will undoubtedly validate your business’ existence by looking up your website. The year is 2020, and customers won’t just expect your business to have a website, they want to see your website.
And, when they do, what do you want them to see?
Now, that is the beautiful thing about a website. You CAN control what your customer sees. You can also influence how they’ll feel and what they’ll think. The potential customer’s perception of your business, its integrity, credibility, reliability and appeal, is in your hands.
Your Website Is A Virtual Shop Front
A Website Makes You Look Professional
Let’s face it, first impressions count.
Consider this… you’ve missed lunch, your stomach is growling, you’re starving hungry. So hungry you could literally eat a horse. A burger will do nicely though and you’re salivating at the thought of it. But now you’re pushing your shoulder into the heavy glass door of “Bazza’s Colossal Burgers” when streaking past your foot at the speed of light is a small, brown something. A fast, furry something. A horse perhaps? You could eat a horse. Bit too small to be a horse though. And in a flash, it’s gone, leaving a single thought ricocheting through your brain. As the faint scratching below strains to reach your ears you cast your eyes downwards and your suspicion is confirmed. You see not one but two small brown things scurrying quickly away. Rats! Bazza’s rats! The hunger is gone, the heavy glass door thuds softly closed, and you walk away. No matter how much you’re hankering for a burger, you’ll never be going back there.
In much the same way that seeing rats exiting “Bazza’s Colossal Burgers” would turn you off setting foot in that shop for the rest of your life, customers can experience the same reaction when viewing a website. Believe me, they’ll depart just as quickly for far flimsier reasons.
84% of today’s consumers think a website makes your business more credible than companies who only have social media profiles. A professionally designed website will not just give you a web presence, it will give your business integrity and credibility. People will engage with a company they can trust, and your website is a huge steppingstone towards building that trust. The most effective way to establish your business legitimacy is by providing social proof and integrity, displaying reviews, testimonials, affiliations and accreditations.
With the right look and feel, tone of voice, content and social proof your website can drive your brand to new heights and sales to your door.
Leverage Marketing Opportunities
It goes without saying that a website provides the perfect platform to showcase your goods and services, inform customers of your direct benefits and drive sales through special offers and strong call-to-actions, like clickable calls, contact forms, quotes and online bookings.
Your website will also give you the potential to drive sales and brand awareness through other powerful marketing tools, like SEO and Google Ads. A search engine optimized website puts you out in front of thousands of more potential customers, helping you to reach a wider target audience for promoting your products or services. A well-optimized website can help your business rank well in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) for a variety of search terms and attract a steady stream of new customers to your business.
And with 22.31 million internet users in Australia in January 2020*, the best place to advertise now is on the internet! Pay-per-click advertising, like Google Ads, can lead customers directly to your website with one simple click of a button. And what better way to help customers find you than by linking your website to a Google My Business profile and Google Maps. You can also embed the Google Map on your website contact page, making it even easier for people to find you.
So there you have it, your website is the most powerful marketing asset your business can have. It’s your virtual shop front, your salesperson and your brand ambassador.
If you’d like to know more about how your business can benefit from website marketing opportunities contact practiceedge.
