Why You And Your Business Should Be Online?
Everybody is speaking about Digital age. There are different approaches to what it is but it sums up to finding more people sitting on their phones at Starbucks than reading the morning newspaper. It means that the phones are the place to find your customers, clients, readers and that’s where they will find you.
Although, as a small business owner the only thing you see in being online is that it is overwhelming, difficult, and above all technical task. There are some shortcuts, though. There are also, some things you should have in mind when thinking about going online.
Allow your potential clients to come to you
People today are searching online endlessly; the average U.S. adult spends 11 hours per day on digital media. It is guaranteed that your customers are online, so why aren’t you?
If you already know that your clients are spending most of their time online, it should be a no-brainer that online is where they will look for you. Today, when someone has a question that can’t immediately be answered, they go to Google to answer that question instantaneously instead of flipping through the yellow pages. Today, it’s all about getting information promptly and quick. If someone specifically is looking for a kitchen store within a 10-mile radius of where they are, you want your business website to show up instead of your local competitor.
Showcase your products and services on a platform that will make you be seen!
As a customer, I personally make many of my purchase decisions before I get to the store. I’ve done my research online and have picked out what I want and where I am going to buy it. There are probably many options that I am missing out on, just because they aren’t found online. That’s too bad, I guess I’ll never know that they even existed.
Regardless if it’s clothes, electronics, or a new spatula, the second step in the purchase decision process is Information search, where the customer surveys options through internal (memory and thinking) and external search (Word of mouth, media, store visits, trial). When small businesses have their business online, it makes it easier to see what options are out there. You don’t want a customer going to your online mainstream option because that is all that they can find online.
Market your brand.
Being on the internet can be an easy way to get your brand expressed to your customers the way you want it to be before they walk through your doors. Anything from the tone in your writing to your font choice and color scheme gives customers an idea of what your business is about, by syncing it with your current in-store brand identity.
Having a website is also controllable. On the Internet there are many rating websites where customers can freely talk about your company, even if you aren’t online and they, unfortunately, might not be talking about you in a positive light. So, having a website can be another outlet for people to discover your brand the way you want it to be seen.
Technical is not what it was before. The shortcut 😉
Although you may see building a website as a frustrating, technical and timely task to accomplish, there are tools that somebody really technical built for us, non-techy people. You just have to make sure you have all the copy (the text) and the photos ready, you know your colors and you are ready to go.
There are many outlets online to help and guide you to building a website for your small business, but first things firs – your domain name.
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