A couple of weeks ago, I was having a conversation with a friend about landscaping our garden and he happened to suggest the name of a landscaping company that belonged to an acquaintance of his. As is the norm nowadays, I pulled out my mobile and tried to call up the name of the company on the search engine to access their website. The search was fruitless as the new company did not have its own dedicated web page. A cursory check on Facebook and Instagram also proved to be a waste of time as the company did not have a social media presence.
It felt strange because we are in 2023. The lack of an online presence made me doubt their physical presence. This is food for thought, because is an online presence necessary in this day and age to validate our existence? Should we have a digital footprint for people to believe that we do exist in real life?
The answer is a resounding YES because we live in the age of the internet. We are in the midst of a Digital revolution and arguably marketing firms are strategizing to capture the attention of the online audience than the offline audience. As of 2022, there are approximately 5 billion internet users worldwide. This accounts for 63% of the global population. The bulk of your customer population is here and the internet is the single most unifying media to reach out to them.
Why should Businesses develop their websites?
- To announce their presence:
If you are looking to develop a business model and promote it, you need to let people know that you exist. The best way to do it is to create a webpage and list your products and services on it. It’s the modern version of a flyer. It is also the first place that a potential customer will use to check you out. Lack of a website will hurt your credibility because it will make people doubt if you actually exist.
- To provide relevant information:
A website can list the details of the products and services you offer. On a company website you can clearly list your vision and mission. You can specify the terms of service; you can provide catalogs and pictures of your products or even testimonials from satisfied customers. You can leverage the reach of your brand for maximum effect. In short you can script your own story on the webpage so that customers get an idea of how you operate.
- To increase professionalism:
A professionally designed webpage creates an impression in the mind of the customer. It adds to the brand value of the product or service that is being marketed. Customers are generally skeptical about firms that do not have well developed websites. The effect is like having an office that is only partially furnished.
- To increase sales:
A well developed website is like a marketing tool that doesn’t have an expiry date. Customer’s seeking your brand of product or service can always find you through searches on Google. They will come looking for you without any conscious effort on your end. It will generate more leads and we can achieve more conversions – all by virtue of a well designed website.
- To stay ahead of competition:
While you are deciding on whether you need a website or not, you can be assured that your competitor has a significant online presence. Companies that have an online presence have a better chance of capturing the market share of customers rather than the ones who are not online.
- To continue working long after Business hours:
Businesses usually work for set days and hours only. Websites do not have holidays or time to clock off. A customer seeking information after office hours can easily find it on the company website. The website does the job of providing timely information to the customer. If a customer is unable to find us online, they will naturally move over to the first available competitor they find online. The lack of an online presence will actually hurt us in ways that we can’t even fathom.
In today’s world, a well developed website is a necessary foundation for the business model. The question is not whether we should have a business website; rather it is “If a business website is enough”. More and more firms are increasingly using other popular social media platforms to target their customers and garner more sales. We risk becoming obsolete if we do not make wise use of the digital media available to us.
Designing and launching a professional and attractive webpage that showcases your product or services is no longer a long winded project that taxes your time, energy and funds. Contact the digital marketing experts www.voilawex.com or mail@voilawex.com for creating state of the art websites that are a credit to your organization!
