The Importance of an Online Presence

Growing your business online starts with having a strong online presence. This is something that can no longer be ignored because if you are not doing it, you can be assured that some, if not most of your competitors are already doing it.

Doing business online is not new anymore. Online shoppers are now spending hundreds of billions of dollars online and a fast growing number of small to large businesses are taking advantage of this. So if you’re not yet doing it, why aren’t you?

Use your Website to Provide your Company Information

At the minimum, your website should be able to answer the following important questions:

1. Who are you and what is your business all about?
2. What products and services are you offering?
3. How can your online visitors reach you?

It is important to note that your Business Name, Address and relevant Phone Numbers are prominently displayed on your website for increased credibility online.

However, if you want to be taken seriously, your website must look professional and use your own business domain name. Since more and more consumers now search online for information before making any decision to purchase a product or service, it is important to make a good ‘first impression’ when these potential buyers land on your website.

Use your Website to Promote your Business

Your website must also play an important role in promoting your business, and not just a collection of pretty pages with basic information.

When you promote your business online to send prospective customers to your website, your website must be able to create some interaction with your online visitors and attract the qualified visitors. It must provide enough information to pre-sell your products and services and qualify your leads so you can convert them into sales.

There must be a clear ‘Call to Action’ to prompt your qualified leads to place an order online, or call you for more info, or leave their information so you can contact them later on. This is your chance to turn these leads into sales either right away or as a follow-up later on.

Top 10 Benefits of Having a Business Website:

1. Makes your business available to your customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your business never closes on the internet!
2. Reaches more customers and expands your customer base by breaking through the geographical barrier and become accessible, virtually, from anywhere outside your local area.
3. Easily conveys your branding identity, promotes trust and improves your credibility.
4. Promotes your business continuously online easier, far cheaper and more flexible than Print Advertising.
5. Provides up-to-the-minute information about your company, products and services, especially for prospective customers who are already searching for your products or services online.
6. Increases sales by enabling your customers to purchase your products and services online.
7. Increases customer interaction, improves customer service and win customer confidence.
8. Improves your business profile and be perceived as a more professional company and better able to provide your customers’ needs through a properly designed professional website.
9. Measures your success and tweaks your marketing campaigns by analyzing statistics reports to achieve your business goals.
10. Provides a more cost effective form of marketing and increases your profits today!