Starting up a small business can seem pretty easy at first. You get to know about the real difficulties that lie ahead only once you really inaugurate one. One of the major challenges that startups have to go through is; growing the business out of the oblivion onto the public conspicuousness; in other words, Marketing.
A few years back, marketing used to be very expensive and effort-consuming. Examples of which are mail marketing, door-to-door marketing, newspaper listing, and television and/or radio advertising.
Why?
The simple reason is: a vast majority of the audience was inclined towards newspaper, television, and radio than on the internet.
In today's context, internet has reached almost every nook and corner all around the globe; and the number of internet users has gone on to become higher than ever and is still counting.
Thus, when it comes to finding any business vendor or a service, many people search information online via Google or Yahoo or some even at the business review sites like Yelp before they engage themselves with a brick and mortar business. This has increased the importance of having an online presence for a startup.
Besides this, there are a number of perks of an online presence, which are:
Online Presence Makes You Accessible
What can be more accessible than a website which can be accessed from anywhere in the world just with the help of internet? Thus, your website helps you become available to your audience and customers 24/7. Whenever they need, they can open your website, get the details, view contact information and have a direct conversation; whether it is about your product/ service or be it about any professional advice they need. This goes on to point that where your competitor might fail to provide a good customer service, you can stay one step ahead in terms of customer satisfaction, and therefore, rule the hearts of your audience.
The Local-first Approach
You might already be familiar with Google My Business, a free service that lets your business appear on the search engine results when locals search for any relevant product/service online. So, once you register your business on search engines, the job is all done and the local searchers will automatically be drawn towards your business, right?
Not really! Various other factors come to play!
One of them is your competitor.
Psychologically speaking, your audience views the local business with a website as a more credible one than the one without. So, when you don’t have any online presence, but your competitors have, the chances that your audience will choose you over the rest are pretty rare.
So, in addition to the local business listing, if you own a website, it will serve as a delicious icing on the cake, particularly if your website looks professional, device-responsive and brand-justifying.
If you are looking forward to building a professional, stunning and retina-ready website, don’t forget to check out these awesome templates.
Widens Your Reach
Reaching your local audience is the first step towards preparing your online presence for success. Once you become able to compete with most of the local small businesses and reach to a larger share of local audience and customers, it is time for your business to take a leap. In this context, your local audience can serve as the medium to spread by words of mouth or through their personal social media about your business. Since your audience has a wider network than you have, this can help grow your business in a nick of time and without much effort. Thus, with an online presence, expanding your business no longer becomes difficult for you.
Establishes and Improves Existing Relationship with Audience
Websites provide your business a stable online medium to connect with your audience and customers. Your business can interchange ideas with the audience via different mediums, such as forms, blogs, etc. This enables you to forge a friendly relationship with your newer audience and to strengthen the already formed relationships with your existing audience and customers. You can communicate about the achievements, offers, and announcements of the upcoming events related to your business.
Content and Social Media Marketing
Content marketing is the best way to provide your brand a voice: And it is impossible without a blog; because social media is the place where you communicate with people about contents, your products, offerings and much more. In a way, social media marketing is meant to drive traffic.
But, where to?
Exactly! Without a website, your social media marketing and content marketing have no destination.
So, you have to own a website where you can set up a professional blog, create different landing pages, integrate social media, and more which are crucial for your business to flourish.
Builds Your Intended Brand Image
Image credit: the gorgeous template Yummy Food Hub by Contentder
Branding, in simple terms, refers to imprinting a reliable and warm brand image in the mind’s eyes of your audience. Various aspects of your small business speak about the brand. Your website is one of them. Ranging from the minor things, such as theme colors and layouts, to the major ones, like the brand logo, everything paints your brand image.
For example, by using simple colors and minimalist layouts, you can portray yourself as dedicated and reliable. By regularly updating valuable and insightful contents in your niche, you can forge your brand as an authoritative one. You can also share how many social media followers you have through your website which can help you attract even more followers. On top of all, a regularly updated website also forms an impression that the brand is progressing. After all, who wouldn’t want to engage themselves with a growing business, right?
Best Gateway to A/B-Test Marketing Strategies
A/B testing is the backbone of a successful marketing campaign. When you plan and apply a certain strategy, you have to analyze whether it brings the intended results. For this, you need the relevant data before as well as after the application of that strategy. The tools, such as Google analytics and site analytics are the best ways to do that which are available only on websites.
Once you know the results, you can devise the next plans accordingly. This also helps you set the fine line between the fruitful and ineffective strategies, thereby enabling you to set your priorities and boundaries; as a result, your much of your time and resources are prevented from going waste.
It’s as Simple as a Cake
Well, the best reason why many small businesses, now, already have their websites--up and running-- is that making a professional website has gotten really, really simple. You don’t need to hire anyone. You can Do It Yourself.
With the easy-to-use interface provided by the platforms, such as Contentder, you can now create on your own, a highly responsive and stunning website without any difficulty. Above all, the platforms, like Contentder are built focusing mainly on the startups and small businesses; thus, providing you with flexible and affordable plans which will totally fall under your budget.
Why not check it out for yourself?
For more information on how you can create a website for your small business, make sure to visit https://www.contentder.com/ or contact at info@contentder.com.