Doing business with the modern customer is simple, but you must learn new techniques. The first aspect of business that must be in order is your website. 80% of millennials find new business online, not through friends or personal references. 72% of these people will check to see if a company has a website before making an initial purchase. Numbers don’t lie: Customers are looking for your website, and you need to accommodate them if you want your business to grow.
Your Website is Your New Business Calling Card.
Physical business cards are great if you attend trade shows. For the other 360 days of the year, your website is your business calling card. Although you may not see it, the way that you present your website encourages more people to buy. The question then becomes: How do I create the website that makes people want to buy?
The Window into Your World
Before people buy products, they want to trust the business behind the products. Think of how you act as a consumer: You go back to the companies that make you feel good. Your website is the window that will allow a customer into your world. When people see who you are, they trust you much more.
Many of the features that you put on your website will never even be used by your customers. For instance, what good is your physical address to an online customer? They will not visit your store. However, if they can see your storefront on a Google Business page, they are 50 to 60% more likely to make a purchase. If your business is service based, they are 65% more likely to choose you over a competitor.
Every business marketer suggests to put a phone number on your website prominently. Only a fraction of customers will ever call this number, but simply having one helps people to trust you. People just want to know that they can call you if they need to.
A Great Website Means a Great Company
Does a great website actually mean that the company is great? No, but people think that it does. If you have the technical wherewithal to put together a site, then you have the ability to perform with technical proficiency with your product as well. Think about the last dysfunctional website that you visited: What opinion did you have of those companies as a whole? Did you believe those companies could create a top notch product? They might have the best company out there, but you will never know: The presentation was wrong, so it doesn’t matter.
The Pretty Website
Having a pretty website is not enough. Part of what makes a website feel great is its functionality. Each page on the site should have a purpose and lead the customer down the sales funnel. Customers come to your site looking for a solution and looking to be led. Pick a web design company that can give you a functional website as well as a pretty one.
