You know the address of your small business store. But, do you know the pathway to intensify sales of your small business? It’s complementing the small businesses with an online presence. Website development has become a go-to resource for customers to engage with small businesses. This, in turn, boosts business sales and ROI at scale.
The statistics prove the edge that small businesses can gain with website development.
- 37% of people use search engines to browse for digital offerings.
- 90% of people visit digital stores due to the best experiences they render.
- More than half of the people make local searches on Google for nearby businesses.
The facts showcase the importance of a website for small businesses and how they can make the business succeed. However, if the website is not engaging and effective, then it becomes an obstacle to business growth. The poorly-optimized design and ambiguous functionalities ruin the user experience, which means losing traffic and sales.
There is a dire need for creating a quality website that’s well-optimized for design, functionalities, and content that helps in increasing customer acquisition, retention, conversion, and ROI. The corona outbreak has convinced the small businesses for website development which was previously deterring website development.
Website development surely takes your small business to new heights, but partnering with a website development company is important to make this dream come true. However, getting precise estimation for the cost to build a website is vital to avoid unforeseen conflicts created at the end due to development price. Keep this thing in mind to ensure glitch-free website development and deployment.
Cut to the chase: let’s see how quality websites allow small businesses to accomplish their goals with an improved bottom line.
7 ways quality website can help small businesses in improving sales
#1 Improve visibility
It’s well said that if you are not available online, then you are losing the business. An online presence is the best way to market and sell business offerings. It brings business offerings in front of the people right at the time when they are looking for the product/services. It won’t allow businesses to miss on the opportunity when it’s knocking on the door and results in conversion.
Also, the website keeps the business offering available to customers 24/7, which means the website is bringing sales even when you are sleeping.
#2 Establish credibility
When you are selling something to the visitors and they asked questions right at the moment, if you can answer them satisfactorily, it builds business credibility and turns them into customers. The situation resembles a small business website, where people have multiple queries, need explanations, and other information on demand.
A quality website that answers the users’ frequently asked questions through FAQs or live chat with no delay pushes the customer down the sales funnel and enhances the chances of volume sales.
#3 Generate traffic
The website is such a powerful weapon in the small business arsenal that allow them to launch a business online today and get customers tomorrow. The website has great power to increase traffic to the store with online and offline advertisements. Businesses use PPC ads to increase traffic and sales. Launching free giveaways, free shipping, or attractive offers make people visit the business online.
The traffic generated with advertisement may not bring potential customers or guarantee conversion in the first attempt, but continuous follow-ups can bring business close to a sale.
#4 Build trust
Neither the small business website offerings nor the customers’ demand can be a one-size-fits-all to each other. People do not necessarily buy the things that businesses are offering, but an online presence allows them to research businesses online and know about the processes/services, which builds trust in the business. The online presence builds transparency and strengthen trust, which in turn uplifts sales.
For instance, in digital marketing, the emails are sent through the company’s website so that users can easily browse the business offerings. In traditional outbound marketing, the interested users search for the business online. No website means you have not put your business in their shoes and you lose an opportunity.
The testimonial is a brilliant way to showcase social proof to the new customers who are looking for the feedback of existing customers, which makes them avail of the benefits that the business offer.
#5 Personalize the journey
People don’t like to leave the comfort of the sofa when they get everything at their fingertips. A quality website when treats the customers the same way they are handled and behaved in a store, they are ready to pay even more for such an experience. With the advent of technology, there are various ways to personalize the customers’ journey right from the onboarding to the final checkout that appeals to them.
For instance, as the customer starts browsing the website, the AI bots flash the tailored message on the page based on the previous browsing pattern such as “You are looking at this product two days before.” When customers get to the detail page, they get recommendations for other products that they may like to purchase based on their buying history. At the checkout page, they get options to make payment with their preferred payment mode at the top, which delights the customers.
The personalization engages the customers and doesn’t let them look further.
#6 Close more deals
Building a digital presence doesn’t mean that small businesses can increase sales through online channels. Instead, it increases sales through offline channels as well.
According to research, “The consumer path to purchase involves both online and offline channels. 80% of customers who opt to research online, they make a purchase from the store, or if they make in-store purchases, they certainly researched online.”
The brands can make in-roads by bridging the online and offline thinking and joining the dots. Creating a sense of urgency for products or latest offers also convinces the customers to buy them quickly to not miss out on offers. Such countdown timers uplift the conversion rate.
#7 Enhanced customer support
Calling customer support or referring to FAQs are old-aged ways of helping customers when they need it. Traditional support is limited by working hours that don’t allow them to serve customers 24/7. The delays may lead to losing out on sales. That’s where personalized chatbot integration can help. The AI-powered bots communicate with customers intelligently by connecting the dots. The round-the-clock accessibility doesn’t stop customers from shopping and getting an answer to their queries.
The last word
Building a website is vital, but the quality is equally important that cannot be ignored. The website creates an online presence and quality ingredient makes the website generate traffic, build trust, and increase sales. Quality means making the website developed from users’ perspective that’s loved by the target userbase and make them purchase effortlessly. Develop a quality website that makes users’ life easier, which in turn, makes your business life longer with increased sales.
My two cents: Small businesses prefer to save on website development with white-label solutions, but they are not effective when your business grows. The best web development companies can help you build a custom website that’s secure, scalable, and reliable.