A well-designed website can make the difference between success and failure for any business, but particularly so for micro businesses. It’s vital for your marketing even if you only trade locally or have built a reputation by word-of-mouth.
If it’s well optimised for the search engines, regularly updated with great content, and also set up for mobile devices, your website will attract a regular stream of targeted visitors ready to be converted into customers.
With more and more internet searches carried out on mobile devices these days, by not showing up in the results you’re missing out on sales and a huge opportunity to engage with your target market.
What are the benefits for micro businesses of developing a website?
Speak to your customer base
Even if you’re a small independent local business you can use search engine optimisation to ‘speak’ to your target market, and build a loyal customer base by answering customer queries or concerns.
Showcase your products or services
You can present your services in detail or advertise products, even if the website isn’t used as a selling platform.
Complement your bricks and mortar business
A website complements a bricks and mortar business, providing an easy way for customers to interact.
Improve sales
Presenting the latest products or weekly offers using attractive images and engaging descriptions only encourages sales.
Better understand your buyers
Your website can be used as a market research and analysis tool to identify customer buying patterns and behaviours.
Focus on the best-sellers
A business website provides valuable data and insight into the most popular products and services.
How much will a website cost for micro business owners?
If you’re put off the idea of developing a website on cost grounds, it doesn’t need to be expensive. Website builders such as Squarespace and WordPress offer all the tools you need to develop an online presence at low cost.
It’s good to know they also provide guidance along the way if you need it, or you can outsource design and development to a freelancer using People Per Hour or Upwork.
Don’t forget to also hire a freelance blogger or copywriter to craft your sales message, address customer concerns, or answer the most commonly asked questions via a blog.
Make sure you’re not missing out on a fantastic opportunity to showcase your company – jot down a few ideas of the elements you might include in yours and get your business’ name out there on the world stage.