There are a lot of people in Nigeria that believe that a website is not an important aspect of a business. When starting a business they are more concerned with getting an office space, getting and registering a name for the business, recruitment of staff and in a few cases promotion of the business through distributing flyers and posters and, if possible, advertising on the radio.
There are those that believe that a website is not needed to make sales for a business. However, this is not necessarily true. Below are ways which a well created website can help, enhance and boost your business.
1. CREATES AWARENESS FOR THE BUSINESS
A website helps in giving information about the business as it helps place the business in the mind of the customers and consumers regularly or all the time.
Some will argue that this is not necessary as flyers and posters can easily be used to create awareness of your business especially if your business is just done within your locality.
This is true to a certain extent, but let us think about the amount of time and work that will be needed in creating this materials to keep everyone updated about your business, what if you expand and need to change location and have more customers to reach and serve, a well managed website will help with this. All people need to do is go online and access the information needed on the spot without coming to your office.
2. IT IS A CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE
Getting a website for your business is a cheaper way of advertising and promoting your business. It can be argued that websites are very expensive to set up depending on the type that you plan to build, the question that will be asked is what are the alternatives that the business can consider for promoting themselves?
Businesses, especially startups, rely mainly on flyers, posters, handbooks, pamphlets, brochures and other below the market strategies to promote their activities which are not bad but in the long run this could affect them especially on the cost side. Considering the amount of money spent on the creation, printing and distribution of these materials it will be wiser and better to get a website which will have all information about the business right there.
3. GIVES YOUR BUSINESS A MEASURE OF CREDIBILITY
We have heard of several stories or have had bad experiences with various companies from getting bad goods to been cheated or experiencing fraud and losing a lot of money in the process. Most of this occurred because people could not get enough information about such companies and know if they are reliable and can be trusted.
A good website gives your company a good reputation that it is one that is reliable and can be trusted.
There are people that will argue that they have been defrauded by companies with fantastic websites and that it is not enough to judge a company based on its sleek website. While this is quite true, it also works both ways. There are signs that will tell you if a company is real or not: how often the site is updated? How real is the contact address? Are the phone numbers on the site working? From the feedback on the site, are there a lot of disgruntled and unhappy customers? These are signs that will give away a fake company.
4. HELPS THE BUSINESS EXPAND AND REACH MORE CUSTOMERS
Imagine having a business at point A and having orders for purchases and delivery at point Z, this is what a good website can do. People from anywhere can purchase your goods and services without even stepping into your office or store. Customers can go online, get on your website, look through your products and services and make choices on what goods they will like to buy.
In situations where customers are not sure of what they want or are confused or have made mistakes in purchases, they can call a number on the site and get connected to a customer care representative who gives an instant feedback or in a situation where a description is needed a mail could be sent with an almost immediate feedback giving the customer a detailed explanation of what they need in terms of size, colours or shapes of the product they need.
So when people are skeptical of creating a website, these are some of the benefits that they should consider a website will give them. Besides, this is the modern and technological age where everyone is on the move and have little time to waste.
A good website will surely build the brand image of a business and add a lot of value to your business in the long run.
If you are doing any kind of business, consider creating a website for it. If you want us to create a website for you, kindly contact us.