Businesses often wonder if their small, homegrown business is worth an online presence or simply if their customers are tech-savvy enough to look for them online. Well, let me tell you, before any purchase, 87% of shoppers worldwide search their products online—97% of consumers Google local businesses to learn more about them.

An online presence helps you build your brand image right from the beginning, create a good impression and stay one step ahead of the competition. It reflects your investments, efforts, and seriousness towards your project.

Let’s say you have a small dry fruits business, and you market your business through traditional social media like Facebook, Email, or Whatsapp. Perhaps an interested buyer wants to know more about your products and check your authenticity before purchasing. A well-designed website with an intelligent homepage, a sorted list of products, a bunch of verified reviews, and the added convenience of creating an online shopping cart will help you convert this potential buyer into a loyal customer.

This article will give you the top 8 reasons why your small business deserves an online presence already:

1.     Shops have time, but a website needs uptime.

Most retail shops follow a fixed schedule of operation. Given the holidays and unforeseen crises, there is a very good chance that these physical retail shops might fail to meet targets and generate revenue.

An e-commerce site enables your customer to view and order products from the very comforts of their home no matter which day of the year it is. Festive pre-orders, lucrative online discounts, home-delivery options help you sell more, save more and be open for business 24*7.

2.     First impressions

People usually form a perception about your business within 0.5 seconds of landing on your page. People are receptive to websites that load quickly on their devices, including phones and tablets. The user interface of your website and its design serve as the short brochure of your business. You must choose the kind of impression you want your customers to leave with; first impressions last long.

3.     Become the leader you had been seeking

The audience always appreciates original and fresh content. If you are passionate about your idea, research about it, write about it, leave a stack of helpful and relevant posts for your audience. Educate and engage your audience. Allow them to respond with likes and comments.

4.     Customer Support

Customers are more likely to spend on a business that delivers prompt customer support. A website allows you to deal with your customers’ queries and complaints through chats and calls or a ticketing system. Responsive customer support makes your customer feel truly valued. Want to help more? Create a section for frequently asked questions (FAQ), leave your email-id for customers to write back to you.

5.     Prints can wait, Updates don’t have to

Notify your customers about the new arrivals with a mega launch on the website. Are you experimenting with new campaigns, new ideas? Update it on your website first. Any update needs to be published on your website first.

6.     Build perceptions

It is common to have a Facebook business page, and it does its job. But with the content being shared and respawned multiple times, it is impossible to portray your brand image the way you would like it. A website, on the other hand, lets you narrate your side of the story. Through your updated content, your customers come to learn about you accurately.

7.     Credibility and reliability

The consumer’s perception of you is the crux of any business. If they are satisfied, they will come back again or refer to a family or friend searching for similar products and services.

According to Craig Blom’s research, 84% of buyers take online reviews seriously as recommendations from their own family and friends.

8.     It’s not expensive; it’s effective

Website building is neither difficult nor expensive. With a simple sign-up, you can design your whole website without writing a single line of code. A website promises a better return on investment than any other form of advertising.

“If your business is not on the internet, your business will be out of business,” said Bill Gates. Be it any industry and no matter how small your beginning is, you must start designing your website today to reach a broader target audience.

Build with VEBONIX

VEBONIX, a trusted ICANN accredited domain and hosting product provider aims at simplifying online presence by providing the most affordable domain solutions, web hosting products, business emails and registrar and registry lock features. Moreover, there are more than 500+ domains to choose from like .xyz, .org, .asia. These domains come with in-built anti-theft protection. We also provide Shared Hosting, Dedicated Servers, WordPress and Cloud Hosting with numerous free add-ons, modules and plug-ins with a promise of 99.9% uptime guarantee and best security. As soon as you get a domain and web hosting plan of your choice, you can start designing your website absolutely free with Weebly. It is extremely simple to design your website the you want it to be with drag and drop based editor. You can install shopping carts, set up a blog or a simple intuitive virtual store. There are powerful inbuilt tools that help you track and manage your inventory and transactions quite easily. Wait no more, explore the power in your hand with VEBONIX.