Do I really need a website for my local Cambodian business? My audience is on Facebook.
We hear it all the time from local business owners and overseas clients.
They tell us all they need for customers to find them is a Facebook page. Well, they’re both right and wrong.
Yes, it’s true that Facebook is a great way to connect with your audience, but it’s not supposed to act as your entire digital solution. Facebook should simply be one of your marketing channels that helps drive traffic to your property, whether that be a website or a real world location.
In this post, I’m going to look at six reasons why your small business should have its own website.
Why Do I Need a Website for My Small Business?
1. A website is your primary informational & marketing asset
Your website is your most important digital asset.
Through it, you share your brand’s story and mission. You publish need-to-know information. You list your contact details, your products or services, and just about anything else you’d like potential customers to know about your business.
All that information is readily available to anyone in the world, at any time. It’s in one place and easy to find.
Your website does more than just disseminate information, it’s also a valuable marketing asset.
Paired with smart online marketing tactics and tools, like email marketing with MailChimp or PPC advertising with Google Ads, your site becomes a powerful lead generation machine allowing you to reach more target customers and generate repeat business.
2. You’ll show up in search results
People are surfing the web more than ever before, and the numbers will only continue to increase!
Limiting your local business to Facebook, and maybe Instagram, isn’t going to help you in the long run. Chances are, people are searching and can’t find you.
There are 5.6 billion searches on Google every day and at this very moment someone in your area is looking for what you offer. Guess who’s not getting their business.
You!
Perhaps for now, the Asian market prefers using Facebook and other social platforms, but that’s changing every day. Southeast Asian youth are increasingly turning to search engines to find results.
Take a look at the Digital in 2018 in Southeast Asia slideshow by Hootsuite and We Are Social. Skip to slide 17 to go straight to Cambodia’s insights.
If you don’t have a website for your business, well, you’ll be left behind.
And, what about the tourists and expats who may be interested in what you have to offer? They’re more familiar with using search engines for finding what they want online.
Owning an optimized website with quality content guarantees that you’ll show up in search results. By targeting your content for relevant search queries, people will be able to find you from around the world.
Having a website helps you get found locally and internationally, allowing your business to reach a larger market and even build a global presence.
3. A website makes your business more trustworthy
How many times have you Googled a local business before frequenting the place? Most consumers will perform research online before making a purchase, even if it is just a local shop.
People want to see that you’re established online and a website is the best way to start.
However, not just any website will do. There are several trust killers that you’ll want to avoid:
- Outdated design
- Bad Grammar
- Vague Language
- Usability Issues
- Missing Contact Info
Clearly defining your branding and design elements is necessary, SSL certificates show search engines and visitors that your site is trustworthy, and being able to demonstrate real social proof is a must.
4. A website is cost effective
Many small business owners believe that websites are just too expensive. They hear the initial price and their jaw drops.
You have to accept that a website is simply another one of your business investments. You’ve already invested in things like property, supplies, and people. Why wouldn’t you keep the most important online tool you could possibly have in mind?
Let’s say, you decide to work with a local web design company to build your website.
They quote you $1000 for design plus $100 for hosting and support services every year.
Your $1100 website will only end up costing you around $91 a month or $3 a day!
For the following three to five years, you’re only paying for hosting and support services, which equals out to around $8.30 a month or $0.30 a day!
Now consider this. Your website is a digital employee who’s busy selling your products and services around the clock, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. No holidays. No vacations.
That doesn’t sound like a huge investment to me.
5. You’re in complete control of your website
You can’t control most of what happens or is said online.
You could consistently receive stellar reviews across your social channels, but have the competition or one angry customer create a storm of lies and misinformation.
It’s easy to go viral for all the wrong reasons.
However, the one thing that you are in complete control of online is your website. You decide the narrative. You choose what it says about you and your business.
Further, you can use your website’s blog to share your thoughts and get your message directly in front of your audience.
6. People expect you to have one
This reason actually makes the whole list. If potential customers want to see a website, then you’d better have one. On top of that, it better be mobile-friendly and responsive across devices.
Today, people are spending more and more time online. We live in an age of immediate gratification, meaning when someone searches for your business, they want to know something or do something instantly.
They’re used to finding a professional business website for most companies that they come across and when they don’t see yours, they’ll skip right over you and on to the competition.
There are a few key elements people expect to see in a website. They need to know:
- How You Are Unique
- What Exactly You Offer
- Your Contact Details
- Social Proof Or Trust
Every business needs a website
I’ve laid out six important reasons why every business needs a website. We usually recommend using the WordPress content management system (CMS) as it’s incredibly versatile and works for all types of business websites, large or small.
We can create a simple one-pager for a small local company. Or, build up a massive informational website with hundreds of pages for a global organization. That all depends on your needs.
Whether you’re a small mom-and-pop shop, a growing local service provider, or a large corporate company, a website will help you generate leads, reach a larger audience, and share your message.
Want to know more? Here’s how we setup and run website projects.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Agree or disagree? Why?
Interested in working with us to get a website for your business? Send us a message.