We all hear it time and time again. Shop Local. Buy Local. Vacation Local.
But what happens when your business down the street isn’t easy to find? We’re not sure of your exact address, or hours, or prices even… so consumers settle for the big box stores, the chain restaurants and the same leisure activities each and every time.
As a small or local business the best thing you can be to your potential customers is accessible. Make yourself easy to search out and review. The easiest, fastest and most cost-effective way is with a website, although many small businesses are nervous to drop the few thousand dollars it can sometimes take to get it started and to have a nice, user- friendly site. It seems they are relying on the antiquated forms of advertising like the yellow pages, newspapers and word of mouth only.
According to Statistic Brain.com, about 75% of small businesses do not have a website even though 80% of consumers use the internet to research products before they buy. Sounds like any business not using the internet to its full advertising capacity is missing the boat.
Now imagine if when someone in your neighborhood is looking for a new place to eat, they search the type of food they are looking for and in the town they are looking, and your website pops up. Sure, it’s probably going to be listed a few spots below the chains but it’s there. Then they click on the website. There are your hours, your menu, your prices, your specials (that you can change daily), reviews of the fabulous food you serve, pictures of your food scrolling across the page, links to social media where they can ask questions and discuss favorite dishes… It’s just like word-of-mouth advertising, only better, faster and more reliable. Your newspaper ad in the local shopper can’t do that, and it’s probably been in someone’s recycle bin for a week now anyway!
Do you have a car repair service? You can list pertinent information as well as pictures of happy customers, sales, inspection reminders, etc. Are you a partner at a Doctor’s Office? Let’s see some bios! Are you a photographer? Show us some examples of your work!
Stop putting it off. You know you need a website for your business and we need you to have one so we can find you! Find a reputable website design company (like Green T Design- gtdesign.co) and get your name out there where people are currently looking!
