Is it necessary to get a website for my business?
The short answer is no. Several entrepreneurs succeed without having a website. Often, they have an efficient network and use word-of-mouth to find contracts and clients. Nonetheless, if you have just started a business, a website can be a way to stand out and explain what you do and offer.
How a website can help you find customers and contracts
Whether you own a business with many employees or are an independent contractor, a website can be a helpful tool to find business opportunities and promote your professional credibility. Let us see this more closely.
Present your services
One of the main benefits of a website is that it allows you to gather all the information about your business and services in the same place. You then have the opportunity to present what you offer, explain it, and sell it. Answer all questions a potential customer could ask themselves. Decide if you want to display your prices or not. Add pictures if it is relevant. You can even create an online store and sell your products and services in just a few clicks.
Moreover, businesses with a website are often considered more credible than those with only a presence on social media.
Show your expertise
In the same vein, a website gives you the opportunity to show your expertise. There are various ways to do it. First, you can use your website as a portfolio. Do not hesitate to present examples of past work. It is even recommended if you want to convince potential clients to work with you. Second, remember to add information about your experience and expertise.
Did you take special training courses? Did you win any prizes or participate in podcasts? Add all these elements to your business website.
Show your personality
A website also allows you to show your values and personality. Whether using the components of your brand image (logo, color palette, fonts, tone) or simply writing texts explaining who you are and your values. When a client is looking for a company to do business with, when two candidates have similar rates, they often choose the one that fits the best with their values.
Is excellence one of your business values? Do you take action to protect the environment? Are you involved in helping your community? Do not hesitate to tell it on your website.
Display some testimonials
Another way to convince potential customers who see your website to work with you is to display positive testimonials. By seeing that you managed to meet the needs of past clients, you can get their trust more easily.
What can you do to get these testimonials? After a contract or a project, ask your client to write a review about your business, whether by email, on Google My Business, or Facebook. Of course, try to contact clients who seem satisfied with your work. Then, display everything on your website; for example, on your homepage, landing page, or about us page.
Be found with SEO
If we exclude word of mouth, what can you do to be found by potential clients? Every day, millions of searches are made on Google. Whether you provide consulting services or products, someone is likely looking for what you offer. By optimizing your website for search engines, you will increase your chances that your site appears in the first search results.
The more your website is high in the search results, the more you increase your chances of getting traffic and sales. Of course, to achieve this, you must ensure that your site is well-optimized for search engines. You will need more than a few popular keywords to make it.
Help them contact you
After you build all the pages of your business website, remember to add places with your contact information. It must be easy to communicate with you, whether you decide to display your information, like your phone number and email address, or use a contact form. You could also create a contact page or set aside a section in the footer.
This way, if a potential customer has a question or wants to meet you to discuss a project, they can proceed quickly. You can add a small FAQ section to answer the most common worries if needed.
In conclusion, a website can help find potential customers and contracts, especially if you have just started your business. It is the perfect place to gather all the information about your products and services, show examples of your expertise, and present your personality. If you want to increase your company’s notoriety, it could be relevant to create content on LinkedIn. It is often a social media platform underestimated by entrepreneurs.