Most of the business owners who come to us want a new website, but frankly hate the idea of spending a portion of their marketing budget on a new custom web design. We can understand – few businesses outside of the Fortune 500 have extra dollars to burn.
However, there are two sides of the coin. When new clients are reluctant to get started, we like to remind them that spending on a new website, if it’s done right, is an investment rather than expense. In other words, they can expect to make that money back in the future.
Could getting a new business website actually improve your bottom line? It absolutely can, and here are five ways you can improve your financials with a stronger web presence…
#1 Through Direct Sales Over the Internet
It’s never been so easy and affordable to add shopping carts and other online sales features to a new website. Even if ecommerce isn’t your primary focus, you might be able to add thousands in sales to your bottom line every month simply by offering some of your most popular products or packages through your website. Why not make it convenient for customers to buy from you if there’s a chance it will boost profits?
#2 By Getting More Customers From the Web
Even if you don’t sell from your website, you can use your web presence as the focal point of your sales and marketing efforts. With search engine optimization, pay-per-click marketing, social media, and email campaigns in place, you can drive offline sales, walk-in traffic, and even B2B lead generation in an effective way. Many of our clients replace traditional cold calling, direct mail, and advertising with online activities because it costs less and yields more.
#3 With Better Branding
If you already have successful advertising and promotional plans in place, you can use the internet to enhance them. The web is a great place to establish and reinforce your branding messages, so people who see your business on mailers, billboards, or even print ads can look you up on the web. That’s especially true if you’re easy to find on search engines like Google, and social media websites like Facebook and Twitter.
#4 Through Automated Customer Service
There are so many routine customer service tasks (like frequently asked questions and explanation videos) that are better handled on a website than they are over the phone or in person. Not only does automating some customer requests save you time and money, but it’s more convenient for buyers, too. They don’t necessarily want to call you or visit to find a simple answer, so why not give them the information they need on your website?
#5 With Stronger Recruiting
Recruiting is a big challenge for a lot of companies, and it gets a lot easier when you have the right applicants to work with. When your website and online marketing are strong enough, candidates can not only find your available openings, but determine whether they are a good fit for your business, needs, and culture. In other words, a better website can bring you more skilled employees and reduce both turnover and training costs.
There certainly isn’t any way around the issue of spending money on web design. If you want to stand out on the web, you’re going to have to make an investment. However, if you make good decisions and choose the right creative firm to help you, the good news is that you can expect to both make and save a lot of cash in the years to come.