What is the first thing that comes to your mind when a customer asks for your website?
Are you immediately excited to say
"My website is yourURL.com"
or are you filled with thoughts like
- My website is pretty ugly, should I just give them my Facebook page?
- Well I have a website but it's kind of under construction, here's my business card.
- My website? Um just shoot me an email.
If the latter option sounds more familiar, it's a big mistake to your business because today customer research starts on the internet. It's kind of like having a building that is falling apart to run business out of... Not very practical, Right?
Now for the good news...
- You're not the only business with a bad website.
- You can still get ahead of your competition.
- A stunning, yet simple website will improve your brand & business .
Here are 5 reasons your bad website is a huge mistake.
Did You Know?
"57% of customers say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site and 40 percent have turned to a competitor’s site after a bad experience." - Google
1. First Impressions Matter
Do you remember your first job interview? Of course you do, how could you forget the feeling of being interrogated by your potential future boss. Now I want you to think of what you wore.
Did you wear the sweat pants and hoody with your favorite sports team on it?
orDid you grab the business attire & look sharp as a tack?
Chances are that if you got the job you probably wore the business attire, and this probably comes as no surprise. It's human nature to be attracted to things that look good. I mean think about it, when was the last time you purchased something you thought was ugly?
Now think of your under dressed business website. Each person that goes to your website is meeting you, standing there with sweat pants and a hoody on.
Is that the impression you want to leave your customers with?
The fact of today is that first impression matters both in real life, and on the internet. Which is why it's very important for your business website to look good, while being easy to use.
One of the best ways your business can stand out is by having an awesome looking website. Having a good looking business website will ensure
- Visitors don't bounce off of your website after seeing it.
- Customers look at your business as legit, instead of thinking your business is a scam.
- Everyone can easily understand your website because it's neat and makes sense.
All of that being said, I know that looks are not the only thing that is going to keep customers on your website, but it is a great place to start.
Did You Know?
"70-80% of users will ignore paid ads, and focus on the organic results" - Imformza
2. You're Missing Free Customers
The internet is such a great thing because it's one of the best ways for your business to take advantage of free customers. Think about it, what other medium allows you to reach millions of people with just the click of a button?
Imagine taking your gourmet restaurant and opening up in the middle of Times Square. So many customers walk by you everyday that you are automatically going to get customers from the street, correct?
Now think of your website as the restaurant, Times Square as the internet, and the customers walking by as everyone connected to the internet. 324+ Million people are walking by your website each and every day...
Are you going to turn on the Open Sign yet?
Turning on your online business is a little bit harder then flipping on a "Open For Business" sign, but it's definitely not impossible. The truth is that getting your website ranked organically on search engines does take some time and effort, but the reward is well worth it.
For Example
Think of that same restaurant that you opened up in Times Square. When people search Google for your business by name, or even restaurants in the area you show up! Great, that is a lot of customers that can already see your business. But what if your business also came up when a customer searched Google for phrases like
- Swedish Meatballs Recipes
- Italian Recipes From Home
- Delicious Lasagna Recipes
The benefit your business has when you actually start showing up for different key phrases in your niche is incredible. Your traffic will start pouring in, and people will start finding your business out of thin air. All your work will pay off when you hear a customer say "I really love your blog, and I always use your website, keep up the good work!"
Did You Know?
"Judgments on website credibility are 75% based on a website's overall aeshetics." - Invision
3. Bad Website = Bad Business
Let's make one thing clear before we continue with this section, I don't think all businesses that have a bad website, are bad businesses.
But with that being said, many customers online DO think that a bad website directly reflects a bad business.
Think about it like this...
Do you recall the last time you were going thru the drive through window, and you saw "that guy" on the side of the road with his pants sagging farther than they should be? Were your first thoughts to trust that person? If not, don't worry, you have the same trust issues many others do.
Now, I'm also not saying that everyone that sags their pants is a bad person because that is absolutely not true... But what I am saying is that people are more apt to not trust you if you portray a thug.
The truth of the matter is that people naturally prejudge everything. That gorgeous person that's walking by you, the restaurant on the corner, and everything in between is being judged by your subconscious mind. This naturally occurring judgement happens automatically, so how can you make sure it effects you as little as possible?
Trust is Earned, Not Given
Well for starters it's very important for businesses to present itself as a business you can trust from the start. As you know trust is a very hard thing to earn, and a very easy thing to lose therefore I wanted to give you some examples of things you can do to gain more trust online.
There are many things you can do to build trust online, below are some great ways to build trust on your website.
- Add your contact phone number and email to the header of your website.
- 44% of website visitors will leave a company's website if there's no contact information or phone number. - KOMarketing
- Have current customers give you online reviews on Yelp, Google, and Facebook. After show these reviews on your homepage for social proof.
- 72% of people entrusted online reviews just as much as personal recommendations. - IronPaper
- Putting social media icons on your website will build trust and establish communication with your customers.
- Adding various social media buttons equated to 400% increase in conversions for voice-over service Voices.com - BlueFountainMedia
In conclusion, don't make your business website start off on the wrong foot by sagging your pants. Just wear a belt and make sure your website has the best chance to establish trust the first time someone sees it.
Did You Know?
"87% of millennials never separate from their mobile device." - AppBoy.com
4. The Mobile Millennium
What time is it? Chance's are you pulled out your cell phone to answer this very common question. Welcome to the digital age ladies and gentlemen. Where wrist watches have been converted to computers that fit into your pocket... or even on your wrist, Gotta love technology!
Advance With The Technology, Or Be Left In The Watch Age.
Do you remember the last time you forgot your cell phone somewhere? How helpless did you feel? Not being able to call anyone, Google anything, or even get directions to the closest pizza spot. Just an absolute fail, and huge inconvenience to say the least.
Now Back To Your Happy Place
A time and a place where you have your cell phone. It's time to eat, and you're craving a good steak. You pull the cell phone out of your pocket... "Hey Siri give me directions to the closest steak house". As you scroll down the list of steak house's to choose from you see one that sounds delicious, so you click on it and
Voila
You're taken to a website that you have to zoom in on... What? No Responsive design? This menu is impossible to see, and forget about figuring out the prices... This website sucks! Back Button
Next Steak House
This time you're greeted with a gorgeous mobile website, that has contact information on the top. As you scroll through the menu you see the word steak, and immediately click on it. Now what do you see? A sight so good, you almost eat your phone. Steak after steak, beautifully displayed next to mash potatoes and asparagus. YUM, and it was at that moment you were sold, the Steak house won your business, and you are probably still customers today.
Get All Device Friendly Before It's To Late
With mobile internet traffic growing at an amazing rate, and the internet only getting bigger it's is extremely important for your business website to display on all devices. When your business can be viewed on all devices your website will get less bounces, more interaction, and longer user sessions.
As you can see the impacts to having a mobile friendly website are great, and very important to your business. Not to mention with only 11.8% of websites on the internet being responsive, you still have time to get ahead of your competition. Don't wait, get responsive!
You Know Its Important
But Exactly How Important Is A Mobile Friendly Website?
- 60% of all internet use is now on mobile devices. - InMobi
- 70% of mobile searches lead to action on websites within an hour - iAcquire
- 61% of people have a better opinion of brands when they offer a good mobile experience. - Websites24-7
5. A Bad Website Makes You Work Harder, Not Smarter
You're in a room, it's packed full of people and they want to buy your product. The only bad thing is that you have to personally talk to each person before they buy. So what do you do? You start talking, person after person you talk. At first it was awesome, but after talking to 1000 people you start getting frustrated. The stress starts building, and you begin to wonder if selling your product is even worth talking to all of these people!
Then It Dawns On You
All You have to do is get a megaphone, and a slideshow presentation so you can show everyone in the room your product at the same time. So you put up a "Will Return In 30 Minutes" sign, drive to the store to pick up the needed supplies, and head back your room full of buyers.
Setting up the screen is easy, and talking about your product is even easier. Finally you give the last presentation & are greeted with applause. Everyone is excited! They love the product so much that they all buy, what a success!
A Website Is Your Megaphone, Presentation & Store Front
Good thing today your presentation is possible thanks to the internet. This handy dandy tool allows business owners to talk directly to millions of people at the same time. It is the only medium that connects you to consumers from all over the world & gives you the chance to go viral. Today your website can show off your product/service all year round, get you noticed by Ellen Degeneras, and even take credit card. What A Superstar!
Keep Talking or Show The Presentation, It's Up To You
Now the choice is yours, you can keep going door to door and talking to every home owner about your service. Continue going to craft shows, and marketing events in order to meet new people.
Or
- You can present yourself to the world by turning your bad website into an awesome website
- Sell your product 24 hours a day & seven days a week by using a website/eCommerce shop
- Build a strong web presence to dominate your competition
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