Top 5 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs A Website
If you’re a small business owner, you may have started a Facebook group or Twitter account to promote your business. Social media is a powerful marketing tool but your website is, by far, the most important marketing tool for a business.
Here are my top 5 reasons why your business needs a website.
1) It’s expected.
Just like your customers expect you to have an email address and a phone number to contact you at, they also expect you to have a website to find out more about your business and what you can offer them before they contact you. The internet is generally the first place people go to research more about a business. If a customer searches online and discovers that your business doesn’t have a website, they will probably move on and you just lost that potential customer.
2) It’s efficient.
Many people can access your website simultaneously which is much more efficient than helping customers one-on-one over the phone or in person. Customers can access everything they need to know about your business 24 hours a day. Customers can see your products and/or services, learn more about your business, buy your products online, and then share their buying experience with their friends (online or in person).
3) It’s your first impression.
As the saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Your website works in much the same way. It might be your customer’s first contact with your business so it’s your chance to shine and to separate yourself from your competition. Your website should be a one-stop resource for your business and it should contain all of the information your customer might be looking for. It demonstrates to your customer that you are a professional and that you’ve invested time and energy into your business.
4) It’s yours.
You control everything about your website. The content, images, layout, colours, EVERYTHING! Social media tools are constantly changing and it may not represent your business exactly the way you want it to. Social media tools such as Facebook are limited in how much you can customize your page and the information that you can put on it – you’re only limited by your creativity.
5) It converts.
Your website brings strangers and previous customers in, converts them into consumers of your information, products and services, and can lead them to purchase your products or services. And hopefully you create a positive relationship with them so they want to come back!
-Erica
Does Your Website Pass the 50 Millisecond Test?
Your website can lose or gain a customer in less time than it took to read this blog’s headline.
It takes 50 milliseconds or less (that’s right, 0.05 seconds!) for a person to decide whether they like your website or not, according to a 2006 study published in the Behaviour and Information Technology (BIT) Journal.
First impressions have a lasting impact and your website is no exception. Would you go into a store that looks like they haven’t updated their window display in years or are advertising promos that have long expired?
There are a variety of reasons why your potential customers may leave your website so quickly — lack of current information, bad design, or frustrating navigation just to name a few. Chances are, if they don’t stick around on your website, those same people aren’t going to take the time to visit your store and you may have prevented that customer from ever purchasing your products or services.
On the other hand, if your website hooks the potential customer within that 50 milliseconds with a positive first impression, people experience what psychologists describe as the ‘halo effect’. The halo effect happens when people experience immediate positive feelings, such as looking at a visually pleasing website, these positive feelings then extend to other areas of the site such as the content. Since humans generally like to be right, they continue to stay on the website that made them feel good to confirm their own good judgement.
Your website tells your customer a lot about your business — your latest products or promos, upcoming events or special presentations, or how other customers are happy with your service. Fresh content, good design and easy to use navigation will help turn happy new visitors into happy new customers.
Newwavo Logo & Business Card
Newwavo offers clients new ways to innovate with communication and technology. Colleen, owner of Newwavo, needed an updated look to her previous logo. We worked together to come up with a logo and a double sided business card design to kickstart the new direction for her company.
Logo & Business Card Design: Newwavo Consulting
Stage 1: Logo Design
We chose to go with the arch over the Newwavo text, to represent a wave and moving forward. The colours orange and grey (copper and steel) were chosen to represent Colleen’s background in geology.
Stage 2: Business Card Design
The front of the business card contains all of Colleen’s contact information as well as the tag line for Newwavo. The steel grey colour was used to separate the personal contact information from the company’s logo and tag line.
The back of the card used just the logo to stand out and create a strong presence of the business. The colors were faded so the back of the card could also be used for jotting notes on it.
