If you run a small or medium sized business, you may think you don’t need a website. Maybe you believe just traditional print advertising, your location, or just White Pages listing and word of mouth has worked to give you enough business in the past so there’s no need to change? Or perhaps you don’t think your customers use the web to look for products or services like yours?
Well, time to think again. If you want to stay competitive, find new clients and grow your business, you do need a strong web presence, according to specialists in effective web site design and development, plus e-communications and marketing. And the best place is perth web design.
Here are six things you need to read:
1. Almost everyone uses the internet. 85 percent of labouring Australians use the web often, either at home or work, according to the 2008 CCi Digital Futures Report, conducted at Swinburne University’s Institute for Social Research. Not surprisingly young people are the highest users (over 90% of under 34 year olds), but all age groups are active in cyber space today.
And the higher the income, the higher the internet use – almost 93 percent of people in the highest income bracket use the internet – and they won’t find you if you don’t have a net presence.
We’re also spending more time on line – on average 57 hours in the second quarter of 2009, up from forty seven hours the previous year, according to the ACMA (the Australian Communications and Media Authority).
2. Access growing. Close to 80 percent of homes and 95% of small or medium sized businesses have internet access, and 90% of households are broadband able, according to ACMA, making access to the internet faster and easier. The use of internet-enabled phones to access net information has also grown significantly.
3. Web is an important source of content. The internet is more important than the traditional media of newspapers, radio and television. It rates as ‘important’ or ‘very important’ for almost 70% of users; compared to television (33%), newspapers (47%) and radio (46%) according to the CCi Report. Net users rate it as reliable an information source as newspapers and more reliable than television.
4. Internet purchasing significant. The number of Australians banking and shopping online has increased from 63% in 2008 to 67 percent in 2009, according to ACMA. In an average month, just under half of internet users purchase products or services over the web. Of those, the CCi Report found the average spend is 0 a month, while almost one in ten online purchasers spent 0 or more a month. More and more businesses are buying on line too.
5. 80% of internet users research products and services on the internet. For around 50% this is a regular experience, with 12% getting product information daily and a further 31 percent doing so on a weekly basis, the CCi Report found. 90% of Small businesses look for data about products and services too. So, if a prospective client wants your business, will they find you on line? And will any listing give more than just your name, phone number and location, to help them decide to choose your services, not someone else’s?
Still require convincing you need a website to promote your small business?
6. Roughly 70 percent of small to medium businesses reported having a web site improved business effectiveness, according to ACMA research. Keeping people (customers) more informed; increased awareness of the business; exposure to a broader market and being easier for people to access the business were key benefits identified. Those with seo perth reported better improvements.
According to specialists, small businesses can use the internet to communicate with customers, 24/7, for example to give advice, let them book or change an appointment time or check products, prices and services, so you can deliver greater customer satisfaction and operate more efficiently.
“And with more people buying on line, developing a website that fufills customer requirements, increases sales and avoids taking too much of your precious time away from other work, has real benefits,” This can be done by web design perth.
“But, don’t be tricked into believing that just putting up a website that can take orders is the complete solution to increasing your profits, there is more to it than that. You need to recognize that customers want their online experience to be easy, and deliver the results they want, so you need to use web developers who will work alongside you to understand your particular business and provide the correct web solution.