Why You Need a Website That Sells

In this short video I’m going to discuss the importance of having a website in the digital age. Now… I’m not talking about an electronic billboard that simply lists the who, what and where of your business… I’m talking about a website that will generate significant traffic, convert those visitors into clients and help you make more money...

The truth is, your business will never achieve its full profit potential with a website that is just an ‘electronic billboard’. Most small business owners think their website is primarily designed to provide information to current and potential customers. While it is there to promote and market their business, the primary purpose is to generate more traffic, convert that traffic into customers and make more money. Make no mistake, in the digital age your website is your most valuable employee… your silent sales person working 24/7, 365 days a year.

There's been a fundamental shift in the way consumers make their buying decisions in the past decade. The availability of free, high-quality information online has changed the game for all businesses, both big and small.

As a consumer yourself, you know your customers do their product research online and they love the convenience of online shopping. They are hooked on mobile devices and 25% of your website traffic is coming from devices like smart phones and tablets. Therefore, your website must be responsive to the different size devices and re-shape to make navigation easier for consumers. Sites with poor navigation get sub-par customer conversions and Google punishes the search engine rankings of non-responsive sites.

Generation Y have come of age and want to buy on your website, they expect e-commerce facilities and prefer to watch product demonstrations on video. They expect to see video testimonials and want to communicate via social media channels.

So… it might be time for a website makeover to cater for the change in consumer behaviour. We recently revamped our website and let me say it was a bit like a fishing trip. We needed to plan ahead, identify what type of client we were trying to catch and use the right bait and hook. The internet is a massive sea of sameness and you need to be crystal clear about the type of client you are targeting. Your website needs to focus on these ideal customers and that might mean a certain gender, demographic or niche industry.

The ‘bait’ on your website is your content which includes the words, images and videos. These drive the search engines like Google and they must resonate with your target market and solve their pains and frustrations. You need to engage with them and today’s customers expect your content to be educational and informative. You want them to stay on your site for as long as possible and keep coming back which means you need to build credibility and trust.

Once they are on your site you need to hook them using a lead magnet which is something of real value that you give away for free to your visitors in exchange for their contact details. It could be an e-book, a video or a free product sample. The more valuable and relevant your lead magnet is, the more likely they will exchange their contact details. It’s all about building your list of subscribers and getting permission to contact them again.

Of course, not all subscribers are ready to take the bait and they just want to nibble at the bait. That’s why your email nurturing program is so important. Keep sending special offers, updates, free downloads and other information that continues to build trust and reel them in slowly. 

Creating a winning website is a process and as such, needs to be planned and ongoing. Your website will always be a work in progress and must evolve with changing trends and technology.

When our website underwent a makeover we documented the process and we have put it together in ane-book to help you. This booklet is titled "The One Simple Secret to Growing Your Business" and You can download a copy from the home page of our website. We have also produced another video in this series titled How to Plan and Build a Killer Website that you can view on our marketing services page.

We hope you find these resources valuable because they have the potential to give your business a serious competitive edge in your industry.