Whether or not your business operates online, having an online presence means that consumers are more likely to want to work with you.
Over the past five years, digital technology has changed substantially, from the way in which consumers communicate to the way businesses operate. Most companies which are in operation have a website and in this digital age, companies simply cannot afford to not have an online presence. This can come in the form of social media accounts, e-commerce platforms or a website. Having all three harmoniously connected though is the best way to create a powerful online presence.
Whether your business operates online or not doesn’t matter. This is a common mistake made by businesses offering a service who rely too much on repeat customers and word of mouth. The truth is that even local businesses offering a hands on service need to have an online presence as consumers are much more inclined to work and contact companies that do so.
If you are a company which is still lacking an online presence in 2024, there are plenty of options available to you. If you’re still to be convinced that you need one, here are 4 main reasons why you need to act fast and implement a strong online presence.
Your Business Is Easily Accessible
Before customers buy or enquire about a product, they will go online and do their research in order to get more information about what it is they want. This then leads them to your website. They will also likely carry out comparisons and look at other business’ websites which offer the same services or products that you do. Having an online presence in this way will give you a competitive edge and this will enable you to connect with customers who are looking at using other businesses.
Whilst it may be challenging for customers to visit your store themselves, due to physical or geographical reasons, having an online presence will make it much easier for them to find you and find out more about your products and services. By using search engines, they will put in less effort to try and find you, but this doesn’t mean that your work stops here.
Making your website appealing to visitors is a long process and requires many different techniques. You need to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly, user-friendly and benefits from search engine optimisation to make the most out of the people who are searching for your business, which can be done with the help of an SEO agency.
This is also a great way in which smaller companies can compete with household names. While it can be difficult to rank above bigger brands for high-volume searches, targeting niche terms that are still relevant to your product is one way you can get the upper hand on competitors with bigger budgets.
Enhances Your Credibility
As most businesses already have an online presence, consumers may find it unusual for a brand or company to not have an online presence. Consumers will question their reliability which then, in turn, will make them more hesitant to get in touch or buy your product. Similarly, it’s important to stay on top of the best practices to enhance online visibility. An outdated website that’s hard to use or maybe doesn’t utilise the latest eCommerce features can be just as untrustworthy as not having a website. A great website often leads to a great online presence, not having both will means your company is missing out on vital sales.
Having a presence online and on social media will naturally make potential customers trust you more. As well, when other customers who have used your company before speak well of your services, this will be shown to potential customers, but these customers will only be able to see the reviews and positive comments that have been left if you have an online platform.
As a result, if a company is proud of the customer service it provides, it’s essential they build an online presence to stop this from going to waste. Companies can’t rely on word of mouth as much as they used to as more and more conversations are happening online.
It Is Easier To Promote Your Brand
A lot of businesses won’t admit it, but marketing is a highly daunting task. However, it is still necessary and is essential to the success of your business. It is cost and labour intensive and many find that if they don’t get the ROI they were hoping for in a short space of time they often become frustrated and pivot their focus to other areas of the business. However, ignoring digital marketing is effectively ignoring potential customers. The market is made up of consumers who have different purchasing powers, preferences, buying habits and tastes, so the beauty of online marketing comes from the fact that it is easy to curb some of these issues and make them work for your business.
With this in mind, it’s become far easier for brands to grow internationally in today’s world compared to the past. This is largely due to the internet and having an online presence all over the world, not just in your local area or home country.
For example, if you work with international customers, then you have the choice to translate your website into dialects and languages which they will understand. Online marketing is easy in the way that you can make your customers your biggest ambassadors as online content is easily sharable and your customers are likely to reach out to a far bigger audience who may also be interested in your products.
At a time when the vast majority of your competitors will be building their online presence, lacking one may cause your business to fall behind. If your company doesn’t currently have an online presence, or you’re a startup company about to implement one, there are ways to build up a strong digital strategy in a short period of time. Many of these tips will be out there on the internet. For instance, building an effective content marketing strategy and regularly updating your website and social accounts are two simple ways to increase your online presence. However, in terms of SEO, it’s vital to understand that the game is constantly evolving and the best thing you can do as a digital marketer or business owner is to stay on top of best practices and algorithm changes. Try following a few gurus on LinkedIn and X to ensure you’re news feeds are constantly being blessed with the latest ways to increase online visibility and presence.