For many, the idea of running a business starts with an idea for a product or service that you can sell. You then go about identifying your target market and figuring out how to best position yourself in the marketplace to gain their respect and loyalty. But gaining customers is just step one. The real challenge lies in staying in touch with them, providing them with the information and support they need to stay happy, loyal customers.
Your website can be a powerful tool to make sure your business stays connected to its key markets and keeps growing. Here are five ways your website can help you grow your business:
1. Increase Your Brand Awareness
A website is an excellent platform for sharing information about your brand with potential customers. You can include information about your products, company history, mission statement and more.
Your website can also be an excellent place to share blog posts that provide relevant information to your audience. A good way to decide what kind of content you should feature on your blog is by asking yourself what kinds of questions are most frequently asked by your customers, and then answering those questions on your blog .
2. Improve Your Search Engine Rankings
SEO is becoming increasingly important in search engine rankings. SEO stands for “search engine optimization” which means improving your website’s visibility in searches done through Google, Yahoo and Bing among others. Improving your search engine ranking is a very effective strategy because it allows you to reach customers who are actively searching for your products or services. In other words, it works the same way as having a sales person at a trade show who’s able to identify prospects and engage them in conversation, instead of turning away from you and going to talk with another company that is exhibiting. By following certain SEO practices related to website development and marketing, business owners can improve their search rankings, get more traffic to their website, and ultimately increase sales.
Some of the most powerful SEO strategies include:
- Creating blog posts that include relevant keywords and phrases
- Creating compelling, informative titles for blog posts
- Using H1 tags on your website
- Including a meta description tag in the head section of all web pages
3. Help Customers Get What They Want Faster
Your website can be a one-stop shop for all your customers’ needs. You can list product and service information, answer frequently asked questions, provide downloadable templates and more.
Many companies have websites that are not mobile-friendly. Mobile compatibility is incredibly important for SEO because it helps Google find your site easier when people perform searches from their phone or tablet. Customers looking for your products or services on their phone might click on your website, only to find that it does not work well with their device. Even worse, they may never return because of this first impression. If you own a business and do not have a mobile-friendly website, contact us today! We can help make sure that all your customers can access your website, no matter what device they choose to view it on.
Do you notice how the last paragraph sounds like a sales pitch for this company? That’s because it is. Not only are they promoting their own services in an article about social media, but they missed out on an opportunity to mention Twitter and Facebook by name instead of ‘social media’. This is a prime example of what not to do if you want your content to convert.
A mobile-friendly website is especially powerful for this purpose because so many customers use their smartphones to find the answers they need when they’re on the go and not near a computer. Use Google’s mobile-friendly test to see how well your website does in this area.
4. Provide Customer Support
Your website can be a great place to list your contact information, including telephone number and email address. Customers who have questions about products or services they’ve purchased from you can use your website to get in touch with customer service quickly and easily without having to wait on hold or leave a message through an automated service.
5. Grow Your Network through Social Media
Most people reading this article probably use Facebook and Twitter already, but business owners may be less familiar with the benefits that these platforms can provide for growing their customer base. Both social networks allow users to create business pages that they can use to communicate directly with their customers. By posting new content on these pages regularly (and not just once or twice a week), you can make sure that your social media connections stay up-to-date on the latest news about your company. This is like getting free advertising for all of your posts, but it’s far more valuable than paid advertising because it’s free-for-life! Social media is a powerful tool for customer interaction and communication. A good way to use social media to connect with your customers is by setting up a Facebook page or Twitter account that lets them share feedback about their experiences working with you, compliments they have for you and more. Some of the benefits of using social media to grow your network include:
- You can monitor how customers are talking about you online, and use that information to improve customer service.
- Customers can get in touch with you easily when they have questions or complaints about the products or services you provide.
- You can collaborate with other businesses that share your target markets, which can lead to new opportunities to grow your business.
Your website is an important part of how you connect with customers and prospects, and also helps keep your business connected to its key markets even after sales and revenue goals are met. Make sure it’s set up and developed in a way that will help you effectively reach these goals by:
- Going mobile-friendly
- Ensuring it contains high-quality, well-researched content that meets your customers’ needs.
- Optimizing it for SEO to help improve search engine rankings and reach more customers online.
- Using social media to grow your network through interactions with your customers and prospects.
