Facebook or Website....

What to do!

Small Business owners are increasingly turning to Social Media to establish their presence on the internet.  Why not?  Facebook is essentially free and everybody uses it.  Right?  Why would I possible need an expensive website when I have Facebook???

You very well may need BOTH!

Facebook does an amazing job of communicating with your customers (once they have found and followed you).  Immediacy and community are a couple of the unique benefits of a social media platform.  Think about it.  Look around you.  A great many of the folks you see glued to their devices are checking Facebook!  Clearly this is a good tool to keep your customers engaged with your business.

But, what about customers that you don't already have and who may not know much about you?  A website gives you control on your content and a platform that helps convey your features and benefits in a very professional way.  Tracking who is visiting your site, when and what pages they look at are key pieces of information that are readily available with a website. 

Consider that the top 10 local organic factors for SEO are related to websites.  Google gives preference to those websites that demonstrate "authority" which is nearly impossible to achieve with a Facebook page alone. 

A website is a critical tool for you to attract NEW customers!  And Facebook is an effective method to continue to engage your existing customers. 

SMB Website Expectations 

Gotta Meet or Exceed them!

A recent study by Google, commissioned by VistaPrint, shows what many of us already know.  A lousy, hard to use, ugly website does nothing to help business and in 60% of cases, users said "I would be less likely to make a purchase." when asked about a bad impression of a website.

Read the full report Here.

Most users expect a website to have been updated within 6 months.

Poorly designed websites impact how likely a user is to visit or purchase from a company; to the tune of 49% .  For me, and hopefully for you, the prospect of losing nearly half my customers because I let my nephew build me a free website somewhere, is not acceptable!

Top of the list of things folks are looking for when they visit a SMB website is product/service information.  This is the part of the purchase path where it is VERY important to make a compelling case for what you are selling.   Next are the business hours and contact information.

Almost 70% of users said that "Up-to-date and accurate website content" is the MOST important factor in a SMB website experience.  

So, take a look at your website through the eyes of a potential consumer.  Do you make the grade??

72% of Consumers Turn to Digital When Ready to Buy 

You gotta be there!

The path to purchase is a varied one.  Consumers now do research using a variety of tools to make the decision to buy.  Being online has never been more important.

The data come from the LSA's latest
Local Media Tracking Study 2016
 which surveyed over 8,000 U.S. consumers. 

Company Websites, Search Engines and Ratings & Reviews Sites are the top methods folks ready to buy use.  Think about it.  Don't you do the same?  No?  Ask around and I think you will find that most of the folks you know do!

Let's look at an example.  I'm ready to hire a carpet cleaner.  Lots of rain, mud and four paws have finally motivated me!

First, I google carpet cleaners to see who services my area.  Like many folks I note those ads at the top, but generally go directly to the Organic Search Results area just below them.  I'm a small business and know that this may save another small business the cost of the ad.  Quirk maybe.  Next, I am looking at the Google Places results.  I look at each of them and click on a few that have websites.  I hope to learn more about them.  What the website looks like is important to me.  Somehow it reflects what kind of company they are.  Next I start looking for reviews and discounts (don't we all!).  

The search may take several days between distractions, work and play.  Ready to make my decision I return to the company that stands out overall.  And book!  It would be great to book an appointment online, but I know this is not very widespread.  Yet.

Without having an online presence of some sort, I will never consider a company.  I am not alone!  And the trend has no end in sight.  

On the importance of Mobile Ready

Revving up fast!

Did you know that the use of digital devices influence 56% of in-store sales?  Did you know that since 2013 this number has quadrupled?

Read full report here.

Wow.  Having a website that is completely functional across all digital devices is gaining importance at an amazing rate.  Folks are using the internet to do research and gain information prior to purchases.  

Have you considered that these same potential customers are using their devices while actually in the store?  Take today for example.  At the grocery store I could not find any tofu (go ahead laugh, it is good for you!) and asked a staff where it might be.  She had no clue!  So instead of departing without the fixings for supper, I pulled out my phone and searched for the item on the store website.  I found the exact aisle and location!

One can easily imagine throngs of shoppers wandering the aisles hunting for the best price possible.  Or even finding a better product available at the store down the street!

Don't miss this train to the future.  Make plans to update, convert or launch your company website as a responsive one that is accessible over tablets and phones. 

All aboard! 

Who cares what my restaurant website looks like on a mobile phone?

Your potential customers do.  And you should too.

The explosive growth of smartphone users has created a tremendous opportunity for local restaurants.  Specifically, local one location restaurants.  Consider that the Pew Research Center shows that for 2017 nearly 95% of Americans own a cellphone of some kind.  You may not even know many folks without some sort of phone.

So, what are all these smartphone users doing that you need to know?  Just this:  85% of mobile users searchng for food online complete a purchase.  Not hard to imagine really.

Now, the really important part....

95% of smartphone users conduct restaurant searches.  Of these 69% look up a location.  51% are looking for a phone number.  That is a lot of potential customers who will aNOT EVEN CONSIDER your restaurant because you will not appear in any of their mobile searches.  Goggle makes sure of that; they favor websites that are fully functional on mobile and tablets.

Take a look at this infographic for more insights.